This month, the Victoria Foundation was honoured to host, for the first time ever in our region, the Community Foundations of sa国际传媒鈥檚 biannual national conference.
It was remarkable.
Community Foundations of sa国际传媒 is a national organization devoted to supporting and connecting the 191 community foundations operating across sa国际传媒. It is also a champion of the issues that matter most to Canadians, from Truth and Reconciliation, to the United Nations鈥� Sustainable Development Goals, to gender equality.
Those issues were on everyone鈥檚 mind as more than 800 delegates from across sa国际传媒 and around the world gathered in our beautiful region to see old friends and meet new ones, to learn from and inspire one another and to discuss how to move our communities, and sa国际传媒 as a whole, into a better future.
From thought-provoking presentations from some of our nation鈥檚 leading thinkers, to deeply practical workshops meant to sharpen skills on the ground, the conference was a real opportunity for reflection and growth.
It was also a chance to highlight the best our region has to offer. I met and spoke to a huge number of people and heard so much gushing about how beautiful our region is and how inspired they were by the great work going on here.
A variety of site visits gave delegates the opportunity to visit some of our region鈥檚 most forward-thinking organizations and projects, such as the Food Security Distribution Centre, the Lookout Housing and Health Society鈥檚 safe consumption services and the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Poets and artists from the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria delighted and challenged delegates with provocative performances. And Experience Victoria and Dine Around events took visitors to some of the best sights and restaurants in town. Needless to say, everyone seemed most impressed.
I鈥檓 not too shy to say that the work we鈥檙e doing here at the Victoria Foundation also impressed visitors. Many of our staff and board made a variety of presentations, and our work, from our 14聽years of Vital Signs, to last year鈥檚 ground-breaking Civil Society report, is seen as the gold standard by many of our foundation friends.
I鈥檇 like to thank our staff and board who took part and especially the local volunteers who jumped in to help out: Your services were essential.
It was an incredibly busy few days and went by in a bit of a whirlwind, but the conference was exhilarating and inspiring. It brought up a lot of challenges and concerns, but still left me feeling optimistic about the future we can build together. Most of all, it reminded me it takes a community to build a community, and I鈥檓 proud we are part of such a motivated and caring one.
Sandra Richardson is CEO of the Victoria Foundation.
