
Our Strategic Journey so far:
- In August, we put together this webpage to keep track of the conversations and ideas we’ve heard since our AGM panel in June.
- In September, we added a ‘What We Heard’ Summary of our Community Conversations from July.
- In October, the VA board and staff convened for our Strategic Dreaming Sessions.
- In November, we will create a ‘North Star’ Strategy Document for 2024 – 2026 based on the strategic dreaming sessions the VA board and staff worked on together in October.
Strategic Dreaming Community Conversations – What We Heard Summary Sept 2023

Volunteer Alberta hosted two community conversations in July to envision what volunteerism and civic engagement might look like in Alberta several generations from now. This document provides a summary of those conversations. The community insights reflected in this report will serve as key inputs for VA’s board and staff discussions in October 2023, where we will determine the ‘north star’ strategy for our organization for 2024 – 2026.
Strategic Dreaming Community Survey
“Radically Hopeful Futures” AGM Panel Discussion – What We Heard Summary July 2023

To summarize all of the great ideas and fantastic discussions we heard at the “Radically Hopeful Futures” panel discussion in June , we have compiled a report of all the key ideas and takeaways from the illuminating conversations we had. Thank you to our insightful panelists and participants for an inspiring conversation.
Click here to download the “Radically Hopeful Futures” – What We Heard Summary July 2023
Strategic Dreaming Community Conversations July 10 & 25, 2023

Thank you for attending our Community Conversations!
Have big dreams for the social impact/nonprofit sector? Share your audacious ideas with us! The VA board and staff team will embark on a strategic dreaming journey this September, and we want YOU to join us! Inspired by the Radically Hopeful Futures conversation during our recent AGM, we’re seeking your imaginative input on how Volunteer Alberta can become a good organizational ancestor. At these conversations, we’ll participate in some creative activities and explore ideas for what the hopeful future looks like from your perspective. Help us envision volunteerism and civic engagement in Alberta, several generations from now.
AVCN Insights & Input Towards Volunteer Alberta’s Strategic Dreaming – What We Heard Summary July 2023

Inspired by our “Radically Hopeful Futures” panel discussion, we started our Community Conversations with members from the Alberta Volunteers Centres Network in June 2023. This is a summary report of the conversation we had with members of AVCN to better understand what mattered them, and the input we gathered from this meeting helped structure our Strategic Dreaming Community Conversations in July 2023.
“Radically Hopeful Futures” Panel Discussion – June 13, 2023
We held our first panel discussion on “Radically Hopeful Futures” at our AGM in June, and we appreciate your participation and contribution towards creating a responsive and empowering environment for civic engagement and volunteerism in Alberta. A big thank you goes to our thought-provoking panelists, Annand Ollivierre, Cassie Robinson, Jacquelyn Cardinal, and VA moderator Darryl De Dios, who graciously shared insights on harnessing our collective imaginations to envision alternative futures. Their expertise and passion for transformative thinking inspired everyone in the room to embrace new perspectives and strive for bold, positive change. As our 2021–2023 strategic priorities draw to a close, we will be hosting two community conversations in July to learn about what is important to our community members. These conversations will serve as a compass for our Strategic Dreaming session in the fall. We look forward to all the exciting conversations to come!
Suggested Reading and Resources
Here are some optional, additional resources you may wish to read any time before or after our community conversations. These resources may help to provide more insight on topics like futures thinking, collective imagination, systems change, and organizational ancestry.
Protopia Futures Framework by Monika Bielskyte
Murmurations – Returning to the Whole by Adrienne Maree Brown
Dancing with Systems by Donella Meadows
The Impossible Train – in Article or Video form by Phoebe Tickell
Two Loops Model: Berkana Institute’s Theory of Change (video) by Deborah Frieze
Rewilding Social Care by Bryony Shannon
Missing Words by Bryony Shannon
Remember (poem) by Joy Harjo
Convincing people that change is possible by ‘painting the beautiful tomorrow’ by Christina Palassio (interview with Anat Shenker-Osorio)
Futures Literacy: shaping your present by reimagining futures (TEDx video) by Loes Damhof
Why you should think about being a good ancestor — and 3 ways to start doing it – Bina Venkataraman
Becoming Good Ancestors: The Urgency of Long-Term Thinking by Lindsay K. Solomon
Thinking differently: Using the Seven Generations Principle by Jayla Rousseau-Thomas
How to Get Out of a Despairing Mood (video) by The School of Life
What Is ‘Futures Literacy’ and Why Is It Important? by Niklas Larsen