Open Door Fridays is a new way for city hall to hear from marginalized voices.
The City of Chilliwack is launching the Open Door Fridays program from April to September, as an upshot of the work coming out of the mayor’s task force on inclusiveness, diversity and accessibility.
Chilliwack citizens will be able to join a Zoom call with Mayor Ken Popove to talk about any issues or opportunities.
“The purpose of Open Door Fridays is to provide easy and direct access for the people we don’t usually hear from to directly share their needs and experiences surrounding inclusiveness, diversity and accessibility,” said Mayor Ken Popove.
It aligns with goal #5 in the recent task force action plan, to “create opportunities for marginalized voices and identities to have access to City of Chilliwack decision-makers.”
When council nixed the idea for a rainbow crosswalk, and created the task force, Mayor Popove stated he would rather see inclusiveness achieved “through programming rather than through paint.”
Coun. Lum was the lone councillor to vote against the motion of Sept. 3, 2019 to deny the crosswalk, which was approved 5-1.
“I am looking forward to this unique opportunity to hear directly from individuals that may have felt that didn’t have easy access to City Hall in the past,” Popove said about Open Door Fridays.
RELATED: Rainbow crosswalk idea turned down
An online booking form is now available online at chilliwack.com/opendoor
A final Open Door Fridays briefing document go on line in late fall, summarizing feedback received and actioned anonymously, to protect the privacy of participants. For more about the MTFIDA action plan, see chilliwack.com/inclusion.
RELATED: Task force coming to improve inclusiveness
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