Explore Community Summits
Our Community Summit is a multi-day exploration of issues that are confounding in their complexity and scale. Through intensive programming that leverages the research excellence of SFU and the expertise and support of our partners and collaborators, the Community Summit raises the profile of a major challenge and its potential solutions in public discourse.
A Community Summit spotlights emergent issues and it brings people together for diverse programming—from a keynote featuring globally-renowned speakers to capacity-building workshops to student-centred dialogues—all with a throughline that builds upon our understanding of an issue. Participants and partners dive deep together and come out more aware and capable of acting on seemingly intractable challenges.
The work done at Community Summits is extensively documented as a resource itself, presents further opportunities for impact and identifies the next challenges on the horizon.
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2021 — Towards Equity
What must we understand—and do—to recover equitably and reimagine our systems to confront the intersecting crises of inequality, systemic racism and climate change? Explore this question with our 2021 Community Summit Series.
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2019 — Confronting the Disinformation Age
SFU Public Square’s 7th Community Summit considered how the proliferation of disinformation is impacting society and challenging our capacity to make informed decisions about our economic, social, and political lives. Together, we co-created strategies to ensure stronger and healthier information ecosystems and stimulate more connected and resilient communities.
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2018 — Brave New Work
Our 2018 Community Summit, Brave New Work, invited us all to consider how can we all thrive in the changing world of work.
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2017 — Who Needs Canada?
The 150th anniversary of confederation prompted a critical opportunity to think about the role of Canada in the world today for our 2015 Community Summit.
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2015 — We the City
For our 2015 Community Summit, we focused on the theme of city building, reminding residents of the power they hold to shape their communities.
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2014 — Innovation: The Shock of the Possible
Our 2014 Community Summit asked what innovation means for some of the most important social, environmental and economic issues facing communities in BC, Canada, and beyond.
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2013 — Charting BC's Economic Future
For our second SFU Public Square Community Summit, we explored issues regarding BC's economic future.
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2012 — Alone Together: Connecting in the City
In this inaugural SFU Public Square Community Summit, we explored the issue of civic disconnection and discussed ways of strengthening engagement across community and cultural divides.
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