A group of diverse Londoners have been working together on our letter for Jian, answering the questions he put forth to us in his message http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2011/12/01/a-message-from-jian/ . Now it’s time for the whole community to weigh in and add their support. Please read the rough draft of the letter and in the comments section below please give your input to what needs to be changed or added. If you think that it’s fine just the way it is then please say that! We want as may Londoners as possible showing their support by “signing” this letter in the comment box below. The letter will then be revised and presented in it’s final form by the deadline: Noon Wednesday December 7th.
Dear Jian,
London loves you and the Q show.
Beyond being the first city in Ontario to invite you to host your first show outside of Toronto, we would like you to experience our passion for the arts, culture and entertainment. We want your presence to help change London to be one of the most creative and culturally diverse small sized cities in North America! We want your presence to be an important part of the launch of our “Q Days of Changes” (See reason “Q” below.)
Here are 17 reasons, from A to Q, (and more!) why we feel you should choose London as your first live show in Ontario, outside of Toronto.
a. What makes London unique?
We have great people who are passionate, creative and culturally literate. We are committed to positive changes in the community and in our institutions, during these tough economic times.
We want to be one of the most creative and culturally diverse small cities in North America, comparable to Ann Arbor, MI (see below).
But don’t believe what we say about ourselves! Based on the Martin Prosperity Institute Creative Class Index below, we are the leading small to medium sized Creative Class Index city in Ontario.
(diagram needs to be inserted here)
b. What makes London a place we should showcase to the continent?
Below are many examples of London’s commitment to being a working prototype of a diverse small community of the future - a globally-connected, creative, competitive and sustainable community. Based on Thomas L. Friedman’s recent book – “That Used To Be Us”, Londoners want to meet the four real challenges of i) globalization; ii) information technology revolution; iii) macro economic realities; and iv) environmentally sustainable way of life.
c. And what makes London’s citizens so passionate about arts, culture, and entertainment?
The challenges and opportunities arising from a changing population and economy against the backdrop of the economic downturn has forced Londoners to look into new creative solutions in all aspects of community and cultural life. From a historically small homogeneous community to a community representing many diverse cultures and faiths, from a manufacturing and financial based economy to an increasingly knowledge-based economy, London is giving birth to a renewed passion for the development of arts, culture and entertainment, one that appreciates it, supports it, engages with it and in its creation.
d. And how much of London’s community has mobilized behind your effort.
Many Londoners are mobilized behind our efforts, as shown by the numbers below –
Jianinldnont.ca xxx Unique visitors x,xxxTotal Page Views
Facebook.com 439+ Likes304+Talking About This
Twitter.com 1,364+ Tweets
Youtube.com 609+ Views
Flickr “Q” 89+ Items
URL’s
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1830251@N21/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS8oWkWnMVw&feature=youtu.be
e. We were the first to invite you!
… and the first tweet to invite you was made by a drummer (whom you’ve met and who still owes you a beer on behalf of his sister).
f. Meet our creative people – of today and yesterday…
- London offers a diversity of creative people involved in many categories of management, business/finance, law, and healthcare (based on the Martin Prosperity Institute’s (MPI) research on “Ontario in the Creative Age” and the use of Technology, Talent and Tolerance metrics).
- London has a strong and diverse group of “Super Creative” people who are involved in the Arts and Design, Computers, Architecture/Engineering, Science and Education Fields.
- But, don’t take our word for it, just see the list of Londoners below –
Actors - Hume Cronyn, Lolita Davidovic, Victor Garber, Ryan Gosling, Paul Haggis, Jenny Jones, Rachel McAdams, Paul Soles
Athletes - Jeff Carter, Drew Doughty, Sam Gagner, Craig McTavish, Craig Simpson, Adam Stern
Artists -Phillip Aziz, Greg Curnoe
Innovators -Nerds on Site, Jack Warner, Dr. Sir Frederick G. Banting
Musicians -Basia Bulat, Emm Gryner, Garth Hudson, Tommy Hunter, Kittie, Guy Lombardo, Mayor Joe Fontana, Nihilist Spasm Band, Olenka and the Autumn Lovers, Raised by Swans, Jack Richardson, Two Minute Miracle, Vibrant and other storied punk music groups
Scientists -Dr. Calvin R. Stiller
Writers -Joan Barfoot, Emma Donahue
g. Meet the culturally diverse communities that live here
- Immigrants make up nearly 20% of London’s population. The five largest visibly identifiable groups represent nearly 10% of London’s population.
- Diverse cultural groups include – Arab, Chinese, Colombian, East Asian, Iranian, Korean, Latin American, Polish and South Asian.
- Diverse faith groups from Baha’i, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian, Hindu, Ismaili, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Protestant and Sikh.
- These communities participate in nearly 300 non-profit organizations in London.
h. See our arts, cultural and entertainment venues
- London offers over 100 small, medium and large public and private venues for all forms of creative and cultural expression. They include the John Labatt Centre, Western Fair Grounds, Grand Theatre, Centennial Hall, Covent Garden and the Spriet Theatre, Aeolian Hall, Central Library and their 16 branches, Wolf Performance Hall, dozens of outdoor parks, and Labatt Memorial Park, the “oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world”.
- London is hosting the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships.
- We have over 40 festivals, including Sunfest, London Fringe Festival, Bluesfest International, Home County Folk Festival, London Rib-Fest, Pawlooza and Festa Italiana.
- There are over 1,700 designated heritage properties that are supported by one of the highest Heritage Grants per capita programs in Ontario.
- London has a number of museums and public/private galleries, including the London Museum, the first Children’s Museum in Canada, the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, the Secrets of Radar Museum and the largest private ceramics gallery in Canada.
i. Check out our sports teams, cinemas, radio and TV stations, and community papers
- London has its own hockey, baseball and basketball teams as well as numerous other junior league teams.
- London has over half a dozen cinema complexes, with over four dozen screens, including the historic Hyland Cinema.
- London offers a dozen daily, weekly and monthly print publications.
- London has nearly a dozen local radio stations.
j. Visit our educational institutions
- The University of Western Ontario was voted #1 in the 2011 Globe and Mail student survey for the 9th year in a row! UWO, including Brescia, Kings and Huron College, houses over 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
- The internationally recognized Ivey School of Business is housed in a new facility designed by an internationally-recognized, award-winning architectural firm.
- Fanshawe College is one of the largest colleges in Ontario with over 17,000 full-time, part-time and adult students. Its new downtown campus opens in 2013.
- There are dozens of private colleges, training schools, primary, middle and international secondary schools.
k. Discover our leading edge work in the wellness, health and life sciences fields
- Over 20,000 Londoners work in the wellness and health related sectors.
- The London Health Science Centre and its related entities are involved in world-class pure and applied research.
- The Robarts Research Institute is Canada’s largest privately funded institution. It focuses on advanced imaging, autoimmunity/diabetes, gene therapy, heart/circulation and stroke/neurodegenerative diseases.
- The Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics centre is a world leader in surgical innovation and training. It has pioneered certain robotic surgical procedures for the first time in either Canada or the world.
- The award-winning life science Stiller Centre Incubator is located at the University of Western Ontario’s Research Park.
- Many of our scientists and health professionals are actively involved in arts and culture.
l. Experience London’s digital gaming and information technology businesses
- London is now home to many information technology and digital media firms, including voices.com, Digital Extremes, Big Blue Bubble, InfoTech, farms.com,ilookabout.com and Phoenix Technologies.
m. Meet the established companies of London
- London is home to dozens of national and international companies, including 3M, McCormicks, Labatts Breweries, London Life, TD Canada Trust, Trojan Technologies, Royal Bank of Canada, who are active and significant supporters of the arts and culture in this city.
n. Meet the emerging new leaders, social innovators and entrepreneurs
- London’s educational institutions graduate thousands of young people each year. Our community is striving to offer them a meaningful future in London.
- The rise of many emerging leaders, social innovators and entrepreneurs offers many possibilities for London to retain and attract young talent in the arts, culture and entertainment sectors.
o. Meet the member of the Age-Friendly City
- London has been ranked as one of the 2nd best places to retire in North America, along with Boulder, CO and Portland, OR.
- London’s is the first Canadian city to earn the Age-Friendly City designation from the World Health Organization.
- The age-friendly designation includes seniors, young parents with children and people with mobility challenges. With nearly 1 in 5 Londoners over 60, this represents an important part of the arts, culture and entertainment milieu.
p. Join us in our journey to create a culture of building bridges and removing barriers
- London’s local culture and external influences is both small and big, and simple and complex. We are striving to build sustainable bridges and removing challenging barriers to developing a truly collective vision and action plan for the future.
Q. Saving the best for last, we want you to help us launch the Q DAYS OF CHANGES – Connectivity, Creativity and Collaboration
Your show’s unique perspective and broad audience will highlight London’s passion for the arts, culture and entertainment and act as a catalyst for our efforts to create a sustainable, creative and vibrant community of the 21st century.
London is on the move! And we’d like you to be a part of our changing culture.
On Q day, we’ll hold a full day of activities. We hope to bring together Londoners who represent a microcosm of London to cross-fertilize ideas from the arts, the sciences and the community (.org, .com, .edu, .net, .biz and .me) in our quest to develop a viable, sustainable and creative community.
Your friends in London, Ontario
Okay Londoners! Remember this is a rough draft and will be spruced up. Please add other reasons why you feel Jian should come to London and share interesting and innovative things that are happening in the London area currently or in the recent past. Or simply statethat you support Q and #JianinLdnont! Great work team!
Please continue to use the #JianinLdnOnt hashtag on twitter and share and “Like” our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Loves-Jian-Ghomeshi-MORE-Bring-Q-to-London/292325764140872
*click on the title of this post ”It’s a community effort! Please add your input now!” to get to the post so you can leave your comments at the bottom.
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http://twitter.com/cherishmuse selfproclaimedmuse
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http://dougsamu.wordpress.com doug rogers
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Ayala Reshef
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http://dougsamu.wordpress.com doug rogers
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http://dougsamu.wordpress.com doug rogers
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http://twitter.com/MichaelJSealy Mike Sealy
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Jparsons2
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Jparsons2
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http://twitter.com/cherishmuse selfproclaimedmuse
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Ms. Peculiar
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Ms. Peculiar
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Sandraprentice
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DJ Schwob
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Julieb
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http://www.voices.com Stephanie Ciccarelli
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Adele Corke
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Anyaface
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Jparsons2
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Kelly Rowcliffe
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Jan
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http://twitter.com/cherishmuse selfproclaimedmuse
