Made in Banff

Archive | Leadership Development RSS feed for this section

Eight things I learned about art + science collaboration while eating a sandwich

by Debra Hornsby on February 8, 2013 in Arts, Banff, Banff International Research Station, Community connection, General, Ideas, Leadership Development, Science Communications

Banff Centre president Jeff Melanson (left) and CIFAR president and CEO Alan Bernstein take part in a panel discussion following an announcement of a partnership between the two organizations. Photo: Kim Williams, The Banff Centre

Yesterday the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and The Banff Centre announced a new partnership aimed at strengthening Canada’s capacity in creativity and innovation.

In his opening remarks Banff Centre president Jeff Melanson, tongue planted firmly in cheek, suggested that he and CIFAR CEO Alan Bernstein were announcing their engagement. But behind the smiles lay the essence of this partnership – which is aimed at establishing productive relationships between scientists and artists. CIFAR and The Banff Centre together represent many of the world’s best minds engaged in the arts, and in research in the natural and social sciences. The aim is to get those minds talking – together in Banff, adding to the rich conversation already established through the Banff International Research Station (BIRS).

The partnership was kicked off with a luncheon and panel discussion about colloboration in the arts and science. Herein, eight things I learned while munching my egg salad sandwich:

Quantum physicists can be awesome dancers – and they can even use dance to illustrate the principles behind quantum computers: meet our panel moderator Krister Shalm and his Quantum Dance project. Krister has promised to bring his dance to Banff in the future!
From Alan Bernstein: Nobel Laureates in the sciences are 14 times more likely to be artists and ten times more likely to be engaged in creative writing than other scientists. Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Film shares Indigenous communities’ wise practices and success stories

by Shari Bishop Bowes on February 4, 2013 in Banff, Community connection, Film & Media, General, Ideas, Indigenous Leadership Management, Leadership Development, Videos

In the midst of Idle No More, Canada’s news machine and opinion pages have been filled with images, dialogue, debate, and, in my opinion, some frighteningly stereotypical characterizations of this land’s Indigenous peoples.

This video produced at The Banff Centre offers a refreshing perspective on contemporary Indigenous communities that have achieved success with economic and community development projects. It tells the positive stories of the persistence and hard work that have led to four very successful Alberta enterprises – Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park, Alberta Indian Investment Corporation, Metis Crossing, and Mikisew Group of Companies.

This 45-minute documentary video was produced by our Film & Media department. It was created during a two-and-a-half-year research project investigating wise practices in Indigenous communities in Alberta, led by Indigenous Leadership and Management at The Banff Centre and supported by Rural Alberta’s Development Fund and the Nexen Chair in Indigenous Leadership.

Comments { 0 }

Indigenous youth reshaping the future

by Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux on January 31, 2013 in Banff, General, Ideas, Indigenous Leadership Management, Leadership Development

Three members of the youth cohort for the Best Practices in Rural Alberta Project, Crystal Jackson, Andrea Kastendieck, and Sarah Kastendieck , visited Metis Crossing with Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux to learn about this successful Indigenous community. Photo: Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux

We have all been young Canadians at some time and voiced our opinion on the direction of this country. Some of us have even taken the path to political representation once we got old enough to be taken seriously. Today’s youth have the kind of insight and skill at building connections that could no doubt turn around the most jaded political consciousness. A disconnect for youth, however – something we’ve heard with every generation – is the fact they often don’t join their elders in making their statements. Too bad, because they aren’t busy rehashing the past, they are reshaping the future, and have the energy, determination, and access to social media to do it. A surprising number aren’t looking for status symbols or economic success, because that’s so yesterday. Instead, Canadian youth are mobilizing in provinces like Alberta, Ontario, and across Canada, joining Indigenous voices to reclaim a shadowed history, challenge reckless economic development, and rebuild morale and strength at home where it counts the most. Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Dinosaur museum gets green light during Community of Leaders program

by Shari Bishop Bowes on January 26, 2013 in Banff, General, Ideas, Leadership Development

An architect’s rendering shows the dinosaur gallery of the Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, which received approval to proceed to construction in December.

Dinosaurs may have met their maker millions of years ago, but they continue to fascinate with each major fossil discovery in Alberta and beyond.

The man heading up a Northern Alberta project to build a new dinosaur museum in the Grande Prairie region is well aware of the universal fascination with dinosaurs and how they inhabited this part of Canada, and he got some fantastic news while attending the Community of Leaders program at The Banff Centre recently.

Brian Brake was taking part in the Community of Leaders program when he got the good news on his project. Photo: Kim Williams, The Banff Centre

Brian Brake, executive director of the Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Alberta’s Peace Country, was in the middle of the two-day leadership program sponsored by Encana Corporation and Cenovus Energy in Banff when he got the call that gave his $30 million project the green light it needed to proceed.

“While I was there, we got permission from the County of Grande Prairie to go ahead with the tendering process,” Brake said.

The approval, which came with an additional $2 million from the county, will see the museum opening in June 2014 – a mere 14 months from now.

Brake and one of his board of directors attended the Community of Leaders program despite the monumental workload of promoting the museum and raising an additional $6 million to meet the project’s target – and Brake was glad they did. Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Green achievements for Kinnear Centre result in LEED Gold Certification

by Shari Bishop Bowes on January 14, 2013 in Banff, Community connection, Conferences, General, Ideas, Leadership Development, Library & Archives

We just received word that we have also been awarded LEED Gold Certification for the redevelopment of the Donald Cameron Centre!

The Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation at The Banff Centre has attained LEED Gold Certification for New Construction.

I have fond memories of the day we gathered here at The Banff Centre in July 2009 for the official opening celebrations of a brand new building on campus, the Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation. To mark the occasion, there were aerial dancers gracing the vertical height of the building, a guest appearance and speech by Prince Edward, First Nations blessings, and stirring musical performances.An equally proud day came in December 2012, when it was learned that the Kinnear Centre had attained LEED® Gold Certification for New Construction. The Kinnear Centre became the first building in Banff National Park to earn this new construction benchmark that is recognized worldwide for design, construction, and operation of high environmental performance buildings.

Even if you have spent time in the Kinnear Centre taking a program, attending a workshop, or participating in a conference, there are many things you wouldn’t see upon first glance that together have helped create a building that is not only beautiful and functional, but also very, very green. Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }

Wise lessons learned from Alberta’s Indigenous communities

by Shari Bishop Bowes on January 10, 2013 in Banff, Community connection, General, Ideas, Indigenous Leadership Management, Leadership Development

Simone Antoine-Schwair assembles high-strength slings being manufactured at Mikisew Industrial Supply in Edmonton. Mikisew Group of Companies is one of the research communities included in the wise practices research project undertaken by Indigenous Leadership and Management. Photo: Gavin Young

We need fearless storytelling more than ever.” Dr. Laura Brearley, an Australian academic and expert in creative approaches to research, had these powerful words for a gathering of researchers, academics, youth, elders, and Indigenous leaders from across Canada, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.

Brearley’s keynote address in September at The Banff Centre’s Wise Practices in Indigenous Community Development Symposium touched on profound lessons for community leaders seeking positive change.

The sharing of stories – and how they inspire, are communicated, and learned from – was a key theme of the symposium, which was the culmination of a two-and-a-half year “Best Practices in Rural Alberta” applied research project led by Indigenous Leadership and Management at The Banff Centre with the support of the Rural Alberta Development Fund and Nexen.

Continue Reading →

Comments { 0 }