Healthy Living, in collaboration with communities throughout Southern Health-Santé Sud, hosted our inaugural virtual Share & Learn Conference on May 9th, titled ‘Communities Making a Difference: Learning from Each Other’.

The goal was to showcase the incredible work that community groups are doing to improve the health and well-being of their residents, and to broaden knowledge around health promotion and health equity. Projects that received Healthy Together Now funding through Southern Health-Santé Sud were invited to share their stories with other community groups and organizations to inspire ideas, share successes and other valuable learnings.

The conference began with a welcome from CEO Jane Curtis, followed by an opening prayer by Darryl Taylor, Knowledge Holder. The keynote by Dr. Chúk Odenigbo outlined the diverse ways communities have historically understood and perceived health while unpacking the impact of colonization on unjust health differences.

The highlight of the conference was hearing from five featured community presenters sharing the impact of their projects on health equity in their communities. Stories that were highlighted at this Conference were among hundreds funded across Southern Health-Santé Sud. Participants had a chance to engage with presenters in small breakout groups which provided an opportunity for Q&A, exchanging ideas and problem solving together. We are grateful to work alongside community leaders who are dedicated to making their communities healthy and inclusive places.

Hosting the conference virtually allowed for accessible attendance across Southern Health-Santé Sud. Survey results showed 100% of respondents rated the conference good or excellent. Comments included that people enjoyed “nuggets of insight and learning points” shared by presenters, and Dr. Chúk Odenigbo said “there was good energy in the virtual space”.

Thank you to all our presenters and participants who made this possible!

Submitted by: Stephanie Verhoeven, Director, Health Services – Public Health-Healthy Living & Primary Care