Grassroots and governance : Exploring informal learning opportunities to support active citizenship and community-based organizations within Canada

This section provides a concise summary of some of the existing literature on citizenship and governance, within the fields of lifelong learning and adult education, focusing particularly on the concept of learning for “active citizenship”. [...] He argues that "part of the appeal of governance as a concept is its capacity – unlike the narrower term government – to cover the whole range of institutions and social relationships involved in the process of governing" (p. [...] Understanding the various factors that impact upon CBO’s and the challenges of creating a more networked approach to governance can provide insights into the learning opportunities and barriers around supporting greater political engagement for Canadian citizens Adult Education and Citizenship Jarvis (2002) argues that adults need to understand the complexities of broader global and social forces [...] The case study sites included the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County in Ontario, the Fareshare Food Bank in Oakville, Ontario, the Chilliwack Hospice Society in British Columbia, the Ability Society in Calgary, Alberta, the local chapter of Oxfam in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Association des Acadiennes de Chéticamp (a collective of Acadian cooperatives) in Chéticamp, Cape Breton [...] Contributions of CBO’s In answer to the first research question as to what kinds of contributions do grassroots organizations make to the broader Canadian society, culture, sense of identity and economy, the answer appears to be that the health of our communities is often dependent to a large extent upon the contributions made by grassroots community based organizations.