Edmonton’s Community League system is relatively unique in Canada — but the beauty of being community-focused is that there’s always something to learn from and something to teach to cities across the country. People everywhere, after all, are trying to bring people together to better their communities.
We recently hosted Ken McKim, who is working with the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of various forms of community organizing, and show him some examples of how Edmonton Community Leagues have struck a balance. Winnipeg’s system has a more explicit focus on buildings and recreation opportunities than our network of Community Leagues, but they deal with many of the same issues: how do you engage enough volunteers to keep programs running? How do you maintain community spaces in light of the rising costs of everything? How do you balance community identity and connection against the resources that can come with broader bases of people?
Perhaps the biggest thing we have in common is that both of our organizations have ideas, not answers. We were happy to be able to show off one of our League facilities that has an abundance of ideas, the Alberta Avenue Community Centre. As hosts of everything from tax workshops to theatre companies, community gardens to professional wrestling nights, they’re a wonderful example of how great spaces make for great communities — and how you never know how people will come together until you give them a chance to.
We look forward to more chances to explore ideas and share our knowledge not just in our backyard, but in neighbourhoods everywhere. And we can’t wait to keep sharing the wonderful work our Leagues do, to prove to the country that Edmonton truly is a model for how to build community everywhere.
