Hamilton Civic Leadership Program

COHORT 1 IS FULL (January 2020 until July 2020)

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR COHORT 2 (August 2020 – March 2021)

* Cohort 2 session details to be confirmed.

Overview

The Hamilton Civic Leadership Program offers engaging and participatory sessions designed to deepen critical undestanding of democracy, civic engagement, civic inclusion and community organizing skills that can be used to develop leadership skills and promote civic inclusion and engagement among all youth. Special attention is given to Black, Indigenous, Trans, and Non-Binary youth in Hamilton and surrounding areas. The concept for this program was first created by City of Hamilton Councillor Nrinder Nann, before her time as councillor, and has since been adapted. 

This is a two year program, and is funded by the Canadian Heritage Department. The program is run by the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion. The first cohort of the program will run from January 2020 until July 2020. The second cohort of the program will run from August 2020 until March 2021. There will also be a research component facilitated in partnership with the Department of Social Work at McMaster University. We will work with program participants to figure out their qualitative barriers to civic engagement in Hamilton.

Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, as well as a reference letter upon completion. Participants in high school also receive volunteer hours.

Program Outcomes

Short term:
Participants will develop new perspectives on political institutions. They will learn about different forms of leadership, systems, and principles. Participants will also develop new competencies through values based conversations about belonging, inclusion, and community engagement.

Medium term:
Participants will understand government affairs at the municipal, provincial and federal level. They will also understand the parameters of civic duties, concepts around civic inclusion, and civic engagement. They will think critically about the plethora of tools used to make change.

Long term:
Participants will have an increased participation in the political process (such as voting, running for office, doing advocacy work, or community organizing)

Session Details (Cohort 1)

Session 1: Democracy and Civic Participation
This session offers youth a primer on what democracy and civic participation looks like. We will go over global historical movements and talk about present day democracy to unpack what navigating political spaces looks like. Participants will complete a worksheet prompting the kind of change they want to make and leadership skills they want to develop. This will help us match students with not for profits, advocacy groups, or unions to facilitate their next step in their journey as future leaders.

Date: Monday, January 20, 2020, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM 
Facilitator: Brittany Andrew-Amofah, Policy Analyst at the Broadbent Institute, and Consultant
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035), Hamilton

Session 2: Government Affairs: Municipal
This session will unpack how government affairs work on the municipal level. Youth will critically engage in learning about the municipal proccess of the City of Hamilton. Participants will get a tour of City Hall, and particiate in Model City Hall. Each youth will be assigned a municipal committee and an issue, and will present motions or changes that should be made based on their committee. This session is run in collaboration with the local Model City Hall chapter. This session will occur at the City of Hamilton’s municipal building in Council Chambers, after a tour of the building. This session will be marketed to Black youth to attend.

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM & Sunday, February 9, 2020, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Facilitators: Councillor Nrinder Nann, Councillor Maureen Wilson, Ruby Hye, Co-Founder of Model City Hall Hamilton
Location: Hamilton City Hall (Council Chambers), 71 Main Street West, Hamilton

Session 3: Government Affairs: Provincial
This session we will unpack how provincal affairs work, and the possible changes that can be made at this level of government. Youth will then be split up into various parties and we will run a mock legislative assembly meeting, with a case study that presents an issue. This will engage youth on the political proccess. We will then take a trip to Queen’s Park to watch legislative procceedings, and meet with Black elected officals. This session will be marketed to Black youth to attend.

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020, all day (overnight trip)
Facilitators: NDP Black Caucus
Location: 111 Wellesley Street West, Toronto, ON

Session 4: Government Affairs: Federal
This session will feature a panel of Black and Indigenous elected Federal MPs, and their staffers, who will discuss the importance of federal politics and how they got involved in the proccess. Participants will take a tour of Parliament Hill, attend question period, and draft a mock question to the Prime Minister. 

Date: Week of March 23, 2020 (Date TBC), all day (overnight trip)
Facilitators: Office of MP Matthew Green
Location: Wellington Street, Ottawa

Session 5: Running for elected office: School Boards, Municipal, Provincial, and Federal Government
This session will be for any marginalized group member to attend who is interested in running for an elected position. We will review how to run, build a team, and the common things to know before deciding to put your name on the ballot. We will have elected officals from marginalized communities speak to their experiences, and take questions from the participants. We will also prepare and hand out resources and educational materials.

Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Facilitators: Maria Felix, HWDSB Trustee
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035), Hamilton

Session 6: Community Organizing 101
This session will be for any marginalized group member to attend and learn about the importance of community organizing. We will unpack the history of community organizing in Hamilton, and talk about the different models of community organizing that exist. Utilizing the Ganz model of community organizing, we will present an issue to the group and ask them to come up with solutions using various tactics discussed. The goal of this session is to get people thinking about what community organizing looks like, separate from bureaucratic change making proccesses.

Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Facilitators: Pascale Diverlous, Co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035)

Session 7: Unionism 101
This session will be hosted by the Hamilton District Labour Council to discuss navigating union structures. This session will be marketed toward people from marginalized communities, but will be open to anyone to attend.

Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 
Facilitators: Hamilton District Labour Council (HDLC)
Location: 1031 Barton Street East, Hamilton

Session 8: Widening the Toolkit Part 1:
This session will be a crash course on how to public speak, using the Ganz Model of narrative building, and how to use personal stories to make change. This will also include information on managing social media, writing opinion articles, and the many tactics that can be used to build toward local change.

Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Facilitator: Alejandra Bravo, The Broadbent Institute
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035)

Session 9: Widening the Toolkit Part 2:
This session will be a meet and greet between students and representatives from different organizations and unions that exist locally to make change. The groups selected to attend will be based on the worksheets filled out by the students in the first session. Students can learn about the different organizations, and how to get involved locally.

Date: Monday, July 6, 2020
Facilitator: Sarah Jama, Senior Program Coordinator, Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI)
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035)

Session 10: Celebration & Reflection
This celebration will be time for participants to reflect on the successes of the program and what was learned. Students will receive their Certificates of Completion and have a chance to talk to family, friends, and community about what was learned, and their plans moving forward.

Date: Monday, July 20, 2020
Facilitator: Sarah Jama, Senior Program Coordinator, Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI)
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main Street West (Room 2035)

Cumulative Research Component: December 2020 to February 2021