UPDATE: The general Call for Presentations is now closed. Student presentations will be accepted until February 28th, 2018. Visit https://www.cip-icu.ca//cip-icu.ca/Soul_2018 for details.
Winnipeg, MB – Pour your SOUL into presentation abstracts for the upcoming Canadian Institute of Planners national conference, Soul 2018. In partnership with Manitoba Professional Planning Institute (MPPI), the conference will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 19-22, shining a spotlight on the province’s commitment to planning excellence.
Soul 2018 is seeking presentations that reflect on what “Soul” means to the Canadian planning community:
· Soul and Place: Everyone can think of places that have no sense of Soul and others with a deep sense of it; but what elements give a place Soul? How do we create soulful places that are evocative and meaningful, yet functional and productive?
· Soul and Story: Everyone has a story and every place has a story, good and bad, inspiring or cautionary. Soul Winnipeg asks: how do the places and processes we create result in stories of success and stories of failure? Come share your stories – stories from the land, from rural communities, and stories from our urban fabric.
· Soul and Role: Everyone can “throw their soul” into their role, but what drives us in our discipline? How does what we believe, think, perceive, and value inspire and motivate what we do?
The full Call for Presentations can be found here.
The conference theme is “SOUL”, which emphasizes key planning elements that help shape and transform urban and rural communities. Conference co-chairs, Donovan Toews MCIP, RPP, and Chris Leach FCIP, and a team of local volunteers, have already hit the ground running to ensure the success of the event.
“We know that planners across the country are working on complex and challenging planning and design issues,” said Toews. “We are eager to welcome interdisciplinary presentation ideas and to shed light on how individuals are finding soul in places, in storytelling, and in their roles as planners across the nation.”
Leach added: “The conference theme of SOUL touches on the city’s grit and authenticity, on the city’s spaces and places that gather and connect people, on the city’s landmarks and secrets that only locals know, on the culture and diversity that binds us as a province and as a country.”
“Winnipeg has become a symbol of renewal for our colleagues in Canada and around the world,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “This is evident when thinking about the number of planning, design, and architectural conferences that have chosen to be hosted in Winnipeg over the past several years – professionals want to see for themselves innovation and renewal at work. I’m looking forward to seeing how the 2018 CIP/MPPI conference takes shape over the course of 2017, as local planners, elected officials, and design practitioners work together to form a truly world class program and showcase for delegates coming into the city.”
The CIP/MPPI national conference will be the Canadian planning event of the year, so start making your plans now and put your heart and soul into submitting an abstract for Soul Winnipeg on or before December 21, 2017.
About SOUL 2018
Discover what SOUL means to planning at the Canadian Institute of Planners and Manitoba Professional Planners Institute National Conference, SOUL 2018 from July 19-22, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. A place where, for thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples of the Prairies cared for the land at the convergence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers; where rural farms sprouted in all directions when Manitoba joined Confederation; and where years thereafter Winnipeg began to rise as the Gateway to the West. The story of Manitoba; its unique landscape, Indigenous roots, diverse cultural landscape, and strong social fabric have moulded communities throughout the province.
Our culture, our environments, and our stories shape the spaces around us – spaces that reflect the SOUL of our communities. As we address current and future needs, we are challenged to incorporate SOUL into our planning work, to create communities that are energetic and thriving.
At SOUL 2018, the program will challenge you to reflect on what SOUL means to the planning community across Canada, to mesh the practical with the thoughtful, through the lens of our dynamic city and regional landscapes.
About the Canadian Institute of Planners
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) works on behalf of over 6,700 planning professionals nationally, and has served as the voice of Canada’s planning community since 1919. Planners safeguard the health and well-being of urban and rural communities, by addressing the use of land, resources, facilities, and services with consideration to physical, economic, and social efficiency. Our members work in both the public service and the private sector, across fields such as land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, Indigenous communities planning, transportation planning, and economic development.
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Media Inquiries:
Jason Syvixay; Planner, HTFC Planning & Design
2018 CIP Conference, Communications Committee Chair
Email: jsyvixay@htfc.mb.ca
Phone: (204) 944-9907; Cell: (204) 997-3040