September 2008 - Introduction, initiation, information!

My first month working at the City of Edmonton is over, and it seems like I've been there much longer! There has been so much to learn in a short period of time, but now I feel like I could handle almost anythingthat comes my way. Almost.

At first it was a real change, going from working for such asecurity-minded organization like CSEC to Next Gen, an initiative at the municipal level. I felt strangely guilty not leaving my cell phone, ipod, etc. with security - security that hardly batted an eye when I came into the building! My reception within Community Services was just as warm as it was with CSEC, and I was excited to see so many younger faces, likely recent students who had been hired on full time.

My first few weeks at Next Gen were insanely busy, and thelearning curve was steep. My first full day of work included a meeting with the Next Gen Steering Committee and the City Manager, Al Maurer. Maybe it was my ignorance at the duties of the City Manager, or maybe it was because I had just come from Ottawa, the hub of political activity of our country, but it wasn't until later that week that I realized how lucky we were to have Mr. Maurer as a guest at our meeting. How the boots of City Manager can be filled by just one person, I have yet to figure out. Later that week, Next Gen hosted a major event, Pecha Kucha Night 2. Although I missed the majority of the preparations, I was there to lend a hand with the event itself on the Thursday night. Pecha Kucha is an incredibly interesting concept, and an event that takes places in a ton of cities around the world. Edmonton was lucky enough to boast beingthe first city in western Canada to hold one. The basic idea of PechaKucha is that a handful of presenters are given 20 slides, each slideshown foronly 20 seconds, to explain a concept related to design. This particular Pecha Kucha featured a huge range of presentations on "design". One presenter spoke about the evolution of the design of the gamingcontroller, another spoke about public art. There was a presentation onthe philosophical meaning of design, and yet another focused on the evolution of the design of single family, detached, entry-level housing. Some presentations were funny - one in particular about the idea ofestablishing a Halloween festival to re-invent the meaning of the word "Deadmonton", typically used to, well, say that Edmonton is a boring city (which, I can assure you, it's not), got a number of laughs. In the end, Pecha Kucha was a success and everyone was already buzzingabout the third one to come in January.

The next two weeks, although a little scary, forced me to learn a whole lot in a very short period of time. My supervisor got into some training courses at the last minute, and was gone for almost the full two weeks. The brand-new coop was left to hold down the fort, which was probably the best thing for me. I had to figure some things out for myself, withsome guidance from my supervisor via email and the occasional visit to my office neighbour, Sue. Really, there was nothing earth-shattering or super important that happened while I was flying solo, and I didn't have an extensive list of arduous tasks to complete. What likely made it seem challenging was the fact that I went from being a translator and editor to something of a jack of all trades in terms of communications and events. I attended more meetings than I have probably in the last year, which was definitely not a bad thing. I actually don't mind going to meetings (strange, I know), so this was just fine by me. Some great things came out of these meetings: I was able to get to know some volunteers who work with Next Gen, as well as connect with a co-worker who was formerly a University of Lethbridge coop student.

Overall, I learned some pretty essential things. First, networking is key. The more people you know, and who know that you're good at what you do, the better. Second, I have a lot to learn about municipal government. I say that in the broadest sense because I really don'tknow much about any one thing. But I'm learning the best way possible -I'm right in the middle of it all! Third, when sending out mass emails(to the tune of 1200+ people) ALWAYS double check that it's the RIGHT document. No exceptions. And lastly, when taking minutes at a meeting, a laptop and good typing skills are your best friends.

Over the course of the next month I'm really looking forward to getting to know Next Gen's Committee members a little better - they're a dedicated group of individuals who have the almost super-human enthusiasm to take on Next Gen duties on top of their regular work. Some committee members work for the City of Edmonton, so their knowledge will be an invaluable asset in my goal to learn more about municipal government and its structure. I am also very excited about the opportunity to help plan a Volunteer Appreciation Night for our volunteers who helped out at Pecha Kucha. This will give me a chance to get to know the committee and volunteers on a more personal, low-key level. Other things coming up in October (that will carry over to November and December) are a mixer hosted with the Edmonton Youth Council, the appointment of a new co-chair for our committee, and the planning of the muchly anticipated Pecha Kucha 3!