Emerging Leaders for Sustainable Community Development (ELSCD)

Overview

Emerging Leaders' Dialogues Canada offered this innovative program which promotes relationship building and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities through leadership collaboration and economic development.

The program themes were Ethics and Good Governance; Inclusiveness, Diversity and Community Engagement; Collaborative Leadership; and, Sustainability. The module component delivered by the Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University, Vancouver Island University and the Nanwakolas Council was divided into 5 modules which were examined from an Indigenous/non-Indigenous perspective and from the implications for future leaders.

The five modules were:

1 Leadership, Self and Community: Understanding the Role of Culture, Language, Traditions in Effective Leadership
2 Balancing Community Socioeconomic Objectives to promote Community Wellbeing
3 Inspiring Action for Healthy Community Development
4 Building Community Leadership Skills and Capabilities
5 Collaborative and Respectful Leadership in a Globalized/Localized World

Participants were divided into two experiential dialogue groups and spent three days visiting business enterprises, government departments, and civil society organizations in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. These on-site visits to organizations and communities provided the opportunity to discuss challenges and strategies with leaders from varied organizations.

Interacting with such a diverse mix of organizations exposed participants to a range of issues from multiple perspectives and created opportunities to look beyond the scope of their regular context within their own organizations. The insights gained from these meetings promoted dialogue, understanding and connections which informed the final written and oral presentations. As well, the groups created concrete action items designed to engage in post program alumni engagement, one of the founding tenants of Emerging Leaders' Dialogue Canada, ensuring that ELSCD will continue to evolve.

Leadership

Government, businesses, civil society organisations and research institutions all have different goals, tasks and responsibilities. The private sector has an efficient, market-oriented approach; civil society organisations' have in depth knowledge of local circumstances; research institutions contribute expertise; and public administrators are adept at policy building and transparency.

By working together these sectors can bring together the necessary experience, knowledge, investment, technologies and resources to address industry issues which may have been overlooked by a single-sector programme or approach.

The Emerging Leaders for Sustainable Community Development program is unique amongst leadership programmes for operating cross sector opportunities. Enabling emerging leaders to experience and understand what processes other sectors operate under. This intensive program develops peer-to-peer critical leadership competencies, including collaboration, integration, and critical thinking. It also places great emphasis on trust, integrity and leadership with accountability. This creates connected leaders who can create partnerships across sectoral, cultural and geographic divides.

Multi-Stakeholder Approach

Many sectors of society grapple with the complicated landscape of sustainable development. Within the juxtaposition of economic, social and environmental issues affecting businesses, governments, NGOs, and other organizations, there are new complex challenges as well as emerging opportunities for innovation. Public, private and civil society organizations are facing increased pressure to integrate economic, environmental and social issues in their economic development plans. The Emerging Leaders for Sustainable Community Development program chose to take a multi stakeholder approach to reconciliation and sustainable development challenges as they are too interrelated and complex for any single organization or sector to address in isolation.

Sustainable Development

On September 25, 2015, countries adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity of all. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Governments, businesses, civil society and the United Nations have started to mobilize efforts to achieve the SDGs. Balancing the need for sustainable development with economic growth is a challenge for all sectors of society. Achieving this through a lens of reconciliation and multi stakeholder dialogue is challenging. ELSCD provides participants with an academic framework to understand sustainability and allows them to see first hand the way organizations are, or are not, incorporating sustainable practices into their operations.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a complex concept with a variety of definitions. One of the commonly used definitions is provided by the United Nations: Reconciliation is a key objective in building sustainable peace and preventing a relapse into conflict. It is about (re) building relationships among people and groups in society and between the state and its citizens. The process is highly context sensitive, and each society must tailor its approach to the nature of the conflict and the character of the transition (UN, Building Just Societies: Reconciliation in transitional settings, Ghana 2012).

Indigenous peoples in Canada and internationally seek a quality of life that others take for granted. Sustainable community development must harness the human resource capacity of Indigenous peoples and enable them to benefit from the lands and natural resources in their communities.

Their effective and sustainable use is critical for economic development, building partnerships with industry, and maintaining strong relationships with other communities. Leadership is required to tackle these issues and help guide Canada and other countries towards models of inclusive development.

Working Committee

Paula Amos INDIGENOUS WORX
Matthew Bock NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA
Dr Rick Colbourne UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Dr Jonathan Dewar FIRST NATIONS INFORMATION GOVERNANCE CENTRE
Dan Hughes INDIGENOUS SERVICES CANADA
Hilary Hunter INDIGENOUS SERVICES CANADA
Eric Klapatiuk FRIENDSHIP HOUSE
Emmanuelle Lopez-Bastos UFCW CANADA
Brianna Thorne VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY
Rob Woods INDIGENOUS MARKETS WESTERN REGION, CIBC

Management Team

Paula Amos PARTNER, INDIGENOUS WORX
Barbara Crompton PRESIDENT, SPRINGSTREET COMMUNICATIONS
Joanne Hughes EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EMERGING LEADERS' DIALOGUES CANADA
Prof. Sonia Laszlo DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT