Every time I go to an event to create a graphic recording, I learn about something new. But it's seldom that I get a two-day window on a subject so close to home.
It's been over a month since I travelled up to Edmonton to listen in on ECMap's Spring Gathering. But now I'm finally starting to find the time to get caught up and post a few pictures here on my blog. If you have children, you'll want to know about what these guys are doing - so read on!
It's been over a month since I travelled up to Edmonton to listen in on ECMap's Spring Gathering. But now I'm finally starting to find the time to get caught up and post a few pictures here on my blog. If you have children, you'll want to know about what these guys are doing - so read on!
ECMap
The Early Child Development Mapping Project ("ECMap" - that's two syllables, "Eck- Map") was contracted by Alberta Education for a five-year period to conduct research on early childhood development in Alberta, and build community coalitions to respond to local needs.
The intent of the research has been to provide families, service providers, educators, communities and policy makers with a picture of how young children in Alberta are doing, so that they can work together to support healthy development. The five years are up, and participants from all over Alberta, representing 91 "coalitions" (regional groups), attended the Spring Gathering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Coalitions received updated results for their communities. The results are based on data for 70,206 kindergarten-aged children in Alberta, gathered over a five-year period from 2009 to 2013.
The intent of the research has been to provide families, service providers, educators, communities and policy makers with a picture of how young children in Alberta are doing, so that they can work together to support healthy development. The five years are up, and participants from all over Alberta, representing 91 "coalitions" (regional groups), attended the Spring Gathering at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Coalitions received updated results for their communities. The results are based on data for 70,206 kindergarten-aged children in Alberta, gathered over a five-year period from 2009 to 2013.
The Team
ECMap is made up of a group of agencies and individuals that have expertise in and a passionate commitment to early childhood development in Alberta. Take a look here to meet some of the members of the team, including Launa Clark and Line Perron, two event organizers who especially inspired me with their vision and energy. If only I had the time, I feel like I could write a great story about the way this project has come together through the diverse talents of a whole range of interesting people. And just in case you think this sounds like the kind of work that only attracts women, let me assure you that men are part of the story too - including Fahim Hassan, a U of A grad student originally from Bangladesh. I took a look at Fahim's website and you might like it too!
Getting the Picture
The conference kicked off with a presentation by ECMap's Project Director, Dr. Susan Lynch. Sue presented the attendees with an overview of the much-anticipated results of the five-year study. Although it sounded like there was still a bit of number-crunching to do, the presentation provided a great deal of food for thought for these dedicated volunteers who have been trying to make a difference for families in their communities. We also heard from government representatives David Woloshyn and Sheryl Fricke. As for me, I just tried to keep up - there was so much to learn!
The Map!
Visionary ECMapper Launa Clark came up with the idea of a 10-foot-high map on the wall, which we could populate with stories about what's been happening all over the province. Here's how it filled up. And yes, I actually stood on a stepladder to reach the top!
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People from all over Alberta came to this event to tell stories about what they'd been doing in their part of Alberta to help new parents and young children get the resources they needed to live healthy, happy lives. It was completely inspiring to me to hear how each region had created a plan that was unique to the needs of their community, based on their available resources - "roving gyms," home-based preschools, community fairs, and initiatives such as the following:
Family friendly businesses: Coalitions in Hanna and Rimbey launched campaigns to persuade local businesses to serve families better by providing, for example, change tables in washrooms, access for strollers and a welcoming environment.
Community outreach: The Calgary North of McKnight coalition translated its Early Development Instrument results, as well as tips on early development, into Punjabi, Hindi, Farsi, French, English, Arabic and Urdu to serve the needs of a large immigrant population. The Vegreville coalition has set up a family mentoring program that pairs active, well-connected families with those that are less engaged or newcomers to help overcome their isolation and encourage them to get involved with the community.
Isn't this inspiring? You can find many more stories on the ECMap website here.
Family friendly businesses: Coalitions in Hanna and Rimbey launched campaigns to persuade local businesses to serve families better by providing, for example, change tables in washrooms, access for strollers and a welcoming environment.
Community outreach: The Calgary North of McKnight coalition translated its Early Development Instrument results, as well as tips on early development, into Punjabi, Hindi, Farsi, French, English, Arabic and Urdu to serve the needs of a large immigrant population. The Vegreville coalition has set up a family mentoring program that pairs active, well-connected families with those that are less engaged or newcomers to help overcome their isolation and encourage them to get involved with the community.
Isn't this inspiring? You can find many more stories on the ECMap website here.
There's me, listening to stories and trying to place them in spots near to where they actually happened! And here are some close-ups.
Our "Twitterfall"
I loved this!! I only started using Twitter about a year and a half ago, but I have quickly become addicted to it. I thought this was a great way to get a conversation happening. As conference participants sat together in small groups, they tweeted their ideas, using the hashtag #championforchildren. The tweets were projected onto a big screen, and as they appeared, I recorded the ideas on a poster. Talk about a great way to use social media! One of the hardest things about graphic recording is finding a way to capture content when it's a really big group and everyone's talking at the same time. This was the way to do it!
Conversations
I think my favourite part of this project was listening to the conversations people were having, and hearing them talk about the challenges and successes in their own communities. Here are some pictures from those conversations.
I especially liked the random sound bytes I heard, like the comment illustrated opposite. It just hits so close to home for me! If you read my post from a few months back entitled, "How the Playgroup Saved My Life," you'll know why!
I especially liked the random sound bytes I heard, like the comment illustrated opposite. It just hits so close to home for me! If you read my post from a few months back entitled, "How the Playgroup Saved My Life," you'll know why!
GenSqueeze
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think my favourite thing about working as a graphic recorder is having the opportunity to listen in on so many fascinating talks. I learn so much about so many different things. The ECMap team invited Vancouver-based Paul Kershaw (an associate director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) and a policy professor at UBC) to speak at their conference, and I loved hearing his talk and learning about the project he is passionately advocating for - "Generation Squeeze."
Paul Kershaw looking less than optimistic The Canada-wide Generation Squeeze project is working to close what they call the generational spending gap in Canada. It sounds as though Canadian governments spend a great deal more on caring for our country's elderly citizens, than investing in our young ones. An interesting statistic from the GenSqueeze website: "Canadian governments spend as much subsidizing livestock and agriculture as child care and parental time at home with a new baby."
As a GenSqueezer myself (helping aging parents while trying to work and raise a young family at the same time), it definitely resonates with me when I hear about new parents needing more resources!
As a GenSqueezer myself (helping aging parents while trying to work and raise a young family at the same time), it definitely resonates with me when I hear about new parents needing more resources!
However, it's not just true from the point of view of someone in the middle of the squeeze. My 97-year-old grandfather, whom I've written about elsewhere, has been talking with me for years about the importance of investing in programs that allow new parents to spend time at home with their young children.
How (he asks) will these children be set up to live fruitful, fulfilled lives, if they don't have the opportunity to learn from their parents about what families are like, what they do, how they work? New parents - mothers included - can and should be able to work, too, of course. But according to my grandfather - and GenSqueeze - the government could be doing a better job to make things easier for them. Here's what they suggest:
How (he asks) will these children be set up to live fruitful, fulfilled lives, if they don't have the opportunity to learn from their parents about what families are like, what they do, how they work? New parents - mothers included - can and should be able to work, too, of course. But according to my grandfather - and GenSqueeze - the government could be doing a better job to make things easier for them. Here's what they suggest:
"Our goal is simple. A Better Generational Deal. Save Canadians tens of thousands of dollars as young adults so they can reduce student debt, save for a home, afford a family, and plan for retirement. Do this while safeguarding the medical care and old age security on which our aging population will depend.
This is affordable. We can build a Better Deal by increasing spending on Canadians under age 45 by a small amount – $1k per person – raising government spending per young person from $12k to $13k. Spending per senior would remain around where it is at $45k/year."
Here's a snippet from the comic strip I drew for this year's Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, depicting my "super power" - being a multi-tasking mom! (Have I posted this whole comic strip anywhere yet? I can't remember. Maybe I'll put it at the end of this post!)
You can visit the GenSqueeze website and sign up to be part of their initiative. Paul Kershaw's message was pretty clear - the more Canadians who speak up about this, the more effective their message will be. You can join GenSqueeze here. I did!
This is affordable. We can build a Better Deal by increasing spending on Canadians under age 45 by a small amount – $1k per person – raising government spending per young person from $12k to $13k. Spending per senior would remain around where it is at $45k/year."
Here's a snippet from the comic strip I drew for this year's Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, depicting my "super power" - being a multi-tasking mom! (Have I posted this whole comic strip anywhere yet? I can't remember. Maybe I'll put it at the end of this post!)
You can visit the GenSqueeze website and sign up to be part of their initiative. Paul Kershaw's message was pretty clear - the more Canadians who speak up about this, the more effective their message will be. You can join GenSqueeze here. I did!
And you can become part of what ECMap is doing, too, by joining your local Coalition and getting involved in how you can help parents and young children in your area to thrive. Of course there are lots of great local volunteer opportunities around, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more inspiring one than this!
And now I'm switching my focus to get ready for graphic recording at some upcoming talks hosted by Calgary's Chic Geek. One of the speakers is Mary Anne Moser of Beakerhead. I have a feeling Mary Anne and the Chic Geeks might like this comment from an ECMap participant (illustrated below)! Hope to see you at this next event, entitled "Fierce Conversations" - tickets are $25 and anyone can attend. It's happening tomorrow evening, Wednesday, June 25th, at The Commons, a really unique coworking facility in my own little hood, Ramsay (yes - Ramsay is the coolest). See you soon!
And now I'm switching my focus to get ready for graphic recording at some upcoming talks hosted by Calgary's Chic Geek. One of the speakers is Mary Anne Moser of Beakerhead. I have a feeling Mary Anne and the Chic Geeks might like this comment from an ECMap participant (illustrated below)! Hope to see you at this next event, entitled "Fierce Conversations" - tickets are $25 and anyone can attend. It's happening tomorrow evening, Wednesday, June 25th, at The Commons, a really unique coworking facility in my own little hood, Ramsay (yes - Ramsay is the coolest). See you soon!
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And - as promised (and please tell me if I've posted this before) - my piece for the Comics Expo on the theme of "Fantastic Adventures." Real life definitely provides all the fantastic adventures I can handle!
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