A hum of excited voices filled the collaborative workspace at The Dock as students and community members came together for the Changemakers Summit, hosted by the University of Victoria (UVic) School of Environmental Studies.
The Changemaking Skills for Thriving Communities advanced studies course at UVic was created to link local partners with students who are passionate about creating social change in their communities. Students take on "community action projects" throughout the term, focusing on solutions that will affect needed change.
The students will work with community partners on a project learning about grassroots organizing and problem-solving at the community level."
Ryan Hilperts, environmental studies assistant teaching professor at UVic
To kick off project ideas and approaches, the class organized the Changemakers Summit to meet community leaders for a day of conversations and workshops on creating change at the community scale. Students received participation grades for planning and running the event while learning organizing skills.
"As a first offering of this course, I am thrilled to see the students step up and apply the principles of organizing to put this Changemakers Summit together," says Hilperts. "We wanted to introduce students to great community leaders so they could see change happening at the community level, and to be inspired by these leaders."
Student action projects
Graham Best, a fourth-year environmental studies and sociology student, thought the new course was an exciting opportunity to develop relationships with people working with communities.
"The class is interwoven with different groups and communities; it really drew me in," says Best. "My favourite part of today is getting to talk to everyone, ask them questions; I am not just consuming information I am participating."
Action projects range in scope, but all involve working with external groups that have vested interests in bettering the community like the Community Assembly Network or the Georgia Strait Alliance. One student group is researching the cycling interests of student populations for Capital Bike, while another is working with the UVic Sustainability Project to host the UVic Environmental Roundtable, while another is investigating options for a bird-safe campus project. The summit featured engaging break-out sessions and guest speakers from those organizations and others from the community who have experience with sparking change.
Community partners
Camille Currie, founder of BC Health Care Matters, was part of a panel that outlined the different ways one person can make a difference. For Currie, it began with curiosity.
I spearheaded a social movement that originated with the question, why are we losing our family doctors? It grew into a community of medical professionals and patients working together to put a new model in place to bring in more family doctors."
Camille Currie, BC Health Care Matters
"There is so much hope here today, the students are so inspiring. I want to continue to pass the torch and bring better care for patients."
Students noted that conversations at the Changemakers Summit are not theoretical.
"A lot of times in my regular classes, there is a focus on the problem and only at the very end do we focus on potential solutions," says student Sarah McCormick.
McCormick is in her last year at UVic, with a double major in environmental studies and sociology. She was excited to practice community organizing skills that are applicable to her future, as well as connect with people in careers out in the community.
Today I got so many ideas about future work, hearing from people who are passionate about their careers in non-profit. It is not just about money for me, [it's about] taking what we learn about these unjust systems and our knowledge, and doing something meaningful."
Sarah McCormick, environmental studies and sociology student
Beyond the summit, students can draw on the new ChangeMakers Library website for ideas. This digital showcase of inspiring changemaker stories was funded by a donation to environmental studies to support collaborative action and community solutions. The website is a publicly available resource that will continue to be developed and integrated into future community-engaged courses, like those available in the Transformative Climate Action program.
UVic is here for what matters including supporting meaningful changes in the community. Explore how UVic is connecting with the South Island community.
