ACE Communities
Active Creative Engaged CommunitiesACE Communities – Active, Creative and Engaged Communities – is an initiative of the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA) designed to get More people. More Active. More Often.
We know that recreation, parks, arts, culture and heritage significantly improves the well-being of individual Albertans and the development of healthy, vital communities. What hasn’t always been quite as clear is how to ensure these potential benefits are implemented and maximized.
So what are ACE Communities? Active creative and engaged communities are those that have high levels of active involvement, creativity, social capital and social cohesion. They are communities that contribute to the creation of places, spaces, connections, and a culture that enables wide participation. The result? Communities that are productive, healthy, resilient, and innovative.
We’ve learned that to deliver the benefits of recreation, parks, arts, culture and heritage, we need to ensure communities where people have a sense of belonging, are physically and socially engaged, involved in decision making, and involved as volunteers. Ultimately, ACE Communities will also have a high quality of life that is available and accessible to all. Simply put, ACE Communities are places where people want to be.
Active creative and engaged communities don’t happen without LEADERSHIP! And, not leadership in the traditional sense, but rather skilled and knowledgeable community leaders who can work together with business, government, and the voluntary sector to engage citizens. It is this investment in building community leadership and citizen engagement at the grassroots level that will ensure this initiative leaves a lasting legacy.
As the community of Entwistle was fortunate to be chosen by the ACE initiative through the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, they will be a community to watch and model to other Parkland County communities. The ACE Communities initiative has targeted 30 communities to date to receive funding and supports through this program which will allow them to choose some short and long terms goals over the next few years and give some assistance for what they need to make their community dreams come true.
Visit the ACE Community Website to learn more: http://acecommunities.ca/