SPRING SYMPOSIUM
The Centre’s annual Spring Symposium was developed as a means of educating professionals working in the leisure services field, on current topics of interest within the field. Each symposium would last two or three days, in order to allow adequate time to understand the topic in some depth and for participants to explore ways that the knowledge could be incorporated into their individual work environments. It was intended that participants would be fully engaged for the duration of the symposium which included evening activities. During the 80s, Spring Symposium would generally take place in the Wolfville area, and the instructor would be a leading expert in the topic, often American university professors. That is how such renowned experts as Dr John Crompton from Texas, the global authority in leisure services marketing research; Dr Adah Strobell from Maryland who was an expert in inclusive recreation programming; and Dr Clare Gunn, an internationally recognized expert in Tourism from Michigan and Texas, came to spend to time on the Acadia campus.
Over time, as the field in Canada advanced, the perspective of American academics appealed to a smaller audience. Practitioners were seeking to increase their knowledge on the nature of specific issues they were facing, and finding the means to address them in the workplace. As a result, Spring Symposium started to focus more on issues within the field in Nova Scotia but still exploring them at a more indepth level than would be the case in a typical conference session. The experts who would lead the symposium tended to be Canadians. Eventually, the content evolved into facilitated in depth discussion and problem solving rather than information dissemination, with local professional with particular experience and expertise serving as leaders.
Over time, as the field in Canada advanced, the perspective of American academics appealed to a smaller audience. Practitioners were seeking to increase their knowledge on the nature of specific issues they were facing, and finding the means to address them in the workplace. As a result, Spring Symposium started to focus more on issues within the field in Nova Scotia but still exploring them at a more indepth level than would be the case in a typical conference session. The experts who would lead the symposium tended to be Canadians. Eventually, the content evolved into facilitated in depth discussion and problem solving rather than information dissemination, with local professional with particular experience and expertise serving as leaders.
EXAMPLES OF THE THEMES OF VARIOUS SPRING SYMPOSIUMS (click on the title for details)
vision 2000, oak island inn, chester (1988)
In the Fall of 1987, a major government cabinet shuffle in Nova Scotia resulted in recreation being eliminated from the government agenda. This was a shock in the province that first established a separate Department of Recreation 15 years earlier. The profession was left in a state of confusion with many questions and very few answers. So the following spring, the Centre brought the profession together to analyze the public recreation provision in the province, identify and discuss current issues impacting the field, and develop a vision and blueprint for recreation for the year 2000. Key resource people were identified to provide perspective on the following areas of the field: Fitness (Anthea Bellemare), Sport (Peggy Gallant), Outdoor Recreation (Jude Hirsch), Culture (Jeremy Morgan), Research and Education (Renee Lyons), Disabilities (Debby Smith), Urban Recreation (Howard Oehman), and Rural Recreation (John Cotton). As a result of the symposium, visions had been developed for the following areas: Sport and Fitness, Outdoor Recreation, Culture, Education and Research, Rural Recreation, and Urban Recreation. So much interest and enthusiasm had been generated that the group of over 40 participants decided that the work must continue, and so working groups were established for each of the six areas. The Centre agreed to accept responsibility for coordinating the ensuing process which involved the working groups meeting to identify and discuss issues related to achieving the visions in each of the specific area.
That data was then analyzed and served as the basis for the development of a global vision for Recreation for 2000. The vision consisted of 11 goals that would form the collective agenda of recreation professionals in the province for the ensuing decade. These included such areas as access and inclusion, leisure education, becoming recognized as an essential service, enhancing the quality of life for Nova Scotians, qualified professionals, adequate facilities, access to resource information, networking, and province wide cooperation. Once established and agreed upon, for each of these 11 areas, a set of strategies was developed to advance the profession closer to the vision. A 40 page document was produced entitled Vision 2000: A Blueprint for Recreation in Nova Scotia, which served as a guideline for decision making in the province for a decade.
Ironically, the province eliminated the funding for the Centre in 1998 forcing it to close however Recreation Nova Scotia and the NS Sport and Recreation Commission worked with Recreation faculty at Acadia to offer Spring Symposium, for a few additional years.
That data was then analyzed and served as the basis for the development of a global vision for Recreation for 2000. The vision consisted of 11 goals that would form the collective agenda of recreation professionals in the province for the ensuing decade. These included such areas as access and inclusion, leisure education, becoming recognized as an essential service, enhancing the quality of life for Nova Scotians, qualified professionals, adequate facilities, access to resource information, networking, and province wide cooperation. Once established and agreed upon, for each of these 11 areas, a set of strategies was developed to advance the profession closer to the vision. A 40 page document was produced entitled Vision 2000: A Blueprint for Recreation in Nova Scotia, which served as a guideline for decision making in the province for a decade.
Ironically, the province eliminated the funding for the Centre in 1998 forcing it to close however Recreation Nova Scotia and the NS Sport and Recreation Commission worked with Recreation faculty at Acadia to offer Spring Symposium, for a few additional years.
recreation for all: fact or fantasy, OAK ISLAND INN, CHESTER (1989)
This symposium focused on the mandate of public recreation to serve the needs of all citizens, and the challenges in doing so. A panel of 7, representing various disenfranchised groups, assisted participants to understand the issues, challenging their personal beliefs and attitudes. Once the underlying issues were uncovered, a social change expert facilitated in depth discussion on how the profession could address each in an effect manner. This symposium was particularly memorable owing to the nature of the stories shared by the panel members, in which they gave personal examples from their own lives, which illuminated the ways the actions or non actions of recreation services providers meant that they were not able to participate. Panelists included a low-income single mother, individual with hearing impairment, man with AIDS, African Nova Scotian, wheelchair user, recent immigrant, two elderly individuals, and an elite female athlete. Their powerful experiences struck deeply into the professional heart of those present, who had no idea how simple decisions made every day actually excluded entire groups of people.
leisure education: the road to the future, ledgehill retreat centre, CHESTER (1995)
This year, wide spread misconceptions of leisure education were discussed and participants gained insight into their role as leisure educators. The importance of leisure education as a means to address pressing social issues was explored, and those present developed a tool chest of techniques and resources to assist them in their newly discovered role. Until this symposium, recreation providers understood to varying degrees, the importance of leisure education, yet have given little consideration as to whose job it was to provide it. By the end, most had come to realize that not only were they themselves the ones who possessed the knowledge about leisure, but that this was in fact the collective responsibility of recreation professionals to ensure that all citizens had access to varying forms of quality leisure education.
the CHANGING FACE OF municipal recreation, LEDGEHILL RETREAT CENTRE, CHESTER (2003)
With there having been a system of municipal recreation in place in the province for 30 years, it was time to take an in depth look at and how and why the field was, or should be, changing relative to the needs of all citizens. Individual sessions explored the trends impacting municipal leisure services, how the field had evolved in three decades, a survey of what had been occurring in individual municipalities managing organizational change, and the impact of the changes on those who serve as municipal recreation professionals. A powerful experience occurred when during the final session, a number of the recreation professionals were able to share very personal stories of how recent changes in municipal recreation had negatively impacted them as service providers, and impeded their ability to be effective in their jobs. Once out on the table, those experiences could be processed and strategies discussed to prevent others from experiencing a similar fate.
zero based thinking, blomidon Inn, wolfville (2005)
This symposium explored the concept of applying innovative thinking to daily decision-making rather than doing things the way they have always been done, which tends to stagnate thinking, stifle creativity, and limit possibilities. Dr Wendy Bedingfield led sessions entitled: Making Sense of Organizations, Becoming a Radical, Tools of a Zero Based Thinker, and Being a Zero Based Thinker. This symposium was developed in order to address an issue that was becoming wide spread within the profession…complacency. Many service providers had fallen into the trap of accepting the status quo and accepting things the way they were, and not thinking about how they might be made better, and working to improve recreation service delivery. The issues were challenging to discuss at time, but those who attended left with a fresh outlook, motivated to do things differently for the benefit of their constituents.