Many of the registered participants at the first session mentioned that it was great to be in Council Chambers - at the end of the session the question of how people can see the Chambers, or take a tour came up. Access Toronto has a self-guided tour of City Hall available - the link to the information is here. Council Chambers are open during Council meetings -to find out when those are you can visit http://www.toronto.ca/city_council/index.htm
One thing I noticed is how often we use acronyms in our writing and speeches - must watch out for that. Many people might be unfamiliar with OMB (Ontario Municipal Board); GTA (Greater Toronto Area) or even TPS (Toronto Public Service - the staff of the City, but is sometimes used to refer to the Toronto Police Services). Hope everyone can help us to be mindful of this - just let us know if we slip one or two in that we haven't adequately explained.
Videos of the first session are now online. The posts include some preliminary analysis of the small group discussion around the question "What is the one thing you are most curious about the City".
http://www.toronto.ca/civic-engagement/civics101/session1.htm
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Being in the Toronto City Council Chambers certainly was a great way to start the Toronto Civics 101 sessions. It was a neat experience to sit in the 'control room' of Toronto and hear both the Mayor, David Miller, and the City Manager, Joseph Pennachetti speak about their experiences and views.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the participants, one question I found interesting and the responses to them were, "Why did you want to be part of Toronto Civics 101?"
I am looking forward to the next sessions!