Toronto Dollar Project

The Toronto dollar was a paper local currency from 1998-2013. It had fixed exchange rates with the Canadian dollar. A lower exchange rate was used when trading Toronto dollars for Canadian dollars than vice versa, and the income from this disparity was used to fund social benefit programs. Through sheer determination and will, Joy developed and sustained the program while inspiring numerous volunteers to help. ‘Society needs glue, the wherewithal to connect with each other. I feel that's what the Toronto Dollar is – it's a form of glue, it's a means of connecting community organizations, local businesses and citizens. It's also a form of making visible people who care, making the heart more visible,’ she says.

Presenter: Joy Kogawa, Order of Canada poet and novelist

Topic: Toronto Dollar Project, our fondly remembered community currency

The Toronto dollar was a paper local currency from 1998-2013. It had fixed exchange rates with the Canadian dollar. A lower exchange rate was used when trading Toronto dollars for Canadian dollars than vice versa, and the income from this disparity was used to fund social benefit programs.

Through sheer determination and will, Joy developed and sustained the program while inspiring numerous volunteers to help.

“Society needs glue, the wherewithal to connect with each other. I feel that’s what the Toronto Dollar is – it’s a form of glue, it’s a means of connecting community organizations, local businesses and citizens. It’s also a form of making visible people who care, making the heart more visible,” she says.

*** SOCIAL MEDIA CHEAT CODES:

None.

*** BIOGRAPHIES:

Joy Kogawa was born in Vancouver in 1935 to Japanese-Canadian parents. During WWII, Kogawa and her family were forced to move to Slocan, British Columbia, an injustice Kogawa addresses in her 1981 novel, Obasan, one of the handful of Canadian novels that have become essential reading for a nation. Interned with her Japanese-Canadian family during WW2, she has worked tirelessly to educate and help redress a dark moment in our history. ​ In 1986, Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada; in 2006, she was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia. In 2010, the Japanese government honored Kogawa with the Order of the Rising Sun “for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history”.

*** THIS MONTH’S VENUE SPONSOR:

ecobee: Smart Home Technology

Ecobee is focused on creating smarter wi-fi thermostats that are beautifully designed, easy to use, provide comfort and savings for families and are good for our planet.

https://www.ecobee.com

Check-in details: Enter via North entrance, and head to central elevators. A co-organizer will be downstairs until 7pm to unlock the elevator to 6th floor. No sign-in required. If you run into any issues, then please send a message to our “doorbell” at 780-652-2649 (780-6LAB-6IX), and the organizers will get a notification.

Accessibility: North entrance is fully accessible.

*** ABOUT US:

Our weekly civic tech hacknights bring together designers, coders, urban planners, government staff, mappers, policy-makers, students, communications strategists, and all other Torontonians who share an interest in making Toronto more responsive, prosperous, sustainable and equitable, through design, tech, and data. (Coders are welcome, but you don’t have to be a coder to contribute!) Come and be part of it!

Agenda:

6:30-7: Welcome and intros 7-7:30: Presentation and Q&A/discussion 7:30-9: Breakout groups (make something!)

For more info, visit http://civictech.ca Here’s our Code of Conduct: http://civictech.ca/about-us

Hope to see you Tuesday!