Charity Spotlight – First Nations Child and Family Caring Society

The Residential Schools system is a blight on Canada’s human rights record. The Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recognises the damage inflicted on generations of First Nations people.

Here we explore the work of First Nations Child and Family Caring Society that stands with First Nations children, youth, and families for equal opportunities to succeed. Spirit Bear has become central to their work and embodies the reconciliation movement that represents the 165,000 children impacted.

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Charity Spotlight – Bowel Cancer Australia

Bowel Cancer Australia, Bowel Care Nurse, Opencity Inc,

Bowel cancer does not discriminate; claiming the lives of 84 people each week in Australia. For Australians aged 25–29, bowel cancer is the most common cause of cancer death.

Here we explore the work of Bowel Cancer Australia, awarded the NGO of the Year in the 2017 Prime Awards. Providing well-coordinated cancer care, in Australia, can be a complex task due to an often fragmented health care system. It necessitates treatment and supportive-care services in hospital and community settings, across public and private sectors. Each year, over fifteen thousand Australians are diagnosed with the disease, two thousand of whom are under the age of 55.

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Video content curation | When good is good enough

Video content curation in 20-minutes, @gregiej,INBOUND18, HUG

Video remains an important part of a good content strategy. Here we explore video content curation that is good enough.

The importance of video has been a consistent message from the stage at INBOUND. We are sure that HubSpot is working away looking at how video applies to each stage of the inbound funnel. As a speaker at INBOUND18 in September, we look at the absolute fundamentals of creating your own authentic video with the tools you already have to hand. Finally, we recommend the latest 2018 Video in Business Benchmark Report released by Vidyard.

John Gregory appearing at #INBOUND2018 - video curation in 20 mins

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Charity Spotlight – CNIB Centenary

CNIB, Charity Spotlight, Opencity Inc.,

Vision loss doesn’t have to mean the loss of independence or quality of life. With the right support, people who are blind or partially sighted can do almost anything.

CNIB began as the Canadian National Institute for the Blind 100 years ago. Here we examine their ethos of seeing beyond vision loss, note how technology has evolved from Braille to the latest tech and how you could also be a CNIB Vision Mate.

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5 reasons why GDPR is good news

GDPR - 5 reasons why GDPR is good news

The introduction of GDPR should not have escaped you. GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation and comes into full effect on May 25, 2018. It has worldwide implications. While GDPR may not apply to your exact country, it has set a new benchmark standard that we should all adopt.

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Design Thinking in Action – Health Innovation Program

Hacking Health Ottawa, Health Innovation Program, HIP613, Design Thinking, gregiej, Opencity

The hacking mentality brings together the ideal mix of patients, healthcare professionals, physicians, technologists, designers, entrepreneurs, decision-makers, business leaders, researchers, administrators and governments. Collaboratively they can break down barriers to innovation in healthcare.

While a hackathon creates inspiring embryonic projects, we need to help these startups to sustain and scale. This mindset led to the Health Innovation Program. Here we learn more about this improved model through #HIP613.

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Charity Spotlight – Fibromyalgia Action UK | FMAUK

FMAUK, Fibromyalgia Action UK, International Awareness Day, Opencity Inc, gregiej

The chronic pain of fibromyalgia affects 1 person in 20. Fibromyalgia remains undiagnosed in as many as 3 out of 4 people with the condition, with diagnosis times averaging five years.

Ahead of international awareness day on May 12, we examine what it means to live with fibromyalgia and explore the Fibromyalgia Action UK Don’t Delay, Connect Today theme.

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Adoption of the Wound Care Quality Standards in Ontario

Wound Care Quality Standards, Ontario, RNAO, OntWIG symposium

Wound Care Quality Standards are the foundation for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Ontario (MOHLTC).  The OntWIG symposium identified disconnects between the quality standards and practices around procurement, funding accessibility and inconsistencies in the continuum of care across the 14 Ontario Local Health Innovation Networks (LHIN).

Here we reflect on the thought-provoking Ontario Wound Interest Group (OntWIG) symposium that examined the adoption of the Health Quality Ontario quality standards covering diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries and venous leg ulcers.

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Lightning in a bottle | What True North means for Waterloo Region

True-North-Communitech-ONE-report-Waterloo-@gregiej

ONE may not be a familiar acronym to many, explaining why the expert review panel suggests renaming it as Innovation Ontario. Here we explore the intersection of the strands of tech debate and activities in the Toronto-Kitchener-Waterloo corridor. There is a spirit of optimism with Toronto Health Innovation Week, True North and Velocity 10-year anniversary, yet both the Building Global Winners report and the poignant book How We Can Win point squarely to the paramount need to gain global reach.

Steven Woods, Senior Director Engineering at Google Canada described “What we have, up here in the North, is lightning in a bottle.” He said that Google “recognized there was something special happening up here – the entrepreneurialism, the quality of higher education and the loyalty of the talented engineers who just want to do good work.” In the 2015 Global Startup Ecosystem ranking the newly combined Toronto-Waterloo corridor entity ranked 16th. The Region of Waterloo tech sector employes 30,000 people.

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Charity Spotlight – Médecins Sans Frontières

Médecins Sans Frontières-Charity-Spotlight-OpencityInc

Neutral and Impartial. How Humanitarian principles help Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders deliver emergency medical care in conflict zones. How much do you know about their 9-5 job?

It is clear why Médecins Sans Frontières was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for their humanitarian work in 1999. That award helped fund partnerships to lower the impact of HIV/Aids, malaria and other tropical diseases. Here we explore not only the medical and humanitarian work they do but how they help give a voice to those in desperate need through MSF Pulse, Dispatches or social media.

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