Mobilizing Neighbour Power

Seattle author, professor and public speaker Jim Diers is coming to Chilliwack next week to do a presentation called “Mobilizing Neighbour Power”. He’s an expert on community building and Chilliwack councillor Sam Waddington says they’re excited to welcome him to town.

“He’s going to come up and speak to a bunch of our community groups and speak to council, and then we’re actually holding an open forum in the evening at the Cultural Centre and hoping the community comes out to hear what he has to say.  But also, we’re hoping to get the chance to brainstorm with him on some of Chilliwack’s specific needs and see if we can’t make a bit of change happen in our downtown and in some of our neighbourhoods.”

He’ll be addressing issues like crime prevention, disaster response and revitalization.  Waddington says when he talks about revitalization in this case, it’s less about the “bricks and mortar” approach, and more about engaging citizens.  He says Chilliwack has a great capacity for this, but we can always do better.

“The goal is for the community to have the tools to consult with the city better, and we want to hear the needs of our community organizations.  And the City of Chilliwack is hoping to learn how to better engage with our citizens….so maybe that means us buying some assets, some tents and a PA system, and allowing that to be used by community groups if they need it.”

It’s at the Cultural Centre next Wednesday night, and it’s free for the public. You can register your attendence HERE although the event is FREE to attend.  Jim will be presenting from 7-8pm and that will be followed by a Q&A.