May/June 2022 Newsletter

From the Executive Manager - Erin Zimmermann

Today, I am choosing gratitude. Each morning, I start my day by writing down three things I am grateful for. It ranges from the big things like family to the silly smaller things like coffee and crepes. 

As I reflect what I am most grateful for about IAP2, it is without a doubt our members. This is such a special network of incredible people with hearts and passion poised to do incredible things. 

I was reminded of this energy and connection during our Annual General Membership Meeting on May 17th. This year, we wanted to try something different and make the meeting a little more… engaging! We gave more time for members to connect with one another and also spent time on a Jamboard activity where members could share their ideas in small groups. 

Some of the key themes we heard were the need for more Chapter support and engagement, continuing to offer a variety of training opportunities, and the need to make offerings affordable and accessible. 

This feedback is important and we will use it to inform future programming and decisions. Keep the ideas coming! We are listening.

For example, we are in the process of planning another Online Public Participation Series that will launch this fall. This is a low-cost training series that dives into specific online engagement tools and topics. Stay tuned for more details. 

In closing, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, for being a part of this organization and for bringing good P2 to your corner of the community.



2022 Greater Good Awards - Nominations Close June 30


Greater Good Awards are presented to an individual each year in recognition of excellence in the field of public participation in the United States. Nominees will have demonstrated outstanding leadership, service, and application of the IAP2 core values in the field of public participation. Candidates may be nominated by any IAP2 USA Member, Chapter or Committee.

There are two categories of awards:

  • Greater Good Award: In recognition of people who have exerted leadership and made an impact on the profession over a period of years.

  • Greater Good - Emerging Leader Award: In recognition of emerging leadership (for people who are under 35 and/or have fewer than five years in the practice) and are making a new impact on the profession.

Learn about the 2021 Greater Good winner and the Greater Good Emerging Leader winner

Read more and apply here by June 30, 2022.

Apply by June 30

How can innovation disrupt the rituals of public meetings and transform deep-rooted challenges into opportunities?

Did your municipality innovate during the pandemic in order to continue to engage with the public? Did you try new things, and create different ways to hold regular public meetings? Did you decide to keep, and even build on, some of those innovations even after the shutdown? Nancy Pearson is a Ph.D. candidate at Saybrook University looking for participants for a qualitative academic study. Her research focuses on the disruption to municipal public meetings caused by the 2020 government shutdown, and she is conducting an academic study in the fall that asks: How can innovation disrupt the rituals of public meetings and transform deep-rooted challenges into opportunities? Study participants will engage in an online survey and a semi-structured interview with Nancy via Zoom. 

If you are interested in participating in this qualitative study, please contact Nancy Pearson at nancy.pearson@mindthegapnation.com with the subject Study Participant.

Nancy will be featured in our July bonus webinar Civic Engagement 3.0: Making Public Participation Powerful and Sexy

Featured Course: Crisis Communications and Cancel Culture: Essentials for Moving Forward

Trainer: Kathryn Kolaczek

June 13 & 15, 2022

1:00 - 4:00 pm Eastern 

Is your public participation strategy prepared to handle a 'cancellation'?

In a world where outrage travels fast, and the list of organizations and individuals facing a so-called 'cancel culture' backlash grows longer, a crisis is likely no longer a matter of if - but when. This workshop offers an honest conversation about cancel culture and crisis communications; the good, the bad and the ugly.

How we tell our story, including how we communicate through crisis, can allow us to shift from a place of reaction and shame towards a mindset of accountability and meaningful change.

Through real-world examples, practice scenarios and group discussion, we'll offer tools to support any successful communications strategy, helping you recognize the power of communication to repair and reimagine a better future

Upon completion, participants will:

  • Understand why anticipating 'cancel culture' scenarios needs to be part of any crisis communications strategy.
  • Develop skills to navigate difficult conversations, offer a public apology, manage high-stakes communications.  
  • Learn to prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion in organizational structures and communications, how to evaluate current strategies and identify risks.
  • Know the steps that should be taken to be prepared.
  • Understand how to avoid the dangers of woke-washing and tone-deaf activism through real world examples. 
  • Be empowered to employ practical tools that can foster the authentic values necessary to support a successful communications strategy in a changing world.
    Register


     2022 IAP2 North American Conference - Program Announced


    Together again, at last! After more than two years of online events, the 2022 IAP2 North American Conference Sept. 14 - 16 in Banff, Alberta, September 14 - 16, 2022 at the Banff Centre for Arts & CreativityWe can’t wait to see you and bring our conference theme, Connecting with purpose, to life! 

    Being together again gives this year’s Conference theme even more meaning: “Connecting with Purpose” is about connecting with the P2 community; connecting to achieve diverse representation; connecting with Indigenous ways of knowing; connecting through differences; connecting through the screen.  

    • Take advantage of our in-person EARLY-BIRD rates (until June 30)
    • Check out our Conference Program!
    • You can already reserve your hotel room at the Banff Centre! Join our LinkedIn Group to help you connect with other attendees in advance and, if desired, make arrangements for shared accommodations and travel or airport transfers

    This year’s Conference will be both in-person and virtual lite, with some of the presentations live-streamed to those who prefer not to travel at that time.

    If you have any questions, please contact info@iap2canada.ca

    Register Today

    June Webinar

    June 14 Learning Webinar NAC Encore - Community Liaisons: An Equitable Approach to Community Engagement with Multicultural Communities

    A reprise of one of the more popular sessions at the 2021 IAP2 North American Conference.

    Is your organization looking to develop authentic, equity-based partnerships with diverse communities? This session focuses on the Port of Seattle's equity-based approaches to community engagement, grantmaking, and environmental justice. The team will present our approach to engaging multi-cultural, multi-lingual communities through a liaison model to accomplish a shared goal of deepening access to Port resources.

    Register

    Webinar Recordings -  Available free to Members On-Demand

    All of our past webinars are available to members who are logged into iap2usa.org. Just click here and you will be prompted to login to the Webinar Archives.

    May 10 Learning Webinar NAC Encore - City of Edmonton Ward Renaming Initiative

    A reprise of one of the more popular sessions at the 2021 IAP2 North American Conference.

    For decades, the wards -- the political districts -- in the City of Edmonton had "Euro-centric" names. But Edmonton and its environs have, throughout history, been a cross-roads and meeting-place for Indigenous people. In 2020, following a request by a group of Indigenous elders and as part of its commitment to further reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, the city launched a project to give the wards new names. 

    Learn how leaders of the public engagement process in this initiative shared how their Indigenous Ward Naming Initiative was developed, and gain some insights for furthering reconciliation in your own work.

    If our current courses don't meet your needs please fill out this quick survey so we can help you become the P2 practitioner your community needs.

    Member Spotlight

    If your organization has had any recent P2 successes or thought of creative solutions we want to hear about it! Please contact info@iap2usa.org to be featured on our website or newsletter.


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