The City of Courtenay’s Strategic Cultural Plan – Culture Connects Us – has officially launched.
Nordicity led the development of the plan with the City of Courtenay’s Recreation, Culture, and Community Services team, working closely with Courtenay’s cultural community and key partners. The bold 10-year plan positions Courtenay as a thriving cultural hub – where arts and culture play a pivotal role in community identity and resilience.
The plan’s foundational principles are to:
- Advance Truth and Reconciliation across all initiatives
- Build the City’s team to drive cultural change by providing new cultural resources
- Elevate investment in arts and culture
- Transform and expand cultural spaces
- Lead regional cultural advocacy to advance arts and culture
Inclusive engagement was a key aspect of the Plan. The extensive community consultation included an online survey with over 700 responses (from a community of c. 28,000), feedback from 120 community members via community events, a cultural sector focus group with 38 expert participants, 24 interviews with 54 participants, and input from four Indigenous-serving community organizations.
Conversations with equity-priority communities were key. The City and Nordicity worked with community service organizations to engage people with lived experience of disabilities, being unhoused, being a newcomer, or part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, to ensure their perspectives were heard.
A special thanks to the many people and organizations who helped develop the plan, including Courtenay’s core cultural service providers – the Sid Williams Theatre Society, the Comox Valley Arts Gallery Society, the Comox Valley Community Arts Council, and the Courtenay and District Historical Society.
For more information on the strategy, reach out to Louisa Plant and Barbara Adagblenya.