George Brown College Social Innovation Design Jam

Social Innovation Design Jam

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A collaboration between George Brown College School of Social and Community Services, United Churches Project Edge and startGBC

A Design Jam event for 120 invited students to work with over 20 mentors on finding innovative social innovation solutions to real-life challenges in 3 key areas of our community that will include:

Mental Health & Addictions

Poverty

Identity Based Projects

What is a Design Jam? A Design Jam is an idea factory. It’s a fun, fast, creative brainstorming session intended to create a range of diverse visions that address an issue. Born from the design, architecture and urban planning fields, Jams can be employed in any sector and are ideal for social innovation as one of the many stages of planning, strategy and design process undertaken by the lead organization and stakeholders involved in a project. By changing the way we think and interact, we change the way we behave and respond to complex problems, therefore creating the social, urban and environmental transformation we seek through creative, critical and design thinking and empathy building from community partners to ensure social justice is built into all solutions to real life problems.

Students will be competing for a prize pot of $500 per category to help them progress their projects into reality.

Keynote Speaker – Dr. Colin Robert Phillips, Policy Studies PhD

 Photo credited to United Churches

Listen to Dr. Phillips as he speaks about his amazing research work in homelessness and impact areas such as poverty, mental health & addictions, trauma and identity.  Colin lives with cerebral palsy and is a light on overcoming barriers to excel in his field of expertise.

A massive thanks to mentors for volunteering their time to support student growth and these mentors include…

Scott Leon – Wellsley Institue

James Holzbauer – United Churches

Denise Soueidan-O’leary – Centre for Social Innovation

Matthew Thompson – Canadian Community Economic Development Network

Kimberly D’Oliveirea – Centre for Social Innovation

Melissa Anderson

Shannon Cummings – A-Way Express

Alexandra Belaskie – United Churches

Courtney Ayukawa – Toronto Enterprise Fund

Ralph Wushke – United Churches

Sharrae Lyon – Egale

Christie Newfeldt – United Churches

Adele Halladay – United Churches

Chris Duff – Inspired Initiatives

Symone Walters – Toronto Community Benefits Network

Special thanks to MC of the day, Joshua Fernandes – United Churches