Civic Engagement Toronto
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The Future of Wellbeing: AI, Community & Social Impact
Wed, Oct 14, 9:30 PMRegister here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-future-of-wellbeing-ai-community-social-impact-tickets-1997859089317?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAad9JE43Cv4asJwzLwmAkV5UH94sl9eJwjPGVPLPRLCUuBLTGMNoB7aCPW61-A_aem_eqTb0M6UTv4G97JZPcFxPw **Overview** What does it mean to build AI in service of wellbeing? A one-day forum on tech, climate, mental health, community & social impact. *A Community Panel & Networking* An evening forum on what it means to build technology in service of wellbeing. As AI reshapes how we live, work, and care for one another, one question matters more than ever: what does it mean to build and adopt technology in service of holistic wellbeing — human, community, and societal — in the Canadian context? The Mindful Impact Forum brings together nonprofit leaders, founders, technologists, youth, and changemakers for a focused day of conversation and practice. We move deliberately from the human to the technical: first setting the foundation of what wellbeing truly means, then turning to how we build and adopt AI responsibly in service of it. After launching our forum series in Vancouver this past March, we're bringing it to Toronto for a single, focused edition — in partnership with Google Developer Groups and The Dais, TMU. ### **What you'll experience** * A flagship day of remarks, a keynote, and an opening panel on wellbeing * A creatively facilitated community forum — real cross-sector dialogue * A hands-on AI & technology for social impact workshop * Practical tools for leadership, resilience, and innovation you can use the next morning * A genuinely cross-sector room: founders, youth leaders, community builders, and changemakers ### **The program** Session 1 — Framing & Community Panel: What Wellbeing Means Session 2 — AI and Responsible Innovation: From Principles to Practice Session 3 — Finding our Wisdom Way Forward: Future Community Wellbeing & Leadership ## Event Details **📍 Location:** The Sandbox, TMU (341 Yonge St 3rd floor, Toronto, ON M5B 1S1) **📅 Date:** Oct 14, Wednesday 2026 **⏰ Time:** 6 PM - 9:00 PM (Door open 5:30 PM) **🎫 Ticket — FREE -$50** All proceeds support Wisdomway Impact’s mental wellbeing initiatives. Student & Youth (under 25, limited spots) FREE **Speakers** 1. **AJ Kim** is a social entrepreneur, global impact practitioner, dedicated to building spaces where inner development and collective change meet. Her work spans leadership development, youth empowerment, and community wellbeing initiatives in Asia, Africa, and Canada, grounded in field experiences, dialogue, and systems thinking. Through forums, education programs, and partnerships, she explores how mental wellbeing can become a foundation for stronger communities, sustainable leadership, and long-term social impact. 2. **Alejandro Castellanos** Toronto-based AI Systems Architect, Alejandro builds trustworthy AI technologies for community resilience, public-interest intelligence, and human-centred care. His work emphasizes evidence, human oversight, and technology that strengthens—not replaces—human judgment. 3. **Camara Chambers** (*Director of Learning and Events, The Dais at TMU)* Named one of 100 Black Women in Canada to Watch and a national leader by The Philanthropist Journal, Camara has spent her career where equity meets civic engagement — leading a national policy program for Europe's largest LGBTQ charity, and serving as Executive Director of Volunteer Toronto, Canada's largest volunteer centre. At the Dais she builds community partnerships and designs leadership programs for Canada's next generation of leaders, and she founded Let's Hike T.O., which has introduced over 1,300 people to the trails. She brings the question that keeps the whole session honest: responsible *for whom?* 4. **Carolyn Shaw** is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Creative Officer of Humanity, an independent, Black-owned and female-led agency built for changemakers. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding and design, she helps purpose-driven organizations turn bold ambitions into ideas, experiences and campaigns that move people. Carolyn believes the strongest organizations are built by keeping people—their needs, dignity and lived experiences—at the centre of how we lead, communicate and create change. Her work spans health, education, culture, sustainability and the nonprofit sector, bringing strategy and creativity together to make complex issues more human and meaningful. A lifelong learner and advocate for purpose-led leadership, Carolyn is especially interested in how organizations can pursue progress without losing sight of the people that progress is meant to serve. 5. **Danielle (dane) Cadhit** is an experience designer, story weaver, facilitator, and lifelong observer of patterns. At Coralus, she crafts experiences that invite people to connect more deeply, see and do things differently, and (re)imagine new possibilities.Her curiosity tends to live in the spaces between things: between people and ideas, work and life, structure and emergence, the inner world and the communities we build around us. Lately, she has been especially interested in what happens when we stop treating ourselves like something to optimize, and instead pay more attention to the rhythms, seasons, relationships, and conditions that shape how we actually live, work, gather, and create. 6. **Hilary Van Welter** is CEO (Chief Exploration Officer) at Ascentia, Coralus Transformation Architect, and Associate Steward at Bounce Beyond. She has spent a lifetime exploring how life, people, organizations, communities and nature flourish, evolve and bring new possibilities into being. Her perspective has been shaped by decades of looking at these questions from many angles, across government, business, social innovation, community and systems transformation. Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, imagination and living systems, with a particular curiosity about the relationships and conditions that reimagine even the term wellbeing beyond the individual into community and society. She brings the wisdom of a long trajectory, a deep trust in life’s intelligence, and an ability to sense patterns and possibilities while they are still emerging. 7. **Jake Hirsch-Allen** (*Director of Partnerships, The Dais at TMU)* Jake works at the intersection of inclusive technology, ethical data, and responsible AI. He built public-private partnerships in workforce development and higher education at LinkedIn, co-founded Lighthouse Labs, and advises impact investors, public-sector leaders, and startups on responsible tech and AI governance. A former intellectual property and international criminal lawyer who clerked at the Supreme Court of Israel, he can speak to the ethics, the policy, and the build of AI all at once — and here, he opens the questions the demos will have to answer. 8. **Katie Choi (she/her)** is the Lead of Community Education at HF Care and a registered social worker with experience supporting diverse communities across the mental health, developmental services, and settlement sectors. Drawing on both her professional background and her lived experience as an immigrant and the daughter of immigrant parents, Katie is passionate about exploring how culture, migration, and family dynamics shape holistic wellness. Through her work, she supports front-line workers in building culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approaches to service delivery. 9. **Kritima Kukreja** Technology professional and mobile developer, Founder of Synk Tech AI. Specialized in creating smart agents, chatbots and automations that scales for the client’s needs. A former experienced developer in well-known companies such as IBM, MicroSoft, Bank of America, and Google. Kritima builds user-focused digital experiences and explores the intersection of AI, mobile technology, and emerging digital tools. She is also an active member of Toronto’s tech community, supporting and mentoring fellow builders. 10. **Swelen Andari** is the Director of Strategy, Climate Resilience & Youth Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She leads a research and systems change initiative to address climate distress, climate action, and active hope for youth. Swelen leads the CAMH Mental Health & Climate Response Initiative, an organization-wide effort addressing climate-related mental health impacts. Trained as a Creative Arts Therapist and with a background in systems thinking, and implementation science, she has over a decade of experience in system-level initiatives to improve access, service design, prevention, and youth leadership in Ontario’s child/youth mental health system. For several years, Swelen was involved in local and national climate justice organizing, including collaborating with Climate Justice Toronto, supporting the 350’s Our Time Campaign, and co-designing a social movement organization committed to advancing equitable climate solution, good work and dignity for all. ## Organizer & Sponsors **Wisdomway Impact** connects mental wellbeing with community, social, and environmental resilience. We support leadership programs, community wellbeing strategies, and cross-sector impact projects that strengthen trust and collective care. We believe community wellbeing begins with inner wellbeing. Your ticket directly supports ongoing community initiatives and leadership development programs. **The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University** is a public policy and leadership think tank, working at the intersection of technology, education and democracy to build shared prosperity and citizenship for Canada. With over 20 research reports exploring how AI is reshaping work, public policy, education and the nonprofit sector, the Dais has helped organizations build the knowledge and practical skills needed to adopt AI responsibly and effectively through the RAISE initiative which saw 550+ nonprofit professionals across Canada access practical training on AI governance and adoption. **GDG Toronto** is a chapter of Google Developer Groups, a global network of local, community-run developer groups. We bring people together around Google technologies through talks, hands-on workshops, and hackathons to be the technology literacy bridge for our community.
Japanese English Language Exchange — Manga Café
Sat, Oct 3, 4:00 PM日本語のご案内は、英語のご案内の後に記載しています↓ If the event fills up, please join the waitlist! We may increase capacity. (waitlist is also used to verify members) 満席の場合は、ぜひウェイトリストにご登録ください！定員を増やす場合があります (ウェイトリストは参加者確認も兼ねています)。 Thank you for your interest in our event! We are hosting a Japanese-English Language exchange at MottoMotto Cafe on Oct 3rd, from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM. We'll have small groups of Japanese-English speakers, sorted by level, play some old-school J-pop, and sip on matcha. **$5 entry.** Cash or E-Transfer tomodachitoronto@gmail.com The cafe is hosting us, so grabbing a drink or an onigiri while you're there is really appreciated but not required. **Schedule** **11:50 AM:** Doors open **12:05 PM:** Round 1 of conversations (25 min English, 25 min Japanese) **12:55 PM:** Rotate partners **1:00 PM:** Round 2 of conversations (25 min English, 25 min Japanese) **1:50 PM:** Open social **2:30 PM:** Done ご興味を持っていただきありがとうございます！ 日時：10月3日（土）12:00〜14:30 会場：MottoMotto Cafe 上記で日本語英語のLanguage Exchangeを開催します。 レベル別の少人数グループに分かれて、懐かしい J-POP を聴きながら、抹茶を飲みつつ話しましょう。 参加費：$5（現金または E-Transfer 送金先：tomodachitoronto@gmail.com MottoMotto Cafeさんに会場をお借りしているので、ドリンクやおにぎりを注文していただけると本当に助かります（必須ではありません）。 スケジュール 11:50 開場 12:05 ラウンド1（英語25分・日本語25分） 12:55 グループチェンジ 13:00 ラウンド2（英語25分・日本語25分） 13:50 フリータイム。 14:30 終了
🐾 Give Back: TNR Cat Rescue Volunteer Day
Sat, Oct 17, 9:30 PMPlease read the details before RSVPing. 🐾 Time to give back, guys We’ve partnered with a non-profit animal rescue group to support a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) campaign in Scarborough, near 75 Birchmount Ave. We’re looking for volunteers to help with 1. 🪤 Setting up traps at designated locations 2. 🚗 Transporting cats to/from the clinic 3. 🐱 Feeding cats at designated locations Some activities require access to your own vehicle, while others simply require your time and willingness to help. Every little bit helps, and the cats definitely need us. ❤️? Anyone allergic to cats, furs or anything related to animals, please do not signup You participate this in this event at your own risk. Organizers of this meetup or anyone who is part of this campaign isn't responsible for any untoward incident during your participation in this event .
Service Design Connect
Fri, Oct 23, 10:30 PM**Welcome to Service Design Drinks** Connect with like-minded service designers, share ideas, grow together, and make friends Join us at the Duke of York for a fun night of design conversation and light activities **Format: Casual meet & greet** **What to Expect** ✅ Fun Icebreakers – Thoughtfully designed to help you connect effortlessl ✅ Exciting conversations – Enjoy connecting with creative professionals in the cit ✅ A Relaxed, Welcoming Atmosphere – Come as you are, leave with new friend 📢 RSVP here so we can plan accordingly. It reflects the actual signup
Community Meal Service at Good Shepherd (Toronto)
Sat, Oct 10, 5:30 PM✨ **Community Meal Service at Good Shepherd** Hi everyone, We're heading back to Good Shepherd to serve meals for people experiencing homelessness and those at risk. Last time we served meals, chopped veggies, made sandwiches, and helped prep pasta. ✦ **Saturday, October 10, 1:30pm to 4pm** ✦ **Please arrive between 1:30 and 1:40pm** so we can assign roles ✦ Good Shepherd Ministries, 412 Queen St E, Toronto ✦ Only 6 spots **How to sign up** 1. Create your Toronto Joy account. It's one time only and takes about 3 minutes. We ask for an emergency contact and a safety agreement so everyone's looked after. [https://torontojoy.org/register/](https://torontojoy.org/register/) 2\. Go to the event page and click "Register\." [https://torontojoy.org/event/community-meal-service-at-good-shepherd-toronto-2/](https://torontojoy.org/event/community-meal-service-at-good-shepherd-toronto-2/) Already have an account? Skip to step 2. *Only people registered on our website can take a spot. If you sign up, please plan to be there. Good Shepherd counts on our numbers.* **When you arrive** Check in at Reception. Staff will take you to the volunteer room, where you can leave your things in a locker and meet the group. **Good to know** ✦ Closed-toe shoes required ✦ Tie back long hair, keep jewelry minimal ✦ Water is available, just ask Reception ✦ Can't make it? Message me as soon as you can 🙏 Full guidelines on what to wear and safety: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1piAyloECv9YUDkPJuoJBdCmh3x8n1un1rGvJSFIkbs4/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1piAyloECv9YUDkPJuoJBdCmh3x8n1un1rGvJSFIkbs4/edit?usp=sharing) Grateful to serve alongside you. Amar and Team
📣10/4‼️FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS : TORONTO Japanese English Language Exchange
Sun, Oct 4, 1:30 PM#### **This event page is for English speakers only.** **こちらのイベントページは英語話者の方向けです。** **日本人の方は、別のイベントページからお申し込みください！** *** We host a Japanese & English language exchange meeting every Sunday at 9:30 AM. Participants practice in pairs or small groups, with 50 minutes of Japanese practice and 50 minutes of English practice. The study materials used in our sessions are created by professional language teachers. ### **Before Signing Up, Please Read the Following** * **Please make sure to check the comments section of the event page, as all event details and materials will be shared there around Saturday.** * This meeting is intended for people who are genuinely interested in language learning. Participants joining for other purposes may be asked to leave. * We prioritize creating a safe and comfortable environment for all attendees. * Disruptive behavior, solicitation, or sales activities are not allowed. Anyone who does not follow the instructions of the organizer or staff may be removed from the group. * **Participation fee : Refunds and carryovers are not available.** ### **Participation Fee & Donation** Your participation fee will be used by Emiko Tanaka, a Yosakoi Ambassador, to promote Yosakoi Naruko Dance from Kochi, Japan, to the world. For more details, please visit our website: [Yosakoi Ambassador Project](https://yosakoiambassador.com/) We look forward to seeing you at the event!
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