Currently:
GCL advocates for local democracy that is inclusive, inviting and transparent. GCL continues its work, supporting residents and citizen groups to take part in determining the shape and future of our city. We release annual Voting Records of city council and host our yearly conference, Amazing Possibilities, that is attended by hundreds of citizens and city staff alike .
2010 Events
10 Carden Launches as independent not-for-profit as of January 1st
Special Meeting of GCL Membership - Saturday, Feb 6 @ 10 Carden
GCL Fundraiser - James Gordon CD Release Party - Guelph Little Theatre Feb 26 @ 8 pm
Vote for Guelph Working Group - Saturday, March 27th - 9:30 a.m. Location TBA
Janes Walk 2010 - May 2/3 - contact susan@guelphcivicleague.ca
AGM - Monday, June 28@ 7:30 p.m.
2009 Events:
Citizen Action in the U.K. Monday, January 12 - 6:30 p.m. @ 10 Carden
Deborah Littman of 'London Citizens' will share news of this group's success and current campaigns. Come hear about the impact they're having on municipalities and municipal leadership.
"Under the Covers" GCL Allstars Dance Saturday, Feb 14 - 8 til late
Valentine's Day Dance Party and annual Citizenship Awards - St. George's Hall - Woolwich Street - Downtown Guelph
A Citizens' Charter for Guelph? Sunday, Feb 15th 7:00 pm @10 Carden
Dimitri Roussopoulos will share the story of the Montreal Charter for Citizens Rights and Responsibilities and launch a discussion about how such an initiative can happen here in Guelph.
Hanlon Creek Business Park Community Conversation - March 13 - Norfolk United Church - 7 pm
Jane's Walk 09 Saturday - Sunday May 2/3
GCL's AGM and Visioning -- June 16th
(summer hiatus)
Fierce Light (the movie) and Transforming Power (the book) with Judy Rebick- Oct 24 - 7 pm
GCL Listening Campaign Nov 3-30th
Communications and Engagement City of Guelph/GCL Focus Group -Thurs - Nov 26 5:30 pm
State of the City - Citizens Version @ 10 Carden - Thursday - Dec 10 5:30 pm
Seasonal Social - Albion Hotel - Tues Dec 15 @ 8 pm
History:
The Guelph Civic League was first conceptualized after the 2003 municipal election when it was clear to many people that Guelph needed an citizen-led organization to address concerns about the direction the city was going politically and the negative effect that could have on our quality of life.
At an initial meeting in January 2004, attended by more than 75 citizens, it was decided the Guelph Civic League should be an umbrella-type group similar to the Urban League of London and the Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods. A steering commitee was named.
At the founding convention, in March of 2004, the GCL was formally created. More than 50 citizens approved the constitution and bylaws and elected the first officers and members-at-large.
Since then, we have encouraged the development of neighbourhood associations, helped get citizens involved in civic issues, worked with other organizations to promote our objectives, monitored city council and city planning decisions, supported council delegations, and worked to protect heritage buildings.
In 2005, we committed to the task of increasing voter turnout in Guelph during the 2006 municipal election, from 36% (in 2003) to over 50%. By November 2006 we had mobilized more than 14,700 citizens with our values-based voter turnout campaign. 2007 was an evaluative year and featured our conference and of course GCL Dances.
In 2008, Amazing Possibilities 3 brought Order of Canada recipient, Larry Beasley to Guelph to lead a community discussions on design review. Our first workshops forum - Communities in Action - was a great success. In collaboration with our community partners, we brought together citizen groups and leaders from around Ontario. Other events in 08 have included our popular dances, Tax Chat One , the Garbage Movie and Guelph's Janes Walk, in memory of urban design pioneer, Jane Jacobs.
Three new 'civic leagues' have been established based on the GCL model and we continue to mentor the development of new groups.
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Contact the Guelph Civic League: info@guelphcivicleague.ca • Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporation #1678211
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