August 2019
Dear CCIUCN Members:
I’m delighted to write to you now, midway through our fiscal year, to provide an update of the activities of the CCIUCN and to highlight some upcoming events.
As Board President, I will aim to provide these updates throughout the year to keep our membership informed about and engaged in CC IUCN projects.
We kicked off the year with our Annual General Meeting in January, where we swore in our board and began the development of our 3-year work plan. Thanks to the input of our members we have finalized the work plan and it is posted on the CCIUCN website for your information. It is an ambitious plan that aims to advance our contribution towards the mission of the IUCN and conservation of nature in Canada.
Interested in being involved?
CCIUCN is seeking members who like to actively participate on projects outlined in the work plan. Presently, we are seeking members with an interest in communication, membership services and youth engagement but if you see something in the work plan that interests you, please reach out! You can contact cciucn@nature.ca with your interest and we’ll be in touch.
We want your input
One of the key activities of the CCIUCN over the next few months is soliciting input from members on the draft IUCN Programme 2020-2024, titled ‘One Nature, One Future’. The finalized Programme – a 4 year work plan- will be presented for adoption at IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille France in 2020. The Canadian Committee, like all country committees, is soliciting input from members on the draft Programme and in order to gather as much input as possible, we’ve established three ways you can provide input:
- Fill out a member’s survey seeking input on the Programme. The members survey is open until August 26th and you can access it here.
- Join us at the in-person Regional forum on September 5th at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Register and find the agenda here. This year we’re also working to have video links so that members who can’t make it to Ottawa can still participate.
- We hosted a webinar in early July where participants were able to learn about how the Programme of work drives the activities of the IUCN, review a summary of the current draft and discuss next steps in the Programme development process including how to provide input. If you missed the webinar, don’t worry! You can watch a recording of the session here. Special thanks to the Canadian Parks Collective for Innovation and Leadership for hosting the webinar.
2020 World Conservation Congress
The CCIUCN will also be playing an active role at the upcoming World Conservation Congress in Marseille in 2020, including sending Youth Ambassadors (stay tuned for more information on that), hosting a Canada Reception and more. If you intend to be at the Congress, drop us a line as we’d love to connect with all the Canadians who will be travelling to France.
One more item for your calendars: this fall, CCIUCN in partnership with Canadian Parks Collective for Innovation and Leadership, will be hosting a webinar on synthetic biology. This rapidly developing field holds promise and risks for the conservation of biodiversity. CCIUCN will be sending out invitations in the fall, so be sure to tune in to learn more.
My first six months as President of the CCIUCN has been busy and exciting – there is so much to do! I very much look forward to all the activities we have planned over the next six months and beyond. I’ll close by wishing you all a safe and fun summer, and a productive fall. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Lisa
President, CC IUCN Board of Directors
