By Bronwyn Kent
On Monday, October 24, Plan Institute and Tamarack Institute kicked off the first of a seven-part IMPACT-Ability Webinar Series based on Al Etmanski’s best selling book IMPACT: Six Patterns to Spread your Social Innovation, hosted by the author himself, along with Vickie Cammack.
The first webinar featured guest the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Disability, who led us through how she has been an effective wise traveller inside and outside the disability world all her life. She gave us great insight into the inner life of an influential Cabinet Minister and impressed us with her confidence, determination and mandate to make Canada a more accessible place.
“I can’t imagine a more experienced and qualified person to be representing families and people with disabilities”, says Vickie Cammack.
Minister Qualtrough, who is visually impaired, may be a very important and senior politician now, but she comes from humble roots, and attributes who she is today to her parents for instilling in her the confidence and qualities it takes to be a self-advocate. She is a perfect example of how the most impactful innovation in grassroots movements comes from families and individuals who are affected.
“In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have imagined that one of our own would be such an influential Cabinet Minister”, says Al Etmanski.
Here are some of the highlighted quotes made by the Minister during the webinar:
“The more we can leverage our collective perspective and interest, the more we can achieve the desired outcome.”
“The more time the government can hear the same or similar messages, the more effective it can be.”
“Accessibility is a priority and people better be thinking about it in their own work.”
“The cultural change we’re looking for as a movement happens through networking, partnering and collaboration.”
“Having the confidence to build networks is a lesson I can bring to the table”
For more quotes, questions and comments made during the webinar on social media, check out the Webinar Storify.
We are very grateful for the Minister’s tireless commitment to addressing inequality and championing diversity, and for sharing her perspective with our listeners through the IMPACT-Ability series.
There are six more webinars in this series. The next one is on November 1st with Lynda Kahn and Jack Pearpoint from Inclusion Press, who will be discussing how to “Create a Container for Your Content” that will explore why framing and packaging will enliven your ideas and inspire people to action. You can register here.
As a bonus, registrants will receive 30% the book Impact: Six Patterns to Spread your Social Innovation.