Teeny Tiny Summit Virtual Session: Creatively Bringing Community Together

Teeny Tiny Summit Goes Virtual! Big Ideas: A Celebration and Exploration of Small-Town Possibilities

In 2020, Teeny Tiny Summits will be moving to a virtual format featuring a series of three webinars. The virtual Teeny Tiny webinars will shine a light on creative ideas and people in small communities that have made the most of the past few months. The webinar series will be sharing ideas and actions from community leaders in small communities of all kinds for informative and inspiring sessions.

The webinars will be 1.5 hours long and will include community development stories from small places throughout the province, and opportunities to connect virtually and learn from other participants. Much of the content is focused on what can be accomplished by volunteers working together with municipalities. In small places, volunteers are a critical part of economic development. Teeny Tiny Summits started in 2016, and since that time, there have been many sessions throughout Ontario, with over 1300 attendees in total. This is the first time Teeny Tiny Summits will be delivered through a virtual format.

Teeny Tiny Summit 2020 – Free Webinar Schedule

In 2020, a series of free virtual Teeny Tiny Summit Webinars will be offered. The sessions will be:

Wednesday, August 12 , 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Moving Quickly to Action featuring:

Wednesday, Sept 23 10:30 am - noon Creatively Bringing Community Together

3rd webinar Topic and Date to be confirmed

“Teeny Tiny Places” have a few common qualities; they tend to be small rural communities with village centres that have populations under 1000. Villages often do not have water and wastewater infrastructure. The communities lack dominant economic drivers, and tend not to have paid, dedicated economic development staff at the lower tier level. Despite these challenges, Teeny Tiny Places have many unique assets and opportunities to better their communities and achieve their goals. The Teeny Tiny “movement” began in response to a lack of economic development resources targeted to places with these characteristics and has been driven by the energy and dedication of people who are committed to their small communities.

The webinars are coordinated in partnership between community partners and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In typical years, Teeny Tiny Summits across Ontario have been supported by the Rural Ontario Municipal Association, a great supporter of Teeny Tiny Places.

The first webinar will take place on Wednesday, August 12 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm and will share stories around the topic of “Moving to Action Quickly”. The second webinar will take place on Wednesday, September 23 from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, with the topic of “Creatively Bringing Community Together”.

An online questionnaire will collect information from participants in the first two webinars, to solicit topics and speakers for the third webinar to be held in the fall of 2020.

Teeny Tiny Webinar Agenda

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Time: 10:30 am (EST) – noon

Location: Virtual via Zoom

10:30 AM: Opening Remarks

10:40 AM: Economic Transformation of Rural Communities, Fleming College– Tom Phillips

11:00 AM : Creative Collaboration - Fenelon Falls & Kawartha Lakes

Rebecca Mustard – City of Kawartha Lakes

Jim Armstrong – Kawartha Cooperative

Barn & Bunkie – Brandy Watson

Fenelon Falls Brewery – Agatha Stawick

11:20 AM: Bayfield Virtual Fair & More

Bayfield Agricultural Society– Doug Yeo

11:40 AM: Snapshots of Creatively Bringing Community Together

11:55 AM: Closing Remarks

Noon Adjourn