Courtyard Café

As a grassroots community, we lead together. The next election is coming in just over two years, which means there are many important discussion to take place. The Courtyard Cafe is an important opportunity for members and supporters to engage with a wide range of topics and discuss with your peers how we can lead change for a better future.

Each topic and its facilitator(s) will be at a table for the duration of the Courtyard Cafe. As a participant, you can choose to sit as any table for as long as you like. The conversations at each table will be guided by the open-ended topic summaries and questions. We hope you'll have a chance to move around, engage on multiple topics and be part of crafting the future of the party through these conversations.

Topic	Facilitators(s)	Topic Summary & Questions
Platform Health & Wellbeing (2 Tables)	Sarah Miller James Marshall Celena Benndorf	In the BC Greens’ 2017 platform it states: “The purpose of government is to facilitate the highest and best outcomes for the health and well-being of current and future generations of British Columbians.” What does a “healthy society” look like? How will we know when the highest and best outcomes for well-being are being facilitated? How well is this working for youth in BC? How can the BC Greens show leadership on this issue? What should we bring forward in our next platform to help improve the health and well-being of British Columbians?
Platform Responsible Government (2 Tables)	Bill Masse Aldous Sperl	In the BC Greens’ 2017 platform it states: “The purpose of government is to be the steward of public resources, and manage the delivery of public goods and services on behalf of the people, as important assets owned by everyone.” How do we change the public’s perception of government? How do youth perceive government and what does this mean for our democratic system? How can the BC Greens show leadership in changing attitudes towards government? What should we bring forward in our next platform to reflect our commitment to responsible government for British Columbians?
Platform Sustainability & the New Economy (2 Tables)	Geoff Urton Jeremy Caradonna	In the BC Greens’ 2017 platform it states that: “The purpose of government is to sustainably manage our province in the interests of intergenerational equity.” What does “meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” mean in practice? Is the Democrats “Green New Deal” a real step forward? How can sustainability be achieved without causing economic uncertainty for many? How does this impact today’s youth? How can the BC Greens show leadership in this regard? What should we bring forward in our next platform to promote the shift to a true sustainability in British Columbia?
Party Policy Have Your Say	Paul Hundal Thomas Martin	The BC Greens Policy is the embodiment of our values and underlies our platform. It informs any legislation the Greens work on. Members have made suggestions over the past year that we would like your feedback on. Our questions include: Our current policy document does not specifically mention youth. Are there policy areas that are of specific interest and concern to young people? How can the BC Greens be a leader in policy development and implementation?
Book Club Educating Ourselves, One Book at a Time	Reena Meijer Drees	Do you love books and sharing your favourites with others? Bring your favourite book or article on a topic such as, sustainability, business, or leadership and create discussion around: What leadership themes are apparent in the book? Would youth engage with the book’s themes and topics, and if so, how? What lessons can the BC Greens learn from this book? How can we apply the information learned to promote positive change?
Provincial Council Governance Leadership	Kim Darwin Alex Pope	Are you curious about what Provincial Council (PC) does and who they are? Here is your opportunity to meet the current PC representatives and get to know the contestants who are campaigning to join PC. There will also be a chance to provide comments, suggestions and feedback.
Provincial Council AGM Resolutions & Motion	Sat Harwood	During our AGM on Sunday, June 9 several proposed by-law resolutions and one policy motion will go before our members. Stop by to ask questions and learn more about your choice.
Riding Associations Nurturing RA Leadership	Lori Petryk Lesley Malcolm	The field program’s core systems, tools, and resources were strengthened during the Proportional Representation campaign, however, further improvements are still needed. Specifically, we would like your feedback on improving the Riding Association Charter. What leadership is needed to bring our RA Charter into the modern era? How can we ensure youth and those of diverse backgrounds have a voice in the process? What are the important elements in the formation of an RA? What are the goals and mandate of an effective RA?
Engagement Building a More Diverse Party	Christina Winter	For the BC Greens to be a force within provincial politics and to ensure we represent all citizens, we need to grow our party’s equity and diversity. Join me to discuss: How can we promote equity and diversity within the BC Greens? What leadership is needed to accomplish this goal? How can we attract a wider range of people? What would an equity and diversity program look like for our party?
Youth Engagement Finding & Engaging Youth Leaders	Samantha Lin	Finding and engaging young leaders is a challenge in communities across BC. Engage with Samantha to examine: What are possible strategies to attract and engage with youth leaders? What prevents young leaders from being involved? What are youth looking for in community and volunteer activities? What are other community organizations doing to promote youth leadership?
Volunteer Engagement Recruiting Volunteer Leaders	Keith Poore	Every team or project needs an effective leader at its helm, helping to guide its members towards achieving its purpose and goals. Let’s discuss how we can recruit volunteer leaders: What are tactics for finding potential leaders? How can we engage and keep leaders? What systems and processes are needed to effectively recognize and support leaders? How can we recruit volunteers to help with our succession planning?
Communications Building the BC Greens Brand	Joey Bulman	What’s in a brand? Our perceptions create our reality. What do BC Greens need to do in order to control how we are perceived by the rest of the province? Join in a discussion about the practical aspects of creating and managing a brand from a marketing and design perspective. How can we be perceived as leaders in this province’s political landscape? How can we honestly depict who we are and what we believe in? Who are we speaking to and what can we say to invite them to stand with us? What practical changes can be done to the party’s brand to maintain our appeal and better communicate who we are?
Motivating the youth voter	Sabine Möller	As the youth voting block increases, we still see a small number of youth getting out to vote. Due to this behaviour, we must ask ourselves, why don’t many young people participate in one of our most democratic functions? What motivates youth who are politically active? We’ll discuss: How can we be leaders in engaging youth and encourage them to vote? How can we reframe our approach to political communications and advertising to appeal to youth? What are we currently doing that disenfranchises youth and what can we do better?

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