Storytelling Engagement in Mi’kma’ki
Project Overview
In 2024, Lyndsay Francis consulting and Elkplan were selected to assist the Halifax Regional Municipality engage with the Mi’kmaw and urban Indigenous community about the new Cogswell District.
Purpose
The Halifax Regional Municipality was in the process of removing the Cogswell Interchange and creating a new neighbourhood in it’s place. Acknowledging the history of the site in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and traditional lands of the Mi’kmaq people, our consulting team was focused on leading a welcoming, culturally appropriate engagement process to help: identify stories, cultural elements, and placemaking features to prioritize with the District.
Outcomes
Elkplan helped to develop and deliver an engagement program that included a number of visual tools with a unique look and feel to welcome the Mi’kmaw and urban Indigenous community to participate. This included designing meeting invitations, a workbook, presentation boards, an illustrated deck of cards with storytelling features, illustrations/infographics, as well as live digital graphic facilitation during engagement sessions. The team led 3 in-person engagement sessions, 1 virtual session, and had conversations with numerous community leaders, Elders and artists.
Impact
The project is wrapping up in fall of 2024, after a rich engagement period over the summer. The resources that were developed for the engagement program helped to share information, provide clarity for participants, and inspire idea sharing as participants watched their ideas being captured through live digital graphic recording.
The results are being compiled into a What We Heard report, which will be used to shape the direction for further engagement, and ultimately to provide direction to the Halifax Regional Municipality on adding cultural features into the Cogswell District.
Information about the project and a number of the visual resources that Elkplan created can be found on the Shape your city Halifax page found here.
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