Thursday, April 9, 2015
LOCATION: ANNAPOLIS ROYAL REGIONAL ACADEMY – 590 St George St, Annapolis Royal, NS
4:00 Exhibitor set-up
5:00 to 7:00 Local Prosperity Conference Registration opens
7:00 to 9:00 Main Hall – Conference Welcome and Openning Plenary Keynote Conversation
Welcome – Mayor Michael Tompkins
Two internationally recognized authors and speakers on new economics will each provide a short address, followed by a conversation with a guest moderator and discussions with the audience.
Michael Shuman – “The New Principles and Practice of Local Economic Development”
Marq de Villiers – “Solutions for Small Communities Are Already Here”
Moderator – Gregory Heming
Friday, April 10, 2015
LOCATION: ANNAPOLIS ROYAL REGIONAL ACADEMY – 590 St George St, Annapolis Royal, NS
8:00 Registration opens, Exhibitor set-up
8:30 Information Tables open
9:00 Main Hall – Opening Plenary Remarks – Robert Cervelli – “Setting the Stage: Next-in-class Tools for the New Economic Model”
9:30 Main Hall – Plenary Keynote Address – Michael Shuman – “The Coming Rural Renaissance, and the Tools of Local Economic Development that Can Accelerate It”
10:15 to 10:30 Main Hall – Introduction to Topic Tables & Networking Format for the Conference
10:30 to 11:00 Refreshment break
11:00 to 12:30 Breakout Workshop Period One (4 concurrent sessions) Sessions repeated in the afternoon
# 1 – Localizing Community Investment (Room 307)
# 2 – Local Complementary Currencies (Room 322)
# 3 – Shared Community Resources (Room 321)
# 4 – Local Energy Production and Distribution (Room 303) – see details of sessions at bottom of page
12:30 to 1:30 Box Lunch (Cafeteria) & Topic Tables Networking (Rooms 222, 223, 221, 220, 217)
1:30 to 3:00 Breakout Workshop Period Two (4 concurrent sessions) Morning sessions repeated
# 1 – Localizing Community Investment (Room 307)
# 2 – Local Complementary Currencies (Room 322)
# 3 – Shared Community Resources (Room 321)
# 4 – Local Energy Production and Distribution (Room 303) – see details of sessions at bottom of page
3:00 to 4:00 Refreshment break, Topic Tables Networking (Rooms 222, 223, 221, 220, 217)
4:00 to 4:30 Main Hall – Plenary Special Announcements & Day’s Overview
4:30 Adjourn
LOCATION: ANNAPOLIS BASIN CONFERENCE CENTRE – 761 Broadway Ave, Cornwallis Park, NS
Ride share board will be posted
5:30 Cash bar (Champlain Hall, Annapolis Basin Conf Centre) – featuring Mellow Tones Jazz Trio
6:30 Welcome – Warden Reg Ritchie
100Km Banquet
7:30 Banquet address: Steven Joudry First Nations and Rural Communities: Balance requires moving from isolation & marginalization to integration & collaboration.
8:30 Adjourn
Saturday, April 11, 2015
LOCATION: ANNAPOLIS ROYAL REGIONAL ACADEMY – 590 St George St, Annapolis Royal, NS
8:00 Registration and Information Tables open
9:00 Opening Plenary Remarks
9:15 Main Hall – Plenary Keynote Conversation: Two internationally recognized authors and speakers on new economics will each provide a short address, followed by a conversation with a guest moderator and discussions with the audience.
Dr. Anders Hayden – “Green Growth and Beyond”
Susan Witt – “Community Supported Industry”
Moderator – Robert Cervelli
10:30 to 11:00 Refreshment break
11:00 to 12:30 Breakout Period Three (4 concurrent sessions) Sessions repeated in the afternoon
#5 Small Farms and Food-sheds as Economic Drivers (Room 303)
#6 Value-added Fisheries as a Resource of the Commons (Room 322)
#7 Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests (Room 321)
#8 Arts & Culture Economy (Room 307) – see details of sessions at bottom of page
12:30 to 1:30 Box Lunch (Cafeteria) & Topic Tables Networking (Rooms 222, 223, 221, 220, 217)
1:30 to 3:00 Breakout Period Four (4 concurrent sessions) Morning sessions repeated
#5 Small Farms and Food-sheds as Economic Drivers (Room 303)
#6 Value-added Fisheries as a Resource of the Commons (Room 322)
#7 Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests (Room 321)
#8 Arts & Culture Economy (Room 307) – see details of sessions at bottom of page
3:00 to 4:00 Refreshment Break, Networking at Topic Tables (Rooms 222, 223, 221, 220, 217)
4:00 to 5:00 Main Hall – Closing Plenary Remarks: Overview Report of Topic Table Discussions, Special Presentations
5:00 Dinner on your own – A Night on the Town
Sunday, April 12, 2015
LOCATION: ANNAPOLIS ROYAL REGIONAL ACADEMY – 590 St George St, Annapolis Royal, NS
8:00 Registration and Information Tables open
9:00 Main Hall – Opening Plenary Announcements and Overview – Robert Cervelli
9:10 Main Hall – Plenary Keynote: Gregory Heming – “Economy and the Politics of Place“
9:30 to 11:15 Main Hall – Sunday Plenary Session – Governance in the New Economy: Living A New Narrative
The shift to a local, restorative economy must be matched by a shift in our model of local governance. This shift will require a grassroots democracy comprised of citizens familiar with and loyal to a particular place. It will be a model of citizenship and livelihood that is fair, equal, bold and visionary.
Moderator: Teresa MacNeil
Panellists: John Ferguson, CAO, Municipal County of Annapolis
Rankin MacSween, President, New Dawn Enterprises
Jack Novack, Professor, College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie
Dayle Eshelby, Municipal Councillor, Town of Lockport
11:15 to 11:30 Main Hall – Farewell Comments – Betsy Allard
11:30 Conference adjourns
Details Of Breakout Workshop Sessions (planned to date):
Session # 1 – Localizing Community Investment
This breakout session will explore the growing ways to attract local investment into local enterprise, including discussion on the how-to’s of CEDIF’s (Community Economic Development Investment Funds), identifying local angels and angel groups, entrepreneurial mentoring, crowdfunding, producer or worker owned co-ops, and micro-lending structures.
MODERATOR: Michael Shuman
Michael will moderate the session following his keynote address on the state-of-the-art for localizing investment into small communities.
PANELLISTS:
Linda Best, Farmworks. Linda will be presenting CEDIF’s, early lending and the success of Farmworks to food-related start-ups.
Andy Osburn, National Crowdfunding Association. Learn from Andy about the best platforms and techniques for crowdfunding in Canada and the region.
Andrew Button, Mashup Labs. Andrew will discuss business start-up mentoring and local support for early-stage entrepreneurs.
Jonathan McLellan, Nova Scotia Co-operative Council. Jonathan will speak on worker owned co-ops and the new Nova Scotia Impact Fund.
Session # 2 – Local Complementary Currencies
Exploring circulating local currencies, mutual credit systems, volunteer and service time banks, and producer/retailer promotional notes as ways to tip the ‘buy and do local’ equation in favour of the community, as well as local lending with local currency.
MODERATOR: Alice Maggio
Alice will provide background on the history of money, the current state of the art for local currency and mutual credit systems worldwide, and the values and benefits of local means of exchange. She will also introduce a number of projects being conducted in the Maritimes.
PANELLISTS:
Ryan Watson, CredEx. Ryan will present a promising new mutual credit system being developed in the region.
Michael Barton, Tatamagouche LETS System. An innovative mutual credit system and circulating exchange note.
Grace Murray, Downtown Truro Dollars. Successfully in its second year stimulating business activity in downtown Truro.
Session # 3 – Shared Community Resources
Sharing creates immediate wealth – embedded in the community. Creative new approaches to shared resources have been developed by many communities around the world. This breakout session will explore some of the best, including tool libraries, street banks, social transportation systems, food centres and food swaps, community social/business hubs, community gardens, harvest gleaners, community lotteries and other ways to build prosperity through the community commons. The session will also discuss the potential for community land trusts.
MODERATOR: Susan Witt
Susan will set the stage with a scan of some of the most innovative projects developed in communities worldwide, and introduce regional panelists at the front edge of building shared wealth. Susan will also share her depth of knowledge on community land trusts.
PANELLISTS:
Kelly Schnare, Halifax Tool Library. The library had an official launch in early October 2014 with over 600 tools for lending, and is quickly building membership. Kelly will discuss the ‘how-to’s’ of starting a library in any community.
Derek Gillis, Community Transit Nova Scotia. Derek will explore social-based transportation systems applicable to the region as well as a Nova Scotia pilot program which utilizes school buses for public transportation outside of school hours.
Frances Schagen, Kentville Development Corporation. Frances will describe the importance of community hubs, and provide excellent examples in our regions of different types of hubs and the important role they play in the community.
Session # 4 – Local Energy Production and Distribution
The ability to produce and store energy is one of the oldest forms of wealth. When the benefits of local energy production vest within the community, that wealth is realized firstly through import replacement, and secondarily through export of any excess energy produced. For example, some small local communities in Europe are now producing and selling 5 times more energy than they require. The session will highlight excellent examples in Atlantic Canada of local energy production, distribution and storage.
MODERATOR: Dana Morin, Fundy Tidal, Dana will give an overview of community energy initiatives in Atlantic Canada highlighting community energy initiatives, public and private distribution systems and challenges, community based applications for local energy production such as aquaculture and the diversity of Atlantic Canada’s energy story.
PANELLISTS:
Don Regan, Superintendent, Berwick Electrical Commission Don will speak on the benefits and issues to managing an independent electrical grid system.
Bob Ashley, CAO, The City of Summerside Bob will speak on Summerside’s success with energy storage, smart-grid technology and wind energy production.
Eric Christmas, Director of Operations, Beaubassin Mi’kmaq Wind Management Ltd. Eric will speak on First Nations local energy achievements and plans.
Session # 5 – Small Farms & Food Sheds as Economic Drivers
Local food consumption generates local wealth through local production. This breakout session will explore the fact that the number of farms in the region is increasing, and that there is a significant building momentum in small farms and local food production of all kinds. Small farms are becoming a viable economic driver in some regions. This phenomenon can be supported further through innovative infrastructure between producers and stores, restaurants and consumers, including more localized distribution hubs, grading stations, abbatoirs, co-operatively used licensed commercial kitchens and internet-based distribution networks. Increased consumer awareness and demand for local food is an important part of the equation – a well connected system is described as a ‘food-shed.’ Numerous studies have been done by other municipalities documenting the economic impact of shifting food consumption back to local sources.
MODERATOR: Joan Brady, Director, National Farmers Union
Joan will provide examples of how to activate and educate communities around food systems development and policy initiatives. She will introduce leading examples of local food systems, and panel discussions will pursue best steps forward for the further development of the ‘food-sheds’ in our region.
PANELLISTS:
Keltie Butler, Executive Director, Farmer’s Markets of Nova Scotia. Working at one of our front edges that link producers and consumers, Keltie will discuss proven ways to educate consumers, and promote and build local consumption.
Patrick Henderson, Really Local Harvest. Patrick will discuss the process of how a 12-farmer New Brunswick Co-op now provides locally-produced food to 22 schools.
Alicia Lake, Coordinator – Pan Cape Breton Local Food Hub. Alicia will describe the establishment of a virtual distribution hub for local food across Cape Breton.
Session # 6 – Value Added Fisheries as a Resource of the Commons
‘Fish is food’ – a simple saying that embodies the value of the resource. This breakout session will explore how innovative stewards of the fisheries are developing value-building community-oriented approaches to this important food resource, in the face of increased pressure towards commoditization, depletion and changes to the health of the oceans. Community supported fisheries (CSF’s) tied to owner-operators, community-owned quota and other emerging direct value builders for the fisheries will be discussed.
MODERATOR: Sheila Bird, Our Lobsters, Our Communities. While presenting the dynamics she learned from Nova Scotia wide community discussions, Sheila will explore opportunities, new ideas and next practices for this vital industry.
PANELLISTS:
David Adler, Off the Hook (Community Supported Fishery). As our first regional ‘CSF’, Dave will describe Off the Hook’s successes and how CSF’s can be developed further in our region, as well as the potential for seafood distribution hubs.
Michael Graham, College of the North Atlantic (Wave Energy Research Centre). Mike will present innovative new developments for integrated on-shore acquaculture systems and wave-powered water pumping.
Alen Newell, Trap-Caught Shrimp, Canso. Alen will describe innovations in live-harvest methods and new market opportunities, as an example of new approaches to increasing the value chain from the fisheries.
Session # 7 – Rebuilding the Value Chain from our Forests
The pressures our forests face are almost daily news. After generations of forestry a key question remains – how do we design a sustainable industry that doesn’t compromise the health of our forests. This session will explore potential for shifting the use of our forests to better support a viable future for our rural communities and environment. Creative solutions exist today – social innovation in forest management, high-end specialty products, more efficient value capture through aggregated and virtual sorting yards, co-op kilns and mills, stump to boiler community heat and power generation, etc. Panelists will share experience from some of these enterprises and discuss how they can be part of a more sustainable future for our communities.
MODERATOR: Will Martin, President, NS Woodlot Owners and Operators Association
Will Martin will highlight numerous creative examples of high-value forestry in the region and Canada, and introduce panelists from several of these ventures.
PANELLISTS:
Kari Easthouse, Cape Breton Privateland Partnership. Kari will describe the educational process of developing silvicultural plans for private woodlot owners.
Harold Alexander, North Range Timber Products. Harold will describe his 30 years experience running a small scale harvest and sawmill operation.
Jim Drescher, Windhorse Farm. Jim will speak on his many years of experience, and as the 6th generation, to steward an old-growth forest for integrated value-added production.
Glyn Bissix, Department of Community Development, Acadia University. Glyn will speak on community economic development of forests, and balancing multinational interests with local business development while increasing the value chain.
Session # 8 – Arts & Culture Economy
Heritage is essential to ‘place-making’, which acts as a unique place-based economic driver. The session will explore the importance of arts & culture in the economic fabric of vibrant rural communities, and how this can be used to increase a heritage-oriented sense of place – which increases tourism and provides many other benefits. We will discuss innovative activities that draw people in, such as theatre playhouses, home concerts, jam venues / sound studios and co-op art studios / galleries. New ideas for independent retail will be explored. For example, local governments and community activists can encourage ‘pop-up’ enterprises in existing empty store-frontages.
MODERATOR: Allister Surette, President and Vice-chancellor of Université Sainte-Anne.
PANELLISTS:
Marlene Ivey, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Design, NS College of Art & Design. Marlene will describe the importance of heritage and history in the unique identity of small communities.
Genevieve Allen Hearn, Arts Administrator, Kings County, NS. Genevieve will discuss the importance of cultural mapping and digital story telling in rural communities.
Marc Gauthier, Chair, Aberdeen Centre, Moncton, NB. Marc will speak on re-using existing architecture as an anchor, maker and marketplace for art and culture.
Shalan Joudry, Mi’kmaw writer, performance artist and oral storyteller.
Sunday Plenary Session – Governance in the New Economy: Living A New Narrative
The shift to a local, restorative economy must be matched by a shift in our model of local governance. This shift will require a grassroots democracy comprised of citizens familiar with and loyal to a particular place. It will be a model of citizenship and livelihood that is fair, equal, bold and visionary.
This Sunday plenary session will explore the role governance must play in allowing and encouraging a new economic model (small scale, local, restorative) to gain acceptance and traction. Realistic steps towards potential new policy and programming for various levels of government will be discussed. The session will discuss supporting the establishment of community hubs for social and business networking, sponsoring apprenticeships and mentoring for valuable local skills and other means of rebuilding and supporting the commons.
Jane Jacobs and other well known new economics authors have described the importance of ‘import replacement’ as the first means for a viable economy. Robust activity at import replacement quickly leads to export of those goods and services which were first developed for local markets.
MODERATOR: Teresa MacNeil
Teresa will provide an overview on how adaptive governance is essential for a new economic model, and she will highlight several best in class examples. The session will feature leaders in this area and engaged discussion.
PANELLISTS:
John Ferguson, CAO, Annapolis County. John will speak on what a municipality can do to encourage new ideas.
Rankin MacSween, President, New Dawn Enterprises
Jack Novack, Professor, College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie
Dayle Eshelby, Municipal Councillor, Town of Lockport
We will be building a resources library and hosting on-line connections to facilitate success in local economics ongoing from the conference.
“There is real evidence that real national prosperity — even global prosperity — begins at the local level and that by connecting entrepreneurs who are re-thinking their industries, funders who are investing in the local economy movement, and network organizers who can mobilize on a broad scale, we can — and will — create a stronger, more resilient, and fair economy.” – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
