It’s the beginning of another school year and we’re excited to share the happenings and highlights around the studio from the past few months:
CITYSTUDIO SOCIETY HIGHLIGHTS
Our staff retreat
The CityStudio team held its annual retreat in person a few weeks ago, with a simple purpose: To connect with each other and ground us to our work. We reflected on our relationship to our mission and developed new approaches to our work for the next year, with the aim of refining and strengthening our commitment to youth engagement and civic action.
The Future of Work is Less
We are continuing our experimentation with a reduced work week, learning new things almost daily related to communication and scheduling in this phase, which concludes in December. Most recently, the reporting, and our own experience, is confirming that the future of work will very likely be a permanent, fully paid, reduced week in most sectors. Even with the time management challenges, the team is unanimous in appreciating the high level of autonomy the experiment is allowing within their work, towards a more reasonable work-life balance.
GLOBAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Global By The Numbers
With each term, we see the network impact numbers grow and it leaves us feeling inspired. As of the end of this 10th summer, there have been:
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- 16 cities
- 13,809 students
- 2,615 projects
- 296,255 project hours
- 703 City staff and 716 faculty members
New Chapter for the Global Team
This summer we bid farewell to our Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Suparna Gupta, as well as our Global Business Development Lead, Alix Linaker. Both of whom contributed greatly to the CityStudio Network. We wish them nothing but the best in the next phase of their careers!
CityStudio Project Coordinators Are Now Certified!
We’re very pleased to announce that we’re offering a Project Coordination Certification Course for all new CityStudios. The training provides a way to certify experts in local municipal/academic collaborations in English et en Français.
CityStudio South Island in the Works!
CityStudio South Island is the newest CityStudio to join the CityStudio Network. In partnership with the City of Langford and the City of Colwood, it’s the 11th in Canada, 5th in BC, and the first to be hosted exclusively within a Business School at Royal Roads University. For students, this will offer a unique experiential learning opportunity to work as part of a cohort working directly with city staff on municipal challenges through a client-based approach. We are looking forward to seeing the unique projects that come out of this exciting partnership!
VANCOUVER PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
A Decade of Innovation With Youth at the Centre of City Building
10 years ago, Vancouver was on the cusp of change with a new mayor, a new council and a vision to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. The City was looking for bold and ambitious ideas in which to make this dream a reality. Our big idea envisioned youth – with their hopes, energy and creativity – at the heart of city building. And here we are 10 years later, with countless stories of impact that reach much further than Vancouver. Thoughts, wishes and celebratory videos from our Co-Founders, Director, Board Chair and University Presidents can be seen in CityStudio Vancouver Celebrating 10 Years of Innovation, Relationships and Youth at the Centre of City Building.
Stories of Innovation and Inspired Action
When we tell the story of CityStudio in this decade, we wanted to do it from first hand accounts of the many amazing people who have collaborated with us over the years. We put out a callout for stories and experiences from our past collaborators and alumni and we were blown away! We’re truly inspired by the stories we received and we want to honour the journey these changemakers have taken, the time we shared together, and the relationships that left an impact on our team and programs. Read their stories, quotes and more in Stories of Innovation and Inspired Action.
HUBBUB back at City Hall
After three years of hiatus, HUBBUB (and popcorn) are back at City Hall. Mark the date: December 5, 9:30am to 12:30pm. We know there is uncertainty but also excitement to see in person, the students pitching their proposed creative solutions to make Vancouver more sustainable, equitable, and joyful.
