Emerging Leaders for Sustainable Community Development (ELSCD)

Overview

In June 2017, Emerging Leaders' Dialogues Canada,
McGill University's Institute for the Study of International
Development, and Vancouver Island University held an
inaugural innovative initiative, The Emerging Leaders
for Sustainable Community Development program,
which promoted relationship building and reconciliation
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities
through leadership collaboration and development.

The program themes were Ethics and Good Governance;
Inclusiveness, Diversity and Community Engagement;
Collaborative Leadership; and, Sustainability.

Over 6 days, this program brought together 38 emerging
leaders for three days of classroom work and three days
of study tours on Vancouver Island.

The classroom component, delivered by the Institute for
the Study of International Development, Vancouver Island
University and the Nanwakolas Council, was divided into
6 modules which were examined from an indigenous/
non-indigenous perspective and explored the implications
for future leaders.

The six modules were:

1 Introduction and Leadership Experiences
2 The Importance of Voice and Participation
3 Creating Opportunities
4 Social and Public Programs to Promote Leadership
5 Leadership and Identity-Creation
6 Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Perspectives on the Environment

Participants were divided into smaller study tour
groups and spent three days visiting business enterprises,
unions, government departments as well as civil society
organizations in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous
communities. These on-site visits provided an opportunity
to discuss real challenges and strategies with community
leaders. Interacting with such a diverse mix of organizations
exposed them to a range of issues from multiple perspectives,
and provided an opportunity to look beyond the
scope of their regular context. The insights gained from
these meetings promoted understanding and connection
and informed the project work of the groups.

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.

Advisory Committee

Hon. Mary Collins DIRECTOR, EMERGING LEADERS' DIALOGUES CANADA
Spencer Dane TREASURER, EMERGING LEADERS' DIALOGUES CANADA
Kerry Harris DIRECTOR, EMERGING LEADERS' DIALOGUES CANADA
Sharon Hobenshield DIRECTOR, ABORIGINAL EDUCATION, VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY
Professor Sonia Laszlo DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MCGILL UNIVERSITY
Dr. Fred C. Wien PROFESSOR EMERITUS, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Wanda Wuttunee PROFESSOR OF NATIVE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA

Management Team

Patrick Brennan EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Barbara Crompton PRESIDENT, SPRINGSTREET COMMUNICATIONS
Joanne Hughes EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EMERGING LEADERS' DIALOGUES CANADA