City of Mississauga Commissioned Author, National Recreation Summit - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presented by Howie Dayton, Director Recreation City of Mississauga Commissioned Author, National Recreation Summit April 11, 2013

Session Outline:

 Stated Objectives:

 Share learning's from the National Recreation Summit  Café discussions-applying the learning's locally

 Inclusion & Affordability  Community Building  Addressing Inactivity & Obesity through local action

 Plenary discussion: The National Priorities-Focus Group  Next Steps

Community Recreation…We’ve come a long way (or have we?!?)

 Roots of Recreation-diverting anti-social behavior of youth  A public good delivered by non-profit agencies, to the impoverished-

community halls and playgrounds

 Fast forward-

 user pay system, competitive market place, changing demographics, aging

infrastructure

 multiplexes and enterprise facilities that are drive-to  Our role not clearly articulated or defined  Still, limited research exists-  Measures don’t tell our story  Recreation remains a locally mandated service  Provincial funding is inconsistent across the Country  Ontario’s ministry profile greatly diminished  Federal interest is sport focused and limited

 Society’s need for accessible recreation is no less important than it was

when we began

National Recreation Statement

 www.lin.ca

 Commissioned by Recreation Ministers in 1987  Recognized the ‘significance of recreation’  Defined the roles of government, agency, private sector in

provision of infrastructure/services

 Articulated the need for collaboration between all parties  Acknowledged the need for greater coordination

between sport & recreation

National Recreation Summit 2011 The Context

 Society is highly complex… “wicked issues”  Escalating health, social, economic & environmental

concerns

 A lack of a strong national voice for recreation  A lack of singularity of purpose and voice for the sector  A national statement that is 25 years old

FIRST STEPS TOWARD A UNITED AGENDA

Who was there:

Advanced education Public health and medical field National organizations: CPRA, ParticipACTION Pubic Health Agency of Canada Sport Canada Municipal politicians Environmental organizations Health promotion Community development Child and youth development Municipal and provincial/territorial recreation Provincial recreation organizations

• Why were we there:

To take the first steps towards a united agenda for Canada’s recreation and parks sector.

• To examine trend, information, research, retrospectives and

promising practices in the R & P field.

• To prioritize strategic challenges
• To explore novel pan-Canadian approaches to these challenges
• To design innovative ways the three levels of gov’t can partner
• To explore ways for corporate, not-for- profit, and other quality of

life agencies can contribute

• To examine feasibility of multi-year dialogue to improve inter-gov’t

and inter-sector collaboration

• Development of a national agenda for recreation

• Where were we:

The Process

 26 pre-submitted commissioned papers

 www.lin.ca National Recreation Summit-Commissioned Papers

 Panels and Keynote speakers on 4 Key Themes

 Confronting Canada’s Public Health Crisis  Respecting Nature & Our Environment  Building Community  Contributing to Public Sector & Social Innovation

 Breakout sessions to explore “top of mind issues” including

 Aboriginal Peoples and Communities  Active Aging & Recreation  Canadian Sport Policy  Role of Recreation in Building Community  Recreation Inclusion, Diversity & Visible Minorities  Rural Recreation Priorities

The Process

Final Keynote address….Dr. John Crompton

 “Repositioning Recreation: Building a National Recreation Agenda”  Recommended readings:

 Summit Synopsis  Panel Presentations  Commissioned Papers

Opening Keynote: Carle Honore, In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide

Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed “…this summit could…redefine recreation and its place in the 21st Century. Take that torch and run with it..run slowly but run

• nevertheless. Run with conviction, with

courage and with creative spark-and help make the world a better world for everyone”.

Theme 1: Confronting Canada’s Public Health Crisis

 Key message: Recreation & Parks need to claim itself as

essential in addressing national health challenges including:

 Chronic disease (cancer, heart disease, diabetes)  Obesity (88% of children & youth age 5-19 are

insufficiently active)

 Mental illness (1 in 5 Canadians will experience)  Health inequities (interconnection between poverty,

upbringing, employment status, community, housing, education)

“Too often in our society, the unhealthy choice is the easy choice and then we wonder why people make unhealthy choices. Healthy choices should be the easy choices”

• Dr. Trevor Hancock

University of Victoria

Areas of focus…Active 20/20 Canada’s Physical Activity Strategy

 Policy development to stimulate Physical activity increases

through incentives and the reduction in barriers to participation

 Targeted information & Public education to bring greater

awareness of the issues associated with unhealthy lifestyles AND what options exist in communities across Canada

 High quality, accessible programs and services that don’t

marginalize those who are unable to participate

 Community design and social infrastructure which modernizes

transportation, land use, puts in place sidewalks, bike lanes and other supports to encourage greater activity as a way of daily life

Theme 2: Respecting Nature & Our Environment: Recreation’s Role

Keynote: Richard Louv, Chair, Children and Nature Network, San Diego, California “As of 2008, more people in the world live in cities than in the countryside. Either human beings will lose meaningful connections to nature in everyday life or it’s the beginning

• f a new kind of city. I would vote for door number two-the

world many of you are involved in creating”.

Theme 3: Building Community: Recreation’s Role

Key Message:

 “The final frontier is to invest in human and social capital.

Communities that do not work socially are likely not the ones that will flourish”

 “Recreation is both an end and a means to achieving other ends. It is

a fundamental, core building block of our notion of healthy flourishing communities”

 “Communities often feel if they have an economic development plan,

everything else will fall into place. But rising tides to not lift all boats, we need a holistic understanding of communities and what they need to be resilient.”

Sherri Torjman

Respecting Nature & Our Environment: Recreation’s Role

 Research is growing…



Playing outside correlates with reduced incidents of ADD



Playing outside longer equates to reduced incidents of obesity



Children in greener neighbourhoods are less likely to be obese (independent of density of the built environment)

 People and Parks…



The public loves their parks



Park animation is on the increase



Nature is affordable



Park programming is on the increase



Community gardens



Off leash parks



Nature gardens



Community ovens



Trail network expanse



Cycling, running, walking, boardwalks

 Be at the planning table!

Building Community: Recreation’s Role

Areas of focus:

 Recreation needs to reposition itself within other

policy agendas:

 Health  Poverty reduction  Economic development  Official planning

 Recreation MUST remove the barriers to participation

 Ontario’s Provincial Policy Framework on Affordable Access

to Recreation

Measure Returns to Well-being

“ Too much and too long, we have surrendered community excellence and values to the mere accumulation of material

• things. The Gross National Product measures neither our

wit, nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning…GNP measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile”

Robert Kennedy, March 16, 1968

Theme 4: Social Innovation in Community Recreation

Key messages: In a highly complex world with “wicked” problems, high degree of regulation, quality assurance and systems…HOW can we be innovative?

We can’t afford NOT to be!

 Develop a culture of innovation  Refresh our education system to encourage “new” ways of thinking  Develop a vision statement that pushes the envelope  Consider the citizen, not just the customer…who aren’t you

engaging

 OWN your career  Embrace our role as community builders and create something

fantastic

Putting It All Together… Building A National Agenda

Common Themes

 We must be considered a “PUBLIC GOOD”, defined by our core values:

 Community building  Human health and development  Environmental stewardship  Economic development

 We must articulate a CLEAR VISION and not let others define us  Be citizen focused not just customer centered  Remove barriers to participation  Promote lifelong leisure literacy (helping citizens make positive, healthy,

pro-social decisions)

 Adopt innovative process for continuous quality and improvement  Be more accountable through meaningful measures using “INDICES OF

WELLBEING”

Next Steps….

 A draft vision was circulated to participants  Summit report was submitted to the federal, provincial

and territorial Ministers in June, 2012

 Recreation Roundtable will be hosted in New Brunswick

May 2013

 We need to carry on with local discussions on priorities

and issues in our respective communities

Definition of Recreation

…Recreation includes all those activities in which an individual chooses to participate in their leisure time, and is not confined solely to sports or physical recreation programs, but includes artistic, creative, cultural, social and intellectual activities, and …. Is a fundamental human need for individuals

• f all ages and interests and for both sexes and is essential to the

psychological, social and physical wellbeing of each Canadian; (Also)…recreation is an essential social service in the same way that health and education are considered a social services, and that recreation’s purpose should be (a) to assist individual and community development, and (b) to improve the quality of life, and (c) to enhance social functioning.

Three Positioning Statements

 Recreation must be “OUTCOME” driven  Recreation must be “INCLUSIVE” in every way  Recreation must be “RELEVANT” & “COMPELLING”

Priorities

 12 priorities on the list  These items represent where focus needs to be

applied over the next decade and beyond

Our National Recreation Agenda Includes:

• A. Make the healthy choices the easiest and cheapest
• nes (with respect to recreation)
• B. Lead and Partner in an after school child / youth

serving agenda

• C. Reprioritize unstructured play – especially in early

childhood development, as the simple soaring joy of being a child is being eroded

More Priorities

• D. Retain and incorporate nature in our urban

neighborhoods, our communities and our regions

E.

Foster Volunteerism as the highest form of recreation

F.

Prepare the working practitioners with relevant skills and abilities and timely information

More Priorities

• G. Invest and reinvest in our aging and inadequate

infrastructure, to better meet emerging needs.

• H. Be proactive about climate change

I.

Expand and invest in our national information sharing systems (LIN and the Benefits Hub)

More Priorities

J.

Enhance physical and leisure literacy in our communities

K.

Develop appropriate outcomes focussed performance measures

L.

Commission and use evidence-based research

Summary of Priorities:



Make Healthy Choices Affordable



Lead and Partner in an after school child / youth serving agenda



Reprioritize unstructured play



Retain and incorporate nature in our urban neighborhoods, our communities and our regions



Foster Volunteerism as the highest form of recreation



Prepare the working practitioners with relevant skills and abilities and timely information



Enhance physical and leisure literacy in our communities



Develop appropriate outcomes focussed performance measures



Commission and use evidence-based research

Input Is needed:

 What is missing and needs to be added

(vision, priorities)?

 Which highest priority items need to be

addressed first?

 What is most important to this region?  Your best advice on advancing this work?