In the spirit of collaboration

How do Greater Victoria's post-secondary institutions work together with municipalities to benefit the region? First, you get everyone in the same room and start the conversation.

On June 2, the presidents of Royal Roads University and Camosun College joined UVic President Jamie Cassels in welcoming more than 80 elected municipal officials, city managers and academic leaders from the three post-secondary institutions to an inaugural Catalyst Conversations forum that challenged participants to imagine how they could work together to benefit our region.

"It was wonderful to see such a great turnout and to talk with so many people who share a commitment to this region," said Cassels. "It became clear that there are many ways in which municipalities and academic institutions might collaborate, and I know that colleagues at UVic are planning to follow through on connections they made at the event, and moving ideas forward in the days and weeks to come."

In a facilitated session that had participants suggest their own topics, followed by free-flowing discussion in groups, the session considered the assets each had to contribute, sparking ideas and conversations that resulted in new connections and ways of looking at common opportunities and challenges.

As topics were suggested several broad themes emerged including: community and economic well-being, environmental sustainability, social responsibility and regional opportunities. A total of 22 topics evoked lively discussions on everything from transportation issues to affordable housing for youth, from watershed stewardship to supporting youth arts and culture, from Indigenous education to harnessing student course work for community projects.

"It was very gratifying to see the enthusiasm and commitment that so many of our municipal leaders and educational colleagues brought to this forum," said Joy Davis, UVic director of community relations and the event's organizer. "When you ask people to talk about the things they are passionate about, it sparks that passion in others. Combine that spark with shared values and collaboration, and amazing things can happen."

The full list of topics and discussions will be summarized soon, and an animated graphic video will be produced about the key assets and themes. But the real results of the session will come from the connections that many of the participants made, and the conversations they will continue to have.

"In planning this forum, we did not have a pre-determined outcome we wanted to achieve," Cassels noted. "Instead, the goal was to strengthen communication and engagement between the region's municipalities and higher education institutions, in the belief that together we can meet the challenges and seize opportunities to enhance life in our region. Judging from the enthusiasm from everyone there, it was very successful."