Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Time: 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Location: West Hillhurst Community Association, 1940 6 Avenue NW, Calgary, AB
Please join us for our 2012 AGM. We will be presenting an overview of the current chapter state and activities for our 2011/2012 year. We received one nomination for the 2012-2013 President, so a vote of confidence will be conducted at the meeting to formalize the position. The nominee’s statement is presented below. After the formal AGM, there will be an opportunity to mix and mingle with fellow EWBers and find out where you can be involved.
Mark your calendars! National Conference 2013 will be happening January 11-14 at the Hyatt Regency Calgary.
We have an amazing team hard at work to bring you EWB’s best National Conference yet:
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Time: 6:30 to 8:00 pm Location: West Hillhurst Community Association, 1940 6 Avenue NW, Calgary, AB
Please join us for our 2012 AGM. We will be presenting an overview of the current chapter state and activities for our 2011/2012 year. Election of the 2012/2013 Chapter President will also occur at this time. Information on candidates will be provided in advance of the meeting. After the formal AGM, there will be an opportunity to mix and mingle with fellow EWBers.
Nominations for President are being accepted until May 10. Please see our websitefor nomination criteria and process.
Reflections from Zambia and Malawi
Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012 Time: 6:30 to 8:30 pm Location: MEC Community Room, 830 – 10th Ave SW (the community room is located on the 2nd floor of the store, near the back).
Join us as our 2011 Professional Fellows Eric Limacher and Kevin Hanson share their experiences from working overseas. Eric was a member of the African Value Chains team in Zambia and Kevin worked with the Water & Sanitation team in Malawi. They will each give a short presentation on their experiences, with lots of time for Q&A.
This is a great event to invite your friends or colleagues to attend.
The Run to End Poverty – Sunday, May 27!!
May has arrived and Calgary’s Run to End Poverty is just around the corner.
We have all set ambitious goals, but this is for a very good reason. Ending extreme poverty is not easy, but it is totally possible. In this 2 minute YouTube video, see how Engineers Without Borders is making change now, and with your funds raised, in the future. With that motivation, go out and tell your co-workers, friends, family and your next door neighbor to donate to your cause!
Looking to get in shape, to meet other R2EP runners, or still considering whether to join the team? Check out our great upcoming events below! You can always find more information on our Facebook page.
Looking to get in shape? Check out our weekly training runs! R2EP team members gather at the U of C campus, by the red torch outside the Olympic Oval, on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Runners of all abilities are welcome! For more information and to RSVP, please see our training run event page.
Thanks to everyone who made it to our Bow River Training Run and BBQ last week. We had a great run and a fun time at the BBQ. Looking to get in shape AND hang out with R2EP runners over some good food? We’re excited to announce our next event: the Bowness Park Training Run and Campfire on Saturday, May 19. The festivities will begin with a training run at 11:00 a.m. by the West entrance to Bowness Park, followed by a campfire around 12:00 p.m. Musicians are encouraged to bring their instruments, and we’ll have soccer and frisbees available. ** Note a date change, in order to avoid a conflict with Mother’s Day! *
We’re hard at work planning our annual Pre-Race Carb-Loader dinner on Saturday, May 26. The location and exciting content will be announced very shortly!
Create a stylish profile of yourself or your team at www.runtoendpoverty.ca. (While you’re at it, why not link it to Facebook or Twitter?). Don’t forget to ‘like’ us on Facebook while you’re there.
Start pledging! Get your family, friends and co-workers to help you reach your goal.
Don’t like running? Visit our page of runners and donate to someone’s campaign. It’s an easy way to support EWB and give a nice surprise to an unsuspecting runner!
Upcoming non-EWB events you might be interested in …
RESULTSCanada – Calgary Group
Join RESULTS for their monthly focus meeting on Thursday, May 10, from 7 – 9pm.
Location: Millennium EMS Solutions, 217 – 811 14 St NW. Use the outside stairs at the north end of the building (just north of the yoga studio).
Action focus for May: Securing Canada’s recommitment to children. Child deaths have dropped from 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. But federal budget cuts to Canada’s aid threaten the progress made. Ask International Cooperation Minister Oda to recommit Canada to funding proven cost-effective interventions that save children’s lives, like immunization.
Introducing CALGARY + acumen
Join us for the launch of the Calgary Chapter of Acumen Fund; a social investment fund that fights poverty by investing in businesses that provide critical goods and services to the poor. Examples include: housing projects, healthcare services, agricultural equipment and energy services. The CALGARY+acumen chapter seeks to create awareness, raise funds, and be a community resource around the use of social finance and social enterprise.
On Wednesday, May 16, come to learn more about social investment, Acumen Fund, and how you can get involved. Due to limited seating, please save your seat here: http://calgaryplusacumen.eventbrite.com/
For questions or more information about the Calgary Chapter, please contact Mike Bowerman at mjbowerman@gmail.com
Waterlution – Digging Deeper: Exploring the Water in Agriculture
Saturday, May 12. 9:30 to 4:30 pm, Cochrane.
From the farm to the store to our tables, food and water are intricately linked through our agricultural practices. Join us for a special day-long Learning Journey. Come prepared to walk on the fescue grasslands of the Alberta foothills of a working ranch, visit the historic Cochrane Ranche, and wrap up the day at the newly formed Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. Engage in an interactive dialogue with farmers, ranchers, government workers and community, about how we relate to water and the land.
We are currently accepting nominations for the position of Chapter President. The current President will actively mentor the successful candidate through a transition period between the Annual General Meeting and August. Nominations for other chapter leadership roles will be accepted at a later date.
The Role
The President is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of the Chapter. He/she will work with the other members of the local leadership team to develop the Chapter plan and priorities, and deliver the program objectives of the Chapter. The President is the primary liaison with the EWB National Office, and is expected to participate in monthly web conference calls with the the National Office and other City Network Presidents, report on the Chapter performance, and attend in-person retreats and conferences. These generally consist of a Presidents’ retreat (late spring), regional retreat (fall), and the national conference (January). The incumbent will then provide mentoring during the summer of 2013 to transition to the following President.
As part of this role, the successful candidate will receive leadership training both from the National Office and in a peer-to-peer fashion. They will have the opportunity to lead and shape a group of highly skilled, motivated and passionate volunteers in furthering EWB’s vision. They will also become involved in an incredible network of successful leaders. It is expected that the nominees will have previous experience with EWB, including serving in a leadership capacity within an EWB chapter. In addition, the nominees should also have a passion for creating sustainable organizational growth.
Nominations
Self-nominations can be forwarded to Angela Alambets (a.alambets@gmail.com) by midnight on May 10th. Please include your experience within the EWB community, relevant experience from your professional or other volunteer experience, and motivation for the application. Candidates will be presented in advance of the Annual General Meeting on May 16th, and will be voted on by the Chapter membership.
It looks like April is going to be a busy month for Albertans … trying to get in a few last ski days to enjoy the record snowfall the mountains have received, starting to clean up our yards (and maybe those closets and garages), getting taxes filed and keeping up with political campaigns in anticipation of the April 23 election. Hopefully you’ll find set aside some time to join us for an EWB event or two this month.
Before we get down to business, we’d like thank all those who came out to our National Engineering and Geoscience Month events throughout March. We were fortunate to have George Roter, CEO of EWB, speak at one of our events. The annual EWB National Conference will be held Calgary next year so if you missed him this time, you should be able to catch him in January 2013.
And in case you haven’t heard, there is a new little Facebook game “Beer2Water” that will get you an entry for a trip for 2 to Oktoberfest in Munich and a $1 donation to EWB. See below for details.
Socially Responsible Investing
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2012 Time: 6:30 to 8:00 pm Location: Mountain Equipment Co-op, Community Room, 830 – 10th Avenue, SW Cost: Free.
Learn about the history and principles of responsible investing. Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is a method of choosing investments that are screened by criteria using environmental, social and governance practices. Find out how you can form a personal investment strategy to align your investments to your own social and moral convictions. Presented by Patti B. Dolan, CFP, CSWP, FCSI, Financial Advisor with Raymond James Ltd. Patti is a board member with Social Investment Organization, the national non-profit association for the socially responsible investment industry in Canada.
Patti’s presentation will be followed by two speakers, Paul Gomes and Emily Zhang, who will provide information about Oikocredit, a socially responsible investment cooperative. Paul Gomes is Executive Director of the Fig Tree Charitable Foundation, as well as Director and Vice President of Oikocredit Canada West and Member of the Oikocredit Alberta Advisory Group. Emily Zhang is an active EWB volunteer and member of the Oikocredit Alberta Advisory Group.
Celebrate!Africa
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012 Time: 6:00 to 10:00 pm, Fair Trade Village Opens at 5:30 pm Location: Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre, 1320 5 Avenue NW Cost: $25 Advance (by April 11), $30 at the Door, Children Under 8 – Free
Please click here to purchase your advance ticket online.
Color! Music! Dancing! There’s no better way to start off your Saturday evening than celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the vast African continent. Celebrate! Africa is an annual event hosted by Engineers Without Borders to celebrate African Heritage and Culture in support of their international development work in water and agriculture. There will be a Fair Trade Village set-up, with items for purchase from Fair Trade Vendors, as well as opportunities to learn more about Fair Trade. Entertainment includes interactive drumming provided by Circles of Rhythm and African/Caribbean dance performance. Ticket includes dinner and entertainment.
Please mark down the evening of Saturday April 14 on your calendar for this very special event!
International Development Drinks
co-hosted by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation
Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Time: 5:00 to 8:30 pm Location: Upstairs, The Barley Mill, Eau Claire Market
We held our first International Development Drinks in January and great representation from a range of non-profits and NGOs based in Alberta, government, industry and academia all interested in international development. Join us at the end of April for round 2 of great conversations and networking.
The 2012 Run to End Poverty
The calendar says it’s spring; the weather even suggests it might be spring. There is no excuse now to not pull out your running shoes and start training for the Run to End Poverty. We already have some corporate teams signed up, but would love to see a few more.
The Run to End Poverty (R2EP) is an event in partnership with Calgary’s Scotiabank Marathon / Half / 10k & 5k run scheduled to take place on May 27, 2012. Thank you to all who have signed up for the run. For those who haven’t, you can still do so by visiting www.runtoendpoverty.ca
This spring, do something new. It doesn’t matter if you are an individual, a group of friends or a company, form a team to compete in the Run to End Poverty (R2EP) Corporate Challenge. You can register your team in the 5km, 10km, Half or Full-Marathon events. With every kilometer logged and dollar raised, you can help to connect the skills and ambition of our African Partners to real opportunity and alleviate poverty there. a real difference.
Create a stylish profile of yourself or your team at www.runtoendpoverty.ca. (While you’re at it, why not link it to Facebook or Twitter?). Don’t forget to ‘like’ us on Facebook while you’re there.
Start pledging! Get your family, friends and co-workers to help you reach your goal.
Have you heard about the Beer2Water game? If you can successfully connect the pipes to turn beer to water, $1 will be donated to EWB by Digital Rapids, and you’ll be entered to win a trip for two to Oktoberfest in Munich.
What is a distributed team? It’s a group of individuals, located across Canada, working together remotely to tackle a problem for EWB, develop an idea or a program. Most teams are a 12+ month commitment from May 2011 to May 2012, with planning happening over the summer.
There are currently 18 new teams to get involved with, ranging from Bilingualism and Speakers Networks to Admitting Failure Ventures and IT.
The Conference Planning Team has posted a few volunteer opportunities, including Graphic Designer, Web Master and Media Director, on our website. Please take a look, and share with your friends. There will be plenty of more opportunities to get involved over the next 6 months. More postings will be added in the upcoming weeks and months, but if you already know you’re interested, or have a special skill you think would help the team out, drop us an email at calgary@ewb.ca and we will connect you with the conference team.
3. Opportunities within the Chapter
We are starting to think about what the chapter will look like in the 2012/2013 year and beyond. If you’re interested in getting involved a little more with our local chapter, but aren’t quite sure what you’re interested in, drop us an email at calgary@ewb.ca and we’ll be happy to chat with you.
Save the Date: Calgary City Chapter Annual General Meeting
Our 2012 AGM is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, 2013, at 7:00 pm. Mark this date in your calendar! Additional details will be provided in the up-coming weeks.
