Community Workshop Findings
Community Workshops June 9 – 10, 2010
A. GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What was the most exciting idea you heard in the presentation on the project and project findings?
- I was just very glad to know that Clearview Township is finally looking at the cultural assets of the area – what can be done about all the history that has already been lost;
- Niagara Falls – original promotion;
- Build confidence in our own culture;
- Celebration of the area’s diversity;
- Cultural portal is exciting;
- Coordinating all of it;
- Keep people and tourists here;
- Collaboration amongst the communities;
- Authentic building of the community identity;
- Education of the community itself and local people about their own assets;
- Get people to buy into their own community and recognize its own assets;;
- Get past and break down competition between businesses and communities;
- Break down isolation;
- Pottery can be the destination as well as on the way to somewhere else;
- Cultural mapping being the base of economic development plans;
- Bringing in people instead of bringing in industries;
- No boundaries between local communities;
- Original branding – could bring youth into the discussion;
- Engagement – Wikipedia based;
- Link between culture and economic growth;
- Industry and business following people “bring people/develop a community”;
- Common database and pulling together all facets. Allowing stakeholders to update their information;
- Developing a community;
- Collaboration of information and efforts;
- Mapping resources not picked up by Yellow Pages or Stats Canada;
- Four municipalities working together;
- Storytelling from current to past;
- Links to other events taking place such as the Gaslight Tour;
- Definition of a cultural brand;
- Quality and uniqueness, authenticity, sense of place.
2. What is the greatest opportunity for the region in cultural mapping?
- Increased economy;
- Growth – to draw a stronger tourism base economy and get our history out there – all our history;
- Cultural mapping as integral to municipal cultural planning;
- Creating an opportunity to talk about culture in each community and in the region;
- Culture as one of the four pillars of a sustainable community;
- Embedding culture within municipal plans and budgets;
- Information and statistics to better understand culture in each municipality and the region;
- Integrating the cultural assets into Town GIS with attributes for each category of cultural data;
- Local culture is interesting in its own right;
- Build on the embarrassment of riches, stories, artists, crafts people;
- Potential is huge to promote the incredibly creative local people collectively;
- Emerging economy of creative workers – support entrepreneurship;
- Support culinary tourism – build on 100 mile store;
- Build and expand on Simcoe County Museum’s Farm Fresh project – tastings;
- Incorporate cultural and natural heritage – link to local trails – interpretative trails;
- Look at the whole region for a museum;
- Interactive mapping will attract youth and visitors to the area;
- Linking stories together;
- Economic spinoffs from cultural heritage;
- Tourism – both local and regional;
- Historical preservation;
- Incorporating children and youth in the local history;
- Chronicling the stories and the need to encompass the storytellers who may not be computer-savvy and have someone to add their stories;
- Recording the intangibles;
- Cultural planning: Culture as integral to planning;
- Recognition within local municipal government;
- Knowledge base to help establish policy;
- Importance of branding;
- Connecting historical artifacts with modern artist’s products.
3. Are there additional sources of information on cultural assets that you know about that should be investigated?
- Absolutely;
- Spoke to staff regarding historical areas to research;
- Municipal plans and data bases;
- Tourism guides;
- Coordinate with tourism groups, BIAs, local municipal recreation guides;
- Manfred Limegardt’s newspaper archive;
- Libraries;
- Local historical books;
- Elderly people – involve the youth with interviewing them;
- Chatham Kent has gone through a similar process;
- Potential to take a presentation to existing groups for their contribution (Legion, Jazz in the Park, Leisure Time, Senior’s Homes);
- Book prepared by Ann Sneyd;
- Mycollingwood.ca;
- Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts;
- Georgian Bay Association for Creative Arts;
- Websites;
- Downtown BIA, Chamber of Commerce and Georgian Triangle Tourism Association
4. Do you have other ideas or suggestions for the project?
- More partnerships and 2nd generators;
- Make sure cultural mapping gets supported – ongoing support;
- Establish cultural development dictator for the whole Georgian Triangle;
- Reduce duplication and use existing vehicles such as recreation guides to promote cultural mapping results;
- Cultural Mapping “info booth” at events to gather local stories from residents;
- Making the project known to the greater community.
B. PARTICIPANT SURVEY
1. What was the most valuable part of the meeting for you?
- Coming together for common goal;
- The willingness of the various groups to embrace the CM concept;
- Meet people;
- Gain knowledge of the direction for the area;
- Hear stories;
- The presentation;
- Good discussion;
- Brainstorming;
- The chance to talk about ideas on how to get the word out about the project;
- Examples of successful projects in other locations;
- Realizing that more people are more interested than I thought in our culture and history which is quite diverse;
- Meeting with the cultural enthusiasts of the area;
- Seeing the various businesses and groups present;
- Realizing how big a scope that this project is;
- Learning about the database and how it interfaces with the GIS maps;
- Posting cultural assets on the maps;
- Showing a new developmental perspective;
- Interaction between the audience and the presenters;
- Learning about the potential for cultural mapping to increase awareness of the impact of cultural activities on economic development;
- Potential of cultural mapping;
- New York City of Memory project and the personal stories of people on the web.
2. What was the greatest benefit of attending?
- Enthusiasm – looking forward;
- Learning first hand about cultural mapping
- Gaining an appreciation for the usefulness of cultural mapping as a tool to enhance our community planning;
- Meeting people;
- Gain knowledge of the direction for the area;
- Meeting new cultural ambassadors;
- Hearing stories about the region;
- The possibility that this area I love so much may develop a solid way to promote itself; to grow and thrive economically while embracing our past, our various cultures;
- Learning about the communities;
- Interactive feel;
- Understanding the project and how we can participate;
- Becoming aware of the cultural mapping that is available for our area;
- Gathering ideas to take back to our Board;
- Hearing about the process to produce a cultural map to build awareness.
3. What do you wish we’d done that we didn’t or weren’t able to do?
- More discussion on next steps;
- More information with the map;
- It should have been done years ago;
- Asking participants to visit the website prior to the workshops;
- Learn more about the data, how to access and add information;
- Provide more information prior to the workshop;
- Discovered what other people put on the map.
4. If you could have changed one thing about the meeting, what would that be?
- More attendance from various cultural groups;
- Variety;
- To have convinced more of the established cultural and tourist related groups to attend – will continue to get the word out;
- More ability to see the database/map;
- Summary of next steps – expectation for more active work in future;
- Smaller group discussions;
- More time.