The Rural Voices Network has wrapped up the first part of its effort to better understand the rural citizens of the province.
The project backed by The Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario (FWIO) and Ontario Trillium Foundation has completed a series of seven Let Your Voice Be Heard public forums across the province.
The findings from those gatherings will now form the basis for a public survey of rural Ontarians.
Between November to January the network team met with residents of communities around Guelph, Dryden, Rosslyn, Fergus, Perth, Ridgetown and Innisfil. The Guelph gathering brought out some of the challenges facing rural Ontario, including the support and resources needed to assist volunteers, the barriers related to transportation, and the costs for services that allow effective communications. Questions about how to engage rural citizens with a focus on asking, inviting and welcoming people into communities was front and centre.
The Fergus gathering brought out some of the challenges facing rural Ontario, including the time crunch on volunteers. Other barriers mentioned at that session included transportation and accessibility, along with the role of government in policy development. Emphasis was also placed on the opportunities and challenges brought about by technology in communication and community engagement.
The findings from Guelph and Fergus, along with the five other centres, were merged into a survey to confirm the results from the in person sessions and to expand on the challenges to engaging rural Ontarians in the future of their communities, as well as examining what enables rural citizens to participate in the common life of their community, and to identify barriers to rural civic engagement.
The survey is expected to be available online at www.ruralvoicesnetwork.com on Feb. 15. Those rural citizens that would prefer to receive a paper copy of the survey can call, mail or email the network head office at 519-836-3078 or info@ruralvoicesnetwork.ca or 7382 Wellington Road 30, RR5 Guelph, Ont., N1H 6J2
“Rural citizens can help governments, volunteer organizations and each other better understand what works in a rural context and what doesn’t. That knowledge is key to understanding rural civic engagement. We need to build a new bridge of communication between rural citizens, as well as organizational and municipal leaders,” said Manon Germain, the network project manager
The network project report and recommendations that emerge from those activities are to be used to enhance the work of rural volunteer organizations, and represent the voices of rural citizens.
The Rural Voices Network is driven by the mandate to give rural citizens a space to have their voices heard, and to collaborate with non-profit organizations and leaders in all levels of governance.
For more information on the RVN project or to register for upcoming Public Forums visit: http://www.ruralvoicesnetwork.ca
