Theme CU 3: Active Citizenship

Theme Statement

Kingston fosters a participatory environment where citizens can contribute information, ideas, and opinions to decision-making processes and help lead our community towards its full potential as Kingston - Canada's Most Sustainable City.

Indicators

Voter turnout (Percentage of electoral list who cast a ballot).

Goals

Strive for vibrant neighborhoods that promote community development through accessible and available information, services, programs, and community associations.
Ensure that all neighbourhoods are served by diverse cultural facilities and appreciate their distinctive role in the collective heritage of Kingston.
Facilitate meaningful opportunities for members of the community to connect, engage in dialogue, and take action on issues that affect the community's sustainability and well-being.
Develop capacity within neighbourhoods to foster political engagement, civic involvement, volunteer opportunities and governance models.
Work collaboratively to raise awareness about voting, remove barriers to voting, and encourage residents to vote.

Actions

Action	Action Lead	Target	Status
Active Citizenship Political candidate debates	Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce	Partnership with local media (broadcaster TVCOGECO) for every local provincial/federal candidates	Ongoing
Active Citizenship Get out the vote campaigns	Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce	Speak Up! Kingston Campaign	Speak up Kingston campaign ran prior to municipal election in 2010
Research active transportation practices, barriers, and facilitators among Kingston residents. Increase exchange of information and ideas about active transportation among Kingston residents.	Kingston Coalition for Active Transportation	Disseminate results and recommendations from telephone survey, neighbourhood consultations, and on-line survey to increase active transportation opportunities. Provide forum for input through KCAT social media (e.g. Facebook)	Ongoing 2009-2011: Executive summary (2012) Spring 2013
Train volunteer judges at 1 or 2 meetings each year to organize the judging competition.	Kingston Blooms	To inform judges of updated judging criteria emphasizing the increased need for water conservation practices, and the use of drought tolerant native plants.	Annual
Day of Caring Workplace volunteers help the community by participating as a team and working on hands-on projects at agencies.	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	To engage workplace volunteers to help the community.	Ongoing
Caring for Others Helping Grade 4/5 students appreciate the concept of caring and volunteering.	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	Volunteers deliver program in schools across the region.	Ongoing
United Way Next Gen Engage young professionals, 25 to 40 years old.	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	Signature event, Hopscotch, introduced in 2011. Hold other events and activities to engage demographic.	Ongoing
Leadership Development Services Strengthen not for profit sector by facilitating board governance training: Public and custom workshops.	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	6 public workshops and a number of custom consultations and workshops.	Ongoing
Volunteer Services Matching volunteer opportunities in agencies with individuals and groups looking to volunteer.	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	Website offers free service, matching interests with volunteer opportunities. Face to face matching service is available.	Ongoing
Poverty Reduction Plan 5 working groups established to develop action plans in key focus areas: - Health - Skills Development & Employment - Supports to Education - Social services - Housing	United Way Kingston, Frontenac Lennox and Addington	Developing community based poverty reduction plan, including an evaluation and measurement strategy/plan.	Ongoing
The Fall Gathering	National Farmers Union – Local 316	To provide an annual networking opportunity and celebration for the local food system.	Annual
Donations Donations to: the Partners For Mission Food Bank, The Music Lending Library, The Kingston Community Foundation, University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, St. Lawrence College.	Brown's Dining Solutions		Ongoing
Children's Aid Donation support to the Children's Aid Head Office.	Brown's Dining Solutions		Ongoing
Green Fee Projects There is a $7.50 fee per student per semester used for student-defined projects on campus	St. Lawrence College	Increased green space and outdoor amenities on campus	Ongoing
Election Polling Stations Various branches serve as polling stations during Federal, Provincial and Municipal elections. Municipal voting lists are made available for consultation at urban branches	Kingston Frontenac Public Library	To encourage active voting.	Ongoing
Meeting Rooms Library rents meeting space to non-profit organizations and others for cultural and educational purposes.	Kingston Frontenac Public Library	To encourage community involvement and discussion.	Ongoing
Monthly Film Screenings Documentary screenings monthly on topics related to the health and wellness of people and planet.	Living Rooms :: EcoLogical Living + Building	50 people in regular attendance.	Monthly
Cross Campus Environmental Forums The CES hosts bi-weekly Environmental Forums, bringing together sustainability-related groups on campus and in the Kingston community. These informal meetings aim to foster collaboration between environmental groups, creating a space to share ideas, partner on initiatives, and meet new people who are passionate about environmental issues.	Queen's University Alma Mater Society (AMS)	Increase attendance at the Cross Campus Environmental Forums to 40 people.	Ongoing
Working Together for Seniors Take a leadership role to increase collaboration between organizations and agencies that support seniors in the Kingston region to identify, develop and implement programs and services.	Seniors Association Kingston Region	- Increase collaboration and facilitate partnerships between organizations, agencies, City of Kingston, health groups to better serve the seniors community. - Establish a committee to investigate current seniors’ programs and services and map out locations of said programs and services. - Compile a list of recommendations including lead organizations, delivery locations and type of activity required to fill the gaps in seniors’ programs and services, now and into the future.	Ongoing
Active Volunteerism Through the ongoing volunteer support of it's fifty-plus team of volunteers, TVCOGECO is able to continue to offer valuable community based programming.	TVCOGECO	- To increase the skillsets of volunteers. - Continue to attract and engage volunteers to the cogeco team.	Ongoing
Connecting the Broader Community A full description is available on the website.	Kingston Sustainability Centre	To increase the number of individuals and partners who actively take first and next steps towards sustainable thinking and related solutions.	Ongoing
Pitch IN Kingston A community-wide clean-up initiative to raise awareness about garbage and litter through public education.	Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce	To increase the number of organizations and people involved in the annual Pitch IN event and to decrease the amount of garbage and litter in our community through public education.	Ongoing (annual event)
City of Kingston Committee System The Committee System is managed by the Clerk's Office.	City of Kingston	Provide opportunities for interested citizens to participate in municipal governance through serving on a variety of committees.	Ongoing