Eric Squair’s blog

I recently went to the fantastic ‘Web of Change‘ conference in the Gulf Islands of British Columbia. I have been to this yearly event several times, and have always returned refreshed and inspired.  This year I added a bike trip with my partner to the mix, biking the 500km round trip from Vancouver to Cortes Island (via Tofino)

The (un)conference was inspiring as always, but I had one main issue I wanted to explore. I have been mulling over the idea of what a MoveOn-style grassroots movement would look like in Canada, and how it might get started. It’s an ambitious idea, and some people feel it has already been realized by Avaaz.org.

Nevertheless, I was interested in exploring the idea with like-minded online organizers, and Web of Change is perhaps the best place in Canada for such discussion. A few people came together to trade ideas and do some basic strategizing.

It was a good session, if a little overwhelming, and I think it moved the discussion forward. I have the notes and flipcharts and will be sharing the thoughts from the group in the coming weeks. The best part of the session was realizing that several progressive people across Canada have exactly the same goal, and are already taking steps to make it a reality.  I look forward to seeing what comes out of the connections made at this Web of Change session.