Burnaby, BC – The Burnaby Community Assembly (the Assembly) is seeking public feedback on its emerging priorities as it develops recommendations for “Burnaby 2050,” the City’s Official Community Plan. Feedback will support the Assembly in narrowing its priorities and weighing trade-offs during the next phase of deliberation.
“The Burnaby Community Assembly represents meaningful engagement opportunities that help to strengthen our democratic institutions and foster community resilience,” said Dr. Andréanne Doyon, Director of Simon Fraser University's Planning Program and member of the Burnaby Community Assembly Advisory Committee. "It's equally important for the broader Burnaby community to have their say and shape how the Assembly develops its recommendations."
With support from technical experts and City of Burnaby (the City) staff, Assembly Members spent the first three days of Assembly Meetings learning about the Official Community Plan and exchanging ideas for how Burnaby can thrive.
The project is led by Simon Fraser University's Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue with full editorial autonomy from the City of Burnaby over the Assembly and its outcomes. The Assembly’s final recommendations will be shared publicly and the City has committed to receiving and responding to these recommendations, ensuring the process is transparent and accountable.
“It’s rare in our democracy to bring together a such a diverse group of residents to create recommendations for their city,” said Robin Prest, Assembly Chair and Program Director at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. “We’re excited to share these learnings and ideas with the broader Burnaby community.”
A public workshop is set for Tuesday, April 9th, 2024 from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at Bonsor Recreation Complex, where the Assembly will share its emerging priorities and gather feedback to inform the next phase of deliberation. Burnaby residents are encouraged to attend and can register at: https://tinyurl.com/bigideasworkshop.
"The public workshop is an excellent opportunity for the Assembly to hear from many voices, including the diverse newcomer communities who are important to the fabric of Burnaby," said Ana Maria Bustamente, Manager of the Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table and member of the Burnaby Community Assembly Advisory Committee. "This makes them participants in municipal processes and fosters a feeling of belonging and inclusion, even for those not fully fluent in English."
The Assembly launched on Saturday, February 24th, bringing together 45 residents Members selected by civic lottery to broadly mirror the demographic diversity of Burnaby.
For more information about the Burnaby Community Assembly including how to get involved, visit burnabyassembly.ca. To speak with representatives of the Burnaby Community Assembly, please contact Athavarn Srikantharajah, Special Projects Manager.
All community members can provide input into Burnaby's Official Community Plan. For more information about “Burnaby 2050” and city-led engagement opportunities for Burnaby’s Official Community Plan, visit https://www.burnaby.ca/our-city/projects/burnabys-official-community-plan-project.
Media Contact
Athavarn Srikantharajah, Special Projects Manager, SFU’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, asrikant@sfu.ca, +1 647 894 8737.
The Burnaby Community Assembly is part of the three-year Urban Resilient Futures Initiative. The founding partners for Urban Resilient Futures are the City of Burnaby, Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and Vancity, initiated by a generous contribution from an anonymous donor. This work is also being supported by the Civic Innovation Lab, and a contribution from the Renovate the Public Hearing Initiative. For this project, SFU’s Morris J Wosk Centre Centre for Dialogue has full editorial autonomy from its partners and funders in running the Burnaby Community Assembly.
Comments