Innovative events like TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin: On the Road tour promote the kind of civic participation that makes a real difference in our world. Over the last two years, the tour has travelled to eight Ontario communities to get first-hand, local perspectives on big economic issues. What began as an experiment in civic engagement turned into a community-building success story, with citizens, policy makers and leaders coming together to exchange ideas on how to strengthen our province in the 21st century – sometimes even long after we’d left town.
For Chantelle Diachina, TVO’s Agenda stop in London in February 2010 was a life-changing experience. At the time of TVO’s visit, Chantelle was juggling motherhood and graduate studies at Fanshawe College. A co-op placement for her program led her to the AgendaCamp community forum, the first event of the Agenda’s two-day London visit.
“I didn’t even know what I was going to talk about, but I did know I spent the last few years thinking about the world we live in and my responsibility to it and my children,” says Chantelle. In her past career as a teacher, Chantelle felt frustrated as she watched kids from low-income families fall through the cracks. At AgendaCamp, she was inspired by the passion fellow Londoners had for their shared city and for the issues which meant so much to her: empowering children and families living in poverty, promoting multiculturalism, and fostering creativity and innovation. Chantelle adds, “The lessons I didn’t expect to receive that day were on active citizenship and leadership and how it relates to me.”
Chantelle went on to be a guest on the live Agenda broadcast the next day – an appearance which still generates words of thanks from impressed viewers who feel she spoke “the truth” and represented the community. Today, Chantelle is a client relations manager at a digital agency and is actively involved with several non-profit organizations focused on causes such as helping impoverished families and retaining London’s youth.
“I am on a path to helping shape my community, eventually our nation and someday, I hope the world,” she says. “There’s no turning back now. Thank you to the Agenda crew for waking me up.”
Agenda on the Road: Election 2011 Healthcare. Child care. Public Transit. Education.
What issues will be top-of-mind for you in Ontario’s next provincial election?
Share your thoughts and join in the province-wide conversation when The Agenda with Steve Paikin goes back on the road starting February 2011.
