Engage RA meeting

RA meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022 on https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/93631087474?pwd=M1pvd1UyRHJxN3lNNmh4VkUzYWp4QT09.

Agenda, initial proposal

• 09:30-10:00: Check-in: how are you arriving today? (30 minutes / approx 1 minute per person).

• 10:00-10:30: Updates from all teams about the workgroups (successes and challenges) (30 minutes/ 4min per team).
• 10:30-10:45: Updates of the note-taking, field notes, & How-To Kits/Deliverables (15 minutes).
• 10:45-11:00: Revisiting End of the Year targets/goals (15 minutes)
• Varia, questions, other agenda items (up to 30 minutes).

Agenda, second proposal

A proposal to split in sub-groups when we are more than five participants to value co-creation and efficiency. So rather than doing information rounds, we actively explore various solutions that we then aggregate.

Time	Focus	Detail	Setting	Host
09:30	Welcoming		all	DV
09:40	Check-in	Sharing our inside meteo	groups of 4	FB
09:50	Yearly goals / deliverables	Aim of discussion: defining how to achieve the three core goals	all	JT/NM/RC
10:05		Discussion	groups of 4	–
10:15		Aggregation of outcomes – 1 min / 3 elements per group	all	FB
10:45	Workgroups	Aim of discussion: mutualizing successes, challenges solutions	all	JT/RC
10:55		Discussion	groups of 4	–
11:00		Aggregation of outcomes – 1 min / 3 elements per group	all	FB
11:05	Field notes	Information
11:15	Reopening sites	In-person from March 15 (postponed 1 week to prepare)	all	RC
11:20	Public practice	Next roundtable in person, Thu March 17, 16:00		MS
11:21	Research	Information	all	CO
11:22	Unconference
11:23	Closing	Each person says what they take from today (time of a match)	all	DV
11:30	End

Round 1

Build from the Collaborative Care working series

• Different ways to see caring, different levels of depths, depends on people's backgrounds, emotions spectrum, sharing resources, connections through generations, need for reliability, sit with incomfortable, caring for others and feel cared from starting with ourselves in the group

Interviews deepen in three additional malls (ex. St Hubert, Cousineau Mall, Art Hive Cornwall On, Yellow Door, Montreal)

• Meeting for collaboration between malls
• Convincing mall owners that a community can also help their business
• How to do kits ? What is the way to do them? Sharing knowledge, messy way to get information but organic

Renew intergenerational interactive researcher residencies-creative

• Researchers also need artists to inspire their projects sometimes
• Questions about the residence -> focus on intergenerational experience at the mall, limitations of schedule
• Crisis discourages youngers and elders to meet
• In our society, children are taught not to speak to strangers vs human bound -> how to get around this mixed message on boundary
• High school students involved thanks to curricular project, could also happen in universities for ex. in social sciences
• The idea of using social media platforms, as a means to create more bridges to youth. was a very good point brought up last night in our working group. Tick-tok as a way to engage in an intergenerational way.

Film studio at the mall to make How to videos

• There are a lot of roles/rules ? in video creation
• Having storytelling sessions in the mall so that people willing to create a video / snap of their story would get technical support and facilitation / film studio at the mall? --> animating storytelling
• Does it have to be How to videos, why? Nice to have technology activated in the mall to scaling up the project, preparing next steps for Engage, value what has been done in the last two years to build deliverables -> packaging for promotion, advocacy, how to kits, etc.
• Building a culture of sharing, how to live on
• Question of leveraging technology (who, why) to be discussed

Dissemination: Preparing articles and presenting / local travel exhibitions?

• Collaborating with communities and disseminating through their networks
• Different experiences with older immigrant adults, making sure they are being supported through this culture of sharing
• Collaboration with research centers such as Sherpa / CREGES
• Visual toolkits (comics, etc) that reduce language barriers with people to make connections across cultures, specific to circumstances – CREGES and Ariana may be able to help with infographics
• Handbook or wishlist that can be shared - elements learned over the four years,
• Scholary article on groups voicing same opinions, supported by data

Policy and advocacy social infrastructures for health and wellness support

• How research and art can contribute to policy-making and advocacy, understanding the language
• Putting together letters where people share their stories and visions - reflecting on the challenges on communications, social media, contributing to policy making
• Multiple voices starting with what you love about Quebec - Consider using intergenerational metissage methodologies
• References
  • John Ralston Saul. Writings of Canada (en/fr/indigenous)
  • Thich Nhat Hanh. Love Letters to the Earth
  • Barbe, Bazzo & Marissal. De quoi le Québec a-t-il besoin: Fragments d’un Dialogue Essentiel.
  • Johnson D. The Idea of Canada: Letters to a Nation.

Artist in residence and also Awards for one month at time. (Karen Tam for mall/commerce-social installation) example: Win residency with Tracie

• Not discussed

Round 2 on workgroups

• Creating little moments of silence, reframing - to lighten rich conversation
• Role of therapy (active listening without giving advice) and the role of life (seniors like to give advice from their experience) is very different

• Going older does not mean you want to share less, people want to share even more - need for connection, even if sometimes difficult to go to the groups - we have to push ourselves
• Role of the elderly in these times is changing not in a good way
• Valuing the welcoming of new participants as well as belonging and community amongst existing participants
• Challenge of having a conversation that is open and also more directed than an art hive -> relatedness, redirecting - mix between structure and looseness
• How to hold space while also making the work done? Giving space to respect and finding a gentle way to push things forward
• We should not push or impose technology to elders, we have to value moments of organic connection, personal contact, how young people can afford volunteering (“costs” of volunteer labour), resources needed, intergenerational connections and storytelling

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