The date: Saturday September 20, 2008

The place: Oakdale Community Centre, 350 Grandravine Drive, Toronto

We’ve gone through all the feedback and information gathered from our Forum. Here’s a small sample:

    “It was fantastic to be in a place full of different people, yet all with a common interest – a genuine care for their community. Thank you for holding this event, I hope you continue to have it more and more and more.”

“We want to have Dr. George Martell. He is a good speaker, a good advisor, and he understands people’s feelings. Thank you.”

Forum Agenda:

•  Introduction and Overview of Last Year’s Forum
•  Performance by local artist, sun
•  Speaker George Martell – Overcoming Class and Race Barriers in our Schools
•  Open Discussion
•  Performance by local artists, JAKing and Zea
•  Lunch
•  Speaker David Hulchanski – The Three Cities within Toronto:  Income polarization among Toronto’s neighborhoods, 1970-2000
•  Questions & Comments
•  Presentation of Jane-Finch On The Move’s Activities -– What we have done, what we are planning.

The presenters:

David Hulchanski is Director of the Centre for Urban and Community Studies (University of Toronto) and Professor at the Faculty of Social Work (University of Toronto).  His research is focused on housing, neighbourhood and community planning issues, including homelessness, discrimination, rental housing, and the related social policy and human rights aspects of these topics.  In 2007, he wrote the report, The Three Cities Within Toronto.

Professor George Martell has  taught at the Faculty of Education and the Atkinson School of Social Sciences at York University. Dr. Martell was also a former School Trustee on the City of Toronto Board of Education, founded an alternative school in a high-risk Toronto area, and has  published many works on various education issues. Over his career, Dr. Martell has  brought together Ontario teachers, school-board workers, parents, students  and union and community activists into one broad education coalition. He chaired the Ontario Education Alliance and was the research coordinator for the  Toronto Education Assembly, out of which the present Campaign for Public Education in Toronto emerged.

The future

Two more forums would follow in the wake of this gathering, each providing a variety of information. Here is a pertinent comment from the September Forum:

“Information is good but more needs to be done to point people in a direction, a focus for their energies.”

“Very positive; encouraging.”

“The status quo is the status quo because the people who have the power to make changes are comfortable the way things are. However, organizations such as this give community members a voice and allow us all to come together to make a difference. I appreciate your invite to this event. Keep up the good work.”

The purpose: This forum was the follow-up to the 2007 “Jane-Finch Is Getting On” forum.  That forum led to the formation of Jane-Finch On The Move (JFOTM).