Edmonton by Kenneth Hynek
How many people know this? The City of Edmonton has a rather nifty site called: “Edmonton Stories“. The purpose of the site, in its own words:
To build awareness of our city, we’re uncovering the essence of Edmonton through the experience of Edmontonians. We’re collaborating with Edmontonians to share our truth by telling our stories
The John Humphrey Centre, in partnership with the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers and the City of Edmonton hosted the International Day for Sharing Life Stories back in March, 2009 and the experiences of 5 people who took part. Please go read their inspiring stories and explore others at the Edmonton Stories blog.
The Edmonton Stories blog is an interesting exercise of a municipal government taking an interest in the every day stories of citizens–as opposed to just the lurid, gory or depressing ones. Cynics will say that it’s just the City’s way of promoting idyllic images of a city that doesn’t really exist (and given Edmonton’s litany of problems, it’s a somewhat fair criticism. Also, what city do you know that is perfect?). But I like it. I think it shows a brighter side of Edmonton and allows us to take pride in our city from the point of view of people who are genuinely proud to be Edmontonian. For those of us working in rights-related professions (or anyone who reads the news, really), the world can be an extremely sad and depressing place where billions suffer hardships and violations to their human dignity (let alone every other aspect of their lives) daily and ceaselessly. This is a little glimpse of the good things in life, a reminder of how blessed we are living in this city.
What’s your story?
Hello, I work for the City in Communications and help with social media initiatives. Just wanted to thank you for the constructive comments and hope you and your connections consider providing an Edmonton story to the site. We also have a City blog which is always eager for comments: http:www.transformingedmonton.ca
Regards,
Jas
Hey Jas!
Thanks for stopping by and providing that link to Transforming Edmonton. I had a quick look at it but it clearly warrants a more in-depth look. I’m glad to learn that Edmonton is also taking a look at open-data like Vancouver has been, since this can have quite an impact in the way we do rights work in Edmonton.
Mandy.
Thanks for your comments and feedback about the site. Much appreciated!