JEDI hosted day two of our 3-part Virtual Plenary – Building Better Together 2 - on May 25, 2021. During this session we revisited our last plenary on Building Better Together in 2019. Duncan Gallant, the Research and Evaluation Coordinator at JEDI, shared a brief summary of the final report (developed from the last plenary) which included the highlights of our discussion and some of the recommendations. After that presentation, we broke out into discussion groups to review some of the key points like building relationships, opportunities, obstacles and recommendations. We also added Covid-19 to the discussion as this global pandemic has a huge influence on our economy now and moving forward.
To watch the full second day: JEDI's Building Better Together Virtual Plenary: Day 2
Day 2 Summary:
Duncan Gallant presented the highlights from the Building Better Together Report. The report can be found here: https://jedinb.ca/building-better-together-sshrc-report
The report is a summary of the Building Better Together plenary in 2019 that included stakeholders, leaders, and communities to discuss enhancing Indigenous economic development
The presentation included a background of the report, the process, overview of the findings, and the next steps forward
The report included key topics such as:
Relationship building, what Indigenous economic development is and the roles, Indigenous entrepreneurship, etc.
Identifying obstacles, opportunities, and priorities to achieve the development goals of Indigenous Peoples in New Brunswick
Discussion of the most important factors for successful community development, key priorities for Indigenous economic development, as well as key challenges/obstacles to the pursuit of Indigenous economic development
Listen to Duncan’s full discussion regarding the Building Better Together Report at 17:38!
During this webinar, we had five different breakout sessions:
Session A - Understanding Impacts of COVID-19
The key highlights were:
The challenges and obstacles many businesses/organizations have had to face
Working remotely
Adjustments to offering programs online
Making sure everything is up to protocol
The restrictions within the community and not being able to support loved ones
Virtual talking circles
The balance of staying safe but also taking care of yourself
The importance of online businesses
Businesses having to delay openings
Listen to the breakout session on Understanding Impacts of COVID-19 here:
Session B - Understanding Building Relationships
The key highlights were:
The first steps to building relationships is to get more people involved in understanding Indigenous Peoples and culture
The importance of partners being open-minded and respectful about Indigenous history
Establishing partnerships helps understand what communities need
The importance of “do what we say and say what we mean”
Be flexible and reliable, and be open to learning
Important to go into communities with an open mindset and to listen
Recommendations were to understand, utilize JEDI’s Indigenous Reconciliation Awareness Module (IRAM), and the importance of understanding the history
Listen to the recap of Understanding Building Relationships here: Building Better Together Plenary Day 2: Breakout Room B
Session C - Understanding Overcoming Obstacles
The key highlights were:
The challenges from the Building Better Together Report – defined and clarified
Discussed suggestion to modify or add to the list of challenges
SWOT analysis findings
Financing and social issues
Governance
Themes of education
Challenges of on-reserve vs. off-reserve business
Listen to the recap of Understanding Overcoming Obstacles here: Building Better Together Plenary Day 2: Breakout Room C
The second set of breakout sessions of the webinar included:
Session A - Understanding Key Opportunities
The key highlights were:
People leaving New Brunswick to find other opportunities
Trades are overlooked and should be considered as key opportunities to more people in New Brunswick
There is a need for more Indigenous labourers and workers within communities
Project Management could be a potential opportunity, it could be taught in high school
Growing agriculture, cannabis, tourism more within communities
Food security in New Brunswick
Renewable resources & natural resources
Listen to the recap of understanding key opportunities here: Building Better Together Plenary Day 2: Breakout Session 2, Room A
Session B - Understanding Recommendations to Stakeholders
Important to have meaningful consultations
Listening to criteria for funding dollars
The need for multi-year funding
Hiring Indigenous businesses in community projects
Building capacity
Listen to the recap of understanding recommendations to stakeholders here: Building Better Together Plenary Day 2: Breakout Session 2, Room B
Please stay tuned for our next blog post in this 3-part Webinar Series!
Here is the link to the recap of webinar 1 of the Building Better Together Webinar Series in case you missed it.