By Kate Habrel
Can’t make it to today’s International Joint Commission (IJC) hearing in Toronto on the state of the Great Lakes?
No problem. You can still join the conversation at Participate IJC, a new online forum.
“People who can’t attend the forum in person, they actually can hear and view the discussions, then participate in an online discussion,” said Frank Bevacqua, public information officer for the IJC.
Streaming the forum is part of a new IJC initiative to provide an online platform where U.S. and Canadian citizens can suggest how to protect the Great Lakes basin.
“One of our tasks is to provide assessments of progress between both of the countries,” said Kevin Bunch, a communications specialist at the IJC, which developed the forum. “We’re restoring and protecting the water systems. And as part of that we were interested in getting feedback from the public.”
The IJC is a treaty organization between the United States and Canada. It has been working to engage the region’s community on shared environmental and other issues since 1909.
Participate IJC’s homepage banner.
Participate IJC is a digital manifestation of that effort that began Sept 20. It rose from the need to more effectively communicate about environmental issues in the Great Lakes basin, Bunch said. The new forum uses digital tools for outreach developed by Canadian company Bang the Table.
“We’ve tried building our own web pages to allow for online comment in the past, but we were aware that there were a number of products available that are being used successfully by different levels of government,” Bevacqua said. “So we wanted to try something that had a proven track record and provided a range of tools that people could use to provide comment.”
Other government agencies have developed user-driven sites, such as OSHA’s Web Initiatives and the U.S. Department of State’s online forum. However, this is new territory for the U.S./Canadian commission.
There is an emphasis not only on building community but facilitating discussion. One of Participate IJC’s main goals is to make it more engaging for Americans and Canadians to join the conversation about environmental issues.
“You can share stories and videos and photos that you have personally,” Bunch said. “We have a survey on there where people can go over the progress report we’re working on. You can go over topics like algal blooms and climate change, legislative problems or concerns, that sort of thing.”
It also notifies members about public forums and events on topics such as the health of the Great Lakes and future challenges to environmental practices.
The site works in concert with traditional ways of receiving feedback.
Participate IJC will livestream a forum on the current state of Great Lakes ecosystem health in Toronto Tuesday and Wednesday. Depending on when you read this post, you may see events unfold in the livestream box above.
“People who can’t attend the forum in person, they actually can hear and view the discussions, then participate in an online discussion,” Bevacqua said.
Participate IJC’s community homepage. Image: Kate Habrel
Users have already contributed ideas about controlling invasive species, managing groundwater and algae reduction, Bevacqua said. Designers are optimistic about Participate IJC’s future.
“Only just a couple of months ago we were out doing public meetings in Minnesota and Ontario,” Bunch said. “People brought up a few ideas and considerations we hadn’t thought about. They all had different uses for the water and different experiences with it. So I’m hoping we get something like that.
“Maybe a community on Lake Huron has different ideas on what they’re looking for with marinas and the recreational industry than, say, Milwaukee will have with its shipping industry.”
You can sign up for free at the Participate IJC site.