Have you noticed?
Ottawa has changed. In the past year or two, our city has come to life.
It could be just me. Maybe I’m the one who is only now figuring out where to find the “cool” in this community or maybe I’m just late to the game.
Who knows? All I know is that lately, this girlaboutOtown has perceived a serious shift in our collective psyche. It seems we may actually be sporting a bit of a swagger these days, which is something previously thought to only happen elsewhere. I’d say we’ve got some major metropolitan mojo going on, and here is why:
#1 We’re EDGY. Thanks to the generous folks at the GCTC, I was recently invited to see a presentation of blood.claat, the provocative coming of age story of a 15 yr old girl in Kingston, Jamaica. It was a intensely powerful piece that left the audience reeling emotionally, and many wrote quite insightful and reflective reviews afterwards. (Check out CoffeewithJulie, (Cult)ure Magazine & Wellington Oracle)
What struck me most about the experience though, was the number of people who lingered after the show to participate in the “talk back” discussion with playwright, poet and sole performer d’bi.young anitafrika. Almost the entire audience stayed on, and the questions came fast and furious. Add to this stimulating and substantive exchange between strangers the GCTC‘s inspired “What’s your Viewpoint” initiative, where theatre-goers are invited to share their reactions to what they witness on stage on a sticky note, and we have a truly interesting interplay between diverse economic, cultural and geographic communities. Hardly boring, and definitely symbolic of the kind of crossover conversations that are increasingly common here in OTown.
#2. We’re INNOVATIVE. We all know that we live among the very well educated in Canada’s capital city, but the good news is we seem to be keeping our brains busy thinking up all kinds of new ideas. Whether we’ve tackling new technologies through collaboration at Open Data Ottawa or BarCampOttawa, sharing lessons learned at the Case Study Jam or GirlGeekDinners, or getting together to celebrate success at regular Social Media Breakfasts, there is no grass growing under our feet.
#3. We’re ENGAGED. Have you ever wondered whether or not there is anybody out there who cares? In OTown there are plenty who do, and who willingly contribute their energy, talent and enthusiasm to make this city a better place to be. Take TEDx for example. There have already been two of these renowned collaborative unconferences here in the capital, and there is a third planned for March 30 (which I am very excited to be attending). We also have Ottawa’s second Pecha Kucha night coming up March 31, where designers and creatives meet to share their work through visual presentations. And, if you’ve missed these forward looking discussions, you can still get in on the action by logging into OpinionOttawa, an online forum where anyone can weigh in on the city’s economic future.
Local pundit Ian Capstick may have got it right about the current state of city politics in his first CITYVOTE2010 piece for spacingOttawa, but he makes an equally compelling case for each of us to be individual catalysts for change, particularly during municipal elections. While I wholeheartedly agree that elections are an excellent time to take part in civic life, this girlaboutOtown would also like to celebrate those catalysts who are helping to create our increasingly hip hometown between trips to the ballot box. We might be guilty of leaving our politicians behind bickering, but we certainly aren’t waiting for change!
So, I salute the foodies, the techies, and the fashionistas. I commend the philanthropists, the entrepreneurs, and the advocates. I applaud the organizers, the artists and the interweb enthusiasts. Thanks to their leadership and commitment, we are well on our way to building a world class city! Maybe one day those who sit around the council circle will follow our lead…
Thanks for the shout out! Appreciated.
Wow, thanks for the shout out. Totally with you on the Ottawa swagger and I’m thrilled and touched that you think our little event is part of it. Much obliged.
Great post! Yes, I definitely feel it too – there’s lot’s going on and building here but we do need to keep getting the word out and making it easier for people to connect with the activities. I was chatting with someone yesterday who was thinking of moving here but who hadn’t been able to easily uncover the creative scene here. A few minutes giving some examples had her really excited! Yay!
Ottawa still has its silos although I think the Twitter community is a big part of breaking those down. Great things happen when folks from different communities share their ideas and skills. Here’s to more of it!
I agree! And I don’t think I would have know about half of these events and initiatives if it wasn’t for the blogosphere — blogs just like yours. Thanks for the quality and for sharing your Ottawa pride.
Sweetspot.ca is launching an Ottawa newsletter in a couple of weeks!
They’ll be sharing the best restaurants, shops, services… pretty much everything and anything sweet!
If you want to receive the first sweet report, sign up at http://www.sweetspot.ca/Ottawa
What about the designers! We’re working hard too ya know.
Indeed you are, and I too am partial to good design.
Keep it up!