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Executive Summary: Nunavut Communities, Nunavut

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The first round of the Smart Cities Challenge is closed. The Government of Canada announced the four winners (City of Montréal, Québec; Nunavut Communities, Nunavut; City of Guelph and County of Wellington, Ontario; and Town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia) on May 14, 2019.

Katinnganiq: Community, Connectivity and Digital Access for Life Promotion in Nunavut

Challenge Statement

Our communities will implement protective and preventative measures to reduce the risk of suicide in Nunavut, which is ten times the national average, and increase the amount and accessibility of peer support networks, educational resources and creative outlets that promote positive Mental Health to all Nunavummiut.

The Katinnganiq: Community, Connectivity, and Digital Access for Life Promotion in Nunavut proposal is submitted by the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, The Embrace Life Council, The Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, and the Pinnguaq Association on behalf of the 25 municipalities of Nunavut. As articulated in our challenge statement, our proposal seeks to increase protective factors to the risk of suicide by increasing the amount and accessibility of life promoting activities, resources and support systems like peer networks, educational initiatives and creative outlets to all Nunavummiut in the expanded field of data and technology.

This initiative will see the creation of a network of both physical and digital spaces that offer opportunities for Nunavummiut to connect and share knowledge with each other, learn skills through culturally responsive educational resources and extra-curricular activities, and to express themselves through creative outlets and safe environments as pathways to mental wellness. We will focus on building on community and individual strengths and capacities by integrating permanent Makerspaces as central hubs for digital and STEAM-based activities that amplify Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit principles such as collaboration, creative problem-solving, and knowledge-sharing; with the goals of increasing protective factors and contributing to social equity with respect to the digital divide in Nunavut.

The purpose of the setting up a network of Makerspaces across Nunavut is to enable and empower youth to embrace the future with confidence, armed with new coping skills and tools, and supported by positive relationships, where youth can build a personal sense of belonging, meaning, purpose and hope through their participation in activities. This initiative will provide safe, nurturing, welcoming social hubs for Nunavummiut that:

  1. Provide imaginative and engaging programs: including recreational, extra-curricular learning and skills acquisition (leadership, technology, interpersonal), the arts (performance, visual, music), traditional cultural/ language activities, peer mentoring, Elder mentoring, and coaching.
  2. Leverage digital connectivity where youth have opportunities to connect within communities and across Nunavut's 25 hamlets, share knowledge with each other and express themselves through access to digital tools and technological know-how utilizing new telecommunications technology.
  3. Integrate community support, including wellness services, where youth can access social/community services delivered on a 'whole person' basis in Makerspaces.

This model for Makerspaces across Nunavut is focused on providing connected and accessible digital technologies and educational resources that create opportunities for intergenerational knowledge transfer and language revitalization as pathways to mental wellness for youth firmly grounded in Inuit values. In Chapter 1 of this proposal we outline the evidence and model for our vision; as well as provide justification for the changes that were made during the finalist phase. In Chapter 2 we outline the governance framework that will provide the platform for achieving the outcomes of this initiative. Chapter 3 articulates the goals as ultimate outcomes, identifies the inputs and activities in a logic model, shows the KPIs which will be used to measure progress, and illustrates the specific outputs and outcomes for each activity. In Chapter 4 we outline how the initiative would be implemented and managed, alongside a description of the several work streams, tasks and subtasks. In Chapter 5 we provide an outline and description of the different technologies that will form part of this proposal. Chapter 6 provides a description of our approach to data and privacy for the implementation of this initiative, while Chapter 7 describes the outreach methodology and engagement activities that were undertaken during the finalist phase. In Chapter 8 we discuss our plans for meeting legislative and policy requirements regarding the duty to consult with Indigenous groups, modern treaty obligations, and the Community Employment Benefits Plan. Finally, Chapter 9 reports on the finalist grant utilized and provides class B estimates for our projected costs throughout the next five years.

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