TALKS

Community and Civic Engagement

  • Making meaningful contributions close to home

  • Starting small, local, and achievable civic action

  • Connecting passion to community involvement

  • Community engagement as the foundation of civic life

Often, because we cannot do everything—i.e. we can’t drop our lives and move to another country to serve—so, instead—we do nothing.

Dr. De Mello talks about the ways in which people can make a meaningful contributions to their communities. Dr. De Mello offers practical ways in which participants can start small, start local and start today and do something. She advises that we follow our passion rather than striving for distant fairy tale jobs.

De Mello delivers a motivational and practical speech about the ways in which folks can make a small contribution in their communities today.

Often, we lament that we cannot be the Mother Teresa’s of the world and leave everything behind to take care of the sick and feed the poor. So, instead, we do nothing.

De Mello offers a challenge to the audience to start small, start local and start today. She gives numerous examples from humanitarian aid to local charities where a small one-time contribution can make an enormous impact. She tackles the notion that civic engagement begins with community engagement—knowing our neighbours is the first step.

70% of Canadians are conflict avoiders

Tanya shows the ways in which we can tackle conflict, so it doesn’t build up, and find mutually-agreeable resolutions to move forward.

  • “Toni’s data driven, thoughtfully researched presentation provided a solid backbone for an excellent training session which engaged our entire firm. She was dynamic and positive, speaking with both humour and vulnerability in a way that resonated powerfully with our firm. What I did not expect, and what made all the difference, was Toni’s ability to go beyond the academic material and to engage with the individual members of our firm, disarming skeptics, engaging allies and creating an atmosphere where everyone felt that they could be part of positive action and could reflect further on equity and inclusion.”

    —Dale Lastman, Chair of Goodmans LLP

CONTACT TANYA

To schedule a talk or consultation with Tanya for your organization, or to learn more, please fill out this form.

Or connect with Tanya on LinkedIn.

Illustration by Mariona López Bosch / Waitala