About

École de l’innovation citoyenne (ÉIC) is an ÉTS initiative deployed in the Innovation District (Quartier de l’innovation) in partnership with teaching institutions at all levels and students as well as organizations and businesses in the community.

Inspired by an impulse for positive change and commitment to community as well as a desire to explore collaborative creativity, a large number of players have entered into partnership with École de l’innovation citoyenne (ÉIC) to implement quality-of-life-enhancing projects in the Innovation District. Students, schoolchildren, and citizens play a central role in these projects.

ÉIC is an ÉTS initiative that has followed a bottom-up and participative course of development. ÉIC implements various programs in association with a wide range of players in the community. Cooperative and interdisciplinary approaches and entrepreneurial values are the pillars of this initiative. ÉIC aims to empower citizens and support the implementation of tangible projects that are interdisciplinary and inter-institutional in nature.

VISION AND MISSION

École de l’innovation citoyenne (ÉIC) aims to implement initiatives designed to enhance quality of life in the Innovation District. It provides students and schoolchildren with creative learning resources and the means to put knowledge into practice through participation in projects developed by organizations and businesses in the community. In compliance with its focus on sustainable development, ÉIC takes part in projects designed to enhance quality of life from an economic, environmental, social, and cultural standpoint.

ÉIC is a collaborative, intergenerational, and transformative endeavour. Its vision is to provide Montreal with a model for collaborative creativity that brings together partners dedicated to innovation as a means of transforming the Innovation District and enhance citizens’ quality of life.

PARTNERS

École de l’innovation citoyenne (ÉIC) is a platform that enables critical bridge-building among partners as a means of fostering collaborative initiatives, achieving successful projects, and fulfilling its mission. The roster of partners keeps growing as ÉIC takes part in new local initiatives driven by players in the community.

Institutional Partners

• Commission scolaire de Montréal (École Saint-Henri et École de la Petite-Bourgogne)
• Dawson College
• Cégep André-Laurendeau
• McGill University

Organizations

• L’Ancre des jeunes
• Les Scientifines
• DécliQ – Club étudiant

Organizations in the Community

• Coalition de la Petite-Bourgogne
• Éco-quartier Peter-McGill
• Éco-quartier Sud-Ouest
• La Maison des jeunes l’Escampette
• L’Association des jeunes de la Petite Bourgogne (Youth in Motion)
• L’arrondissement du Sud-Ouest

Only a few months following the launch of this initiative, several projects are already under way.

1. Development of “Place des jazzmen”
   Promoter: Coalition de la Petite-Bourgogne
   This project brings together active transportation, greening initiatives, and citizen mobilization to achieve a common goal: to enhance and promote Little Burgundy’s assets. At the heart of the project are efforts to showcase the history of jazz, which is an important legacy both for the neighbourhood and the city of Montreal, through further development of “Parc des jazzmen.”A team of students from various institutions and disciplines will work closely with dedicated citizens in the neighborhood to put forward development plans, which will be carried out in summer 2014.
   Design Charette will be held March 22 and 23.
2. Microlibrary contest
   Promoter: DécliQ
   To foster a new vision of reading and provide a stimulating investment for citizens, the micro-library contest enables Innovation District residents to form teams and develop their own street library in order to create a network of readers in the District.This project provides an opportunity to come up with contest formats that motivate and mobilize people. It also provides an opportunity to organize community events with library personnel and community-based agencies in the Innovation District.
3. Learning innovation from ages 3 to 6
   Promoter: DécliQ
   It’s a well-known fact that children have a tremendous capacity for creativity and innovation. This project targets daycares in the neighborhood and uses creativity-enabling workshops to encourage 3- to 6-year-olds to devise innovative solutions for social and community problems in the Innovation District.This project brings together students specializing in innovation and professional specializing in early childhood development. This is a unique opportunity to introduce very young children to subject matters that are too often neglected in school curriculums.