Sport, Sustainability and Community Engagement: A Focus on the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games

Sport has a magical ability to unite millions of people across different economic, social, geographic and political lines. You can likely think of several great sporting moments that you will never forget. With those memories in mind, one begins to appreciate the enormous responsibility for the organizers of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. They have an opportunity to do something special that will impact entire communities for generations to come. We want to know how they’re doing it.

On April 1st TSSS will host a panel of experts including Ann Duffy who was the Corporate Sustainability Officer to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games and who continues to provide CSR guidance to the IOC and FIFA. Our panel will explore the power of sport to reach people and communities like nothing else can. Topics to be discussed include: Community Engagement, Sustainable Purchasing, Importance of a Clear Vision, Diversity and Inclusion, Branding and Leaving a Legacy.

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Ask yourself:

Has your company ever tried to positively impact a community or group of communities as part of its sustainability strategy? Have you ever tried to implement a sustainable purchasing plan? Has your company ever stumbled as it explores its purpose in a changing economic and business environment?  If you answered YES to any to these questions then this event is for you.

Distinguished Guests:

• Ann Duffy, Principal, The Ann Duffy Group Inc., CSR Officer at Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, Consultant to IOC and FIFA
• Naki Osutei, Director, Public Affairs and Social Legacy for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games.
• Zenia Wadhwani, Director, Community Outreach for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games.

Some of the topics that we will explore include:

• How a clear vision creates a safe place for thinking BIG
• How to implement a sustainable purchasing strategy for an event of this size
• What top level approach was used to maximize community benefits AND how is it being implemented?
• What can corporations learn from this approach to community engagement?
• What strategies are being used to ensure that the games will leave a positive legacy of sustainable excellence?
• How diversity and inclusion are being supported in all decision making

Where and When:

DATE: Wednesday, April 1st, 2015 (registration closes March 27th)
TIME: 4:30-7:30 PM (snacks & networking from 6:45-7:30 PM)
LOCATION: Loyalty One, 438 University Ave., 12th Floor, Toronto (use elevators on the left in the lobby)
TWITTERCHAT: #tssschat from 5:15 – 6:00 PM EST
LIVESTREAM available: Register for password

Agenda:

4:30 – 5:00 pm: Registration, snacks and networking
5:00 – 5:15 pm: Introductions and special announcements
5:15 – 6:00 pm: Panel Discussion: Ann Duffy, Naki Osutei & Zenia Wadhwani
6:00 – 6:15 pm: Small group discussion/brainstorming
6:15 – 6:25 pm: Groups report back to main audience
6:25 – 6:45 pm: General Q & A
6:45 – 7:30 pm: Networking and snacks

Breakout Session:

During the breakout session the audience will form small groups to discuss how corporations might engage with an event like Pan Am Toronto 2015 in a way that allows for the biggest and most meaningful impact with their stakeholders.  During the idea harvesting phase, several groups will be asked to share the highlights of their discussion with the general audience.

About Our Panelists:

Ann Duffy’s 25 years of experience helps to bring vision, values and projects to life and to scale. Her firm, The Ann Duffy Group, provides strategic CSR, sustainability and legacy guidance to domestic and international businesses, major projects and large sport event hosts. She thrives on engaging teams and partners to create compelling and practical strategies and management and communications solutions that ultimately enhance overall CSR performance and brand.

As the Corporate Sustainability Officer with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and previously as the Vice President, Sustainable Development for CH2MHILL (a national subsidiary of a global projects company), Ann worked with and led teams to create industry firsts in CSR pathways and performance.

Ann continues to advise and guide business owners, corporations, and clients in the Olympic Movement, FIFA World Cup, and among national sport event hosts. She engages regularly with progressive and sustainable business networks, is an expert member on the IOC Sport and Environment Commission and Chair of the Canadian Standards Association – Technical Committee for Sustainable Event Management. She is a frequent public speaker and calls Vancouver, Canada home.

Naki Osutei is Director, Public Affairs and Social Legacy for the Organizing Committee of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games 2015 where her role includes engagement with corporate and civic leaders and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies in all aspects of business operations including human resources and procurement. Prior to taking on this role, Osutei was Vice President, Strategy, at the Toronto City CivicAction Alliance, working with some of the city’s top powerbrokers, such as the late visionary, David Pecaut and current Toronto mayor John Tory, on challenges facing the city, including the integration of skilled immigrants, regional economic development and diversity in leadership.  She was the founding director of CivicAction’s Emerging Leaders Network and co-founder of DiverseCity Fellows.

Among her volunteer roles, Naki was the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for West Neighbourhood House (formerly St. Christopher House) and is a member of Seneca College’s Board of Governors. She is also an alumnus of the BMW Foundation’s Global Young Leaders.

In all of these roles, Naki draws on her academic grounding in sociology and experiences with the private and not-for-profit sector. She is called upon regularly to share insights, most notably on State Visits to Ukraine and Norway with Her Excellency, Michaëlle Jean, the 27th Governor General of Canada.

Zenia Wadhwani is Director, Community Outreach of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. Wadhwani brings to this role over 15 years experience building partnerships, managing stakeholder relationships and increasing corporate profiles with organizations including CanadaHelps, United Way Toronto, TV Ontario, the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, the University of Toronto and the Ontario Coalition for Children and Youth. She has given her time to a number of non-profit and charitable organizations; was one of the founders of the South Asian Professionals’ Networking Association; the initiator of DesiLit-Greater Toronto; and the organizer of a 20-tonne relief effort for the victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. She is the editor of three anthologies, an inaugural Action Canada Fellow and an inaugural DiverseCity Fellow.