In 2023, Volunteer Alberta (VA) embarked on a Strategic Dreaming Journey, engaging in radically hopeful conversations with the people and communities we serve about the future of volunteerism and civic engagement in Alberta for generations to come. Imagining the future was collaborative work, and together we dreamt of futures that were sustainable, inclusive, and hopeful.
Following these conversations, VA staff and board members convened to reflect on the wisdom that surfaced from our community dialogues and to craft a strategic document that would turn the aspirations voiced in our community conversations into guiding principles for VA.
We are excited to share our Strategic Dreaming Compass with you. It will serve as a North Star document to navigate the future with intention and care. This compass aims to be a guide for VA, ensuring that our efforts are aligned with the engaged and caring communities in our province. It will help us clarify how we will continue supporting the good work of the sector and help us fulfill our vision of thriving communities nurtured by caring individuals across Alberta.
Thank you to all the members, people, and communities we serve for dreaming with us. Thank you to our Radically Hopeful Futures panelists, Jacquelyn Cardinal, Annand Ollivierre, and Cassie Robinson for helping us break free from our collective ‘poverty of the imagination.’ Thank you to Andy Alvarez, Esther Dimalanta, and Francine Wong Zentner for curating the concept and pulling all the elements together in this beautiful document. Thank you to Kate Sutherland who held the space for the VA staff and board and helped us illuminate paths forward. And thank you to you – the reader– for taking the time to engage with this compass.
