Waterloo Region set to become best community in Canada for children and youth
Waterloo Region – Smart Waterloo Region (SWR) today announced the revitalization of its program and mandate to make Waterloo Region the best community in Canada for children and youth by 2040.
The SWR vision was originally born in 2019 when the Region of Waterloo and seven area municipalities entered and became a finalist in the Federal Government’s Smart Cities Challenge. Though we didn’t bring home the prize, the Region of Waterloo, its seven cities and townships and the Lyle S Hallman Foundation have come together to fund the program and bring the youth-centred vision to life.
SWR’s mandate lasts through to 2040 and aims to make lasting, positive change to how our community works for and with our youngest citizens. The program is acting as a bridge to the future by creating a model that places children and youth at the centre of our community.
To do this they are examining our community across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. “We are using data, technology and community partnerships to support and fund solutions benefiting children and youth,” said Grayson Bass, Innovation Lab Manager, Smart Waterloo Region. “The data is then used to build and pilot tools, policies and knowledge that can then be used to empower both citizens and government.”
“The Region and our area municipalities is proud to be supporting Smart Waterloo Region and our community to bring this vision to life,” said Regional Chair, Karen Redman. “It’s our responsibility to do the best we can for the children and youth in our community, and this initiative is going to be a catalyst towards keeping that commitment in the forefront of our decision making.”
A central partner of SWR is the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) – the go-to body in Waterloo Region for system/community-wide efforts to support child and youth well-being. With over 800 young people and adults in its membership, this group works to collectively mobilize around meaningful actions that support all young people in the community.
For more information on Smart Waterloo Region and to learn how to get involved, visit www.engagewr.ca/Smart-Waterloo-Region-2021.
Background
The mission of Smart Waterloo Region (SWR) is to be the best community in Canada for children and youth.
The SWR vision was originally created in 2019 when the Region of Waterloo entered, and became a finalist, in the Federal Government’s Smart Cities Challenge. Though the Region didn’t bring home the $50 million dollar prize, the community has come together to fund the program and bring the youth-centred vision to life.
SWR’s mandate lasts through to 2040 and aims to make lasting, positive change to how our community works for and with our youngest citizens. The program is acting as a bridge to the future by creating a model that places children and youth at the centre of our community.
To do this they are examining our community across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. By actively seeking out and engaging communities, and in particular individuals who have experienced systemic barriers and individuals furthest from opportunity, we can start to remove inequalities and create a community of resilient, engaged, and empowered citizens.
The SWR program model is centred on building and piloting tools, policies and knowledge to empower both citizens and government:
- Partnerships – Collaboration with intra-region partners, the community, and external collaborators to adopt and create best practices.
- Pilots - Enable learning and serve as an experimentation platform to increase social and economic outcomes across the Region.
- Projects - Plan, develop, and lead projects that empower citizens and create the best community for and with children and youth.
A central partner of SWR is the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) – the go-to body in Waterloo Region for system/community-wide efforts to support child and youth well-being.
With over 800 young people and adults in its membership, this group works to collectively mobilize around meaningful actions that support all young people in the community.
Four program streams
- Data Dry Cleaner – The Data Dry Cleaner aims to build a data exchange and child and youth dataspace where the individual owns, controls, and benefits from their personal data. The end goal is to transform data into information that is displayed visually by geography and economic activity to inform policy and action within the Region.
- Kids Arcade – What if we could use play to build 21st century skills and create Belonging for children and youth in our Region? The Kids Arcade create a learning and change management platform that will leverage information created by the data exchange to build training and create a ‘serious game’ and gamification of skills and behaviours.
- Ice Cream Shop – The ice cream shop is about creating partnerships to support and fund solutions benefiting children and youth. By engaging and developing partnerships across the Region, Province, Country, and around the World, the Ice Cream Shop will launch 12 Region wide initiatives (businesses/business models and/or social models), six provincial wide, three national, and one magical global unicorn.
- The Banting Project – Inspired by Dr. Frederick Banting, this Banting Project will empower children and youth by making accessible for free or low cost exponential technology and tools that will power our world in the 21st century.
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