Things cost money. Period. Which pretty generally sucks when you're not making very much. Being the champion of accessibility that I am, this has been one of my biggest hang-ups about #rebootab.

While the first reboot in Red Deer wasn't too far of a trip, and registration cost was pretty low and I got to split the trip in my relatively easier-on-gas mobile, Kananaskis broke my bank. Even though I split the cost of a hotel room at the beautiful Delta lodge and had someone with me for at least half of the road trip, I still spent over $500 attending. Frankly, I wasn't even coming from that far away.Reboot from it's very beginning has been about increasing participation... but how do you make the Reboot more accessible in order to engender that increase in participation? Click here to read Chelsa's full blog post.

There’s sure been a lot of talk about Reboot Alberta lately. But ever since the first meeting in Red Deer last November, much of Alberta’s political chattering class seems completely puzzled over just what Reboot Alberta actually is.

Is it a “standard unite the left” movement? Or maybe it’s a right wing plot? Is it a bunch of out-of-touch “elitists” as Hugh MacDonald would have us believe? Or is it a nearly irrelevant “debate society” ? Click here to read Andrew's full blog post.

One of the directions coming out of the Reboot Alberta launch event late last November was a request to get a better understanding about what we meant by the term “progressive” in a 21st century Alberta context. Part of that exploration was a number of blogs and discussion papers posted on the Reboot Alberta website under the “What is a Progressive” link.

Another part of the exploration of “What is a Progressive” was a conjoint survey to study some value preferences that progressives see as important to guide and drive policy advisers and politicians when they make laws, regulations and public policy pronouncements that impact the lives of Albertans. Read Ken's full blog post here.

 

There has been a lot of discussion, up to and including today's media coverage and Ken Chapman's blog post, which continue to try and define the modern definition of a "Progressive". For reasons I can only describe as trite, there are also people who want to insists that this is an excercise in futility or worse some kind of underhanded political gamesmanship. That's ridiculous in my opinion, because if I self-identify as a "Progressive", then I am correct. Period. No one owns the definition, any more than if I said that I was religious; it could not be debated. "Religious" of course is a philosophy and is quite different for everyone. Just as if my choice of Religion is simply my choosing which one best aligns with MY beliefs.

Read the rest of Chris's blog post here.

I attended the first Alberta Party "Big Listen" event here in Edmonton yesterday and I was impressed with the process. When the Alberta Party decided to go to Albertans for policy suggestions, to build a policy platform that reflects what Albertans want, it came apparent that you could not just announce that you want the people's input and wait for it to come in. You have to go out an engage with the people and listen to what they have to say.

The "Big Listen" focuses on holding small gatherings of no more than 10 people at a time. This makes it a personal experience that allows everyone to share and learn what others are thinking. I met people who are young and starting a family to those who are retired and those who are active in politics to those who do not wish to be a member of any political party. Read the rest of Robert's post here.

Alberta is experiencing a revolution in social activism. In the past, the influence of the affluent, middle-aged, white man in Alberta was lamented; now we are seeing these same types of people shape a movement that has promised to increase democratic participation, inclusivity, and accessibility in Alberta’s political environment. Small pockets of individuals, province-wide, are springing up and enacting genuine social change through long ranging and diverse discussions.

Enter into ChangeCamp, CivicCamp, and the most recent political conference, Reboot Alberta, where the first goal is bringing about a fresh perspective in Alberta. These events are truly engaging Albertans. People of all ages and backgrounds are invited to come together to participate in these discussions, and in the eyes of many, they are signals of a new time in Alberta. It seems like genuine progressives are taking command of the political culture. Read the rest of Jenn's blog post here.

I had the opportunity to spend last weekend in picturesque Kannanaskis at Reboot Alberta 2.0, having a fantastic, perspective-broadening time connecting with people of all political stripes and discussing what a better Alberta might look like.

I decided to attend Reboot partly out of curiousity after following it online for the past few months, but also because as a life-long (albeit relatively young) Albertan, I don't believe that the general narrative about this province that has emerged over the last decade is at all contiguous with my own experiences. At Reboot I found what I was looking for - a group of people who felt the same way (though often for different reasons), and were committed to doing something about it. Read Mandi's full blog post here.

 

At RebootAlberta2.0, participants were asked what the expected from the weekend. These are some of their submissions, with more to be added in the coming days. Read through them and add your comments, what do you expect out of Reboot Alberta?

“Moving towards a more accountable engaged, resilient province.

“Redistribution of electoral power.”

 

“Democratic reform – a plan.”

 

Last week I discussed volunteer work for the purposes of CV building, and concluded that to build a "good" CV, you are compelled to think strategically. I used the criteria for the Government of Canada's Policy Leaders Recruitment program to show how "low profile" volunteering -- your soup kitchens and teaching people to read sort of thing -- is best traded in for activities more likely to build recognition and accolades that you can then document on your CV.

I'm not suggesting that helping people and career building are necessarily incompatible goals.What I do see at work, though, are forces that create a status hierarchy within the volunteer sector. Today I want to think a bit about the consequences of that status hierarchy. We often pay less attention to volunteer work than paid labour and elected/appointed public service positions, but it can be a significant source of political power.

For those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis (and I thank you) you will recall I did a series of posts on problems in the Alberta Department of Children and Youth Services last summer. I centered the series on a Contempt of Court finding against a Director level official in department over a foster child and the impact and implications for the child. I am writing this post as an update on the case but first let me put you back in context.