The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta 

“When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.”

—John M. Richardson, ­coauthor Making It Happen: A Positive Guide to the Future

More than 600 Albertans began making the future happen at three seminal events on the future of Alberta.

The public meetings, held in early June, discussed the role of learning as a foundation for co-creating the next Alberta. Guest speakers and participants acknowledged that this is an opportune time in Alberta’s history—as both financial and human resources are readily available—to reshape the province.

“If we do not
change course, these really are the
good old days.”
—Gwynne Dyer, an expert on international affairs

The public meetings opened up a dialogue on how Albertans can collectively create a well-informed knowledge base to meet the province’s environmental and political challenges. Featured guest speakers were Mark Anielski, Gwynne Dyer and Scott Murray. The meetings were cosponsored by locals of the Alberta Teachers’ Association in partnership with Cambridge Strategies, Literacy Alberta and the University of Calgary.

Making it happen: What should Alberta do?

Moderator Stephen ­Murgatroyd asked the guest speakers about the most important ­actions that Albertans could take to create a healthy and prosperous future for the province. They ­suggested the following:

1. Support research to create a new diversified economy that does not rely solely on natural resources.
2. Avoid distractions, such as interprovincial battles, and commit as a people to equity for all Albertans (the more equitable a society, the healthier and happier it becomes).
3. Ensure that youth are resilient and able to manage climate change, rapid demographic shifts and global economic pressures.
4. Build a high-speed public transit system between Edmonton and Calgary to link the province’s two largest cities (it was suggested that this link would create a hub of innovation unlike any other outside of Silicon Valley).

What should Alberta not do?

When asked what not to do, all three speakers noted that maintaining the status quo and continuing to invest public money in traditional natural-resource based, or sunset industries, would be a profound mistake. As Gwynne Dyer, an expert on international affairs, noted: “If we do not change course, these really are the good old days.”

Association Vice-President Sharon Armstrong added, “This is the time when teachers, in concert with the public, have an opportunity to be instrumental in contributing to the conversation on the future of Alberta, and specifically the kind of education our children will require to be happy and contributing citizens in Alberta in 2030. ... there is no definitive answer and the journey to the next Alberta has just begun.”

Join the conversation on Alberta’s future

The conversation about ­Alberta’s future is ongoing, and teachers are invited to participate by visiting www.learningourway.ca or joining the conversation on Twitter, at #abfuture. The ability to shape Alberta’s future is in our hands. Teachers’ participation ensures that they will be among those who will make the future happen.