The City of Oshawa is pleased to announce that culture is the focus of the second edition in the Our Oshawa video series. The video features The Robert McLaughlin Gallery (RMG), CEO Donna Raetsen-Kemp who talks about the City’s cultural energy and diversity. Check out the new YouTube video now.

The RMG is the largest art gallery in Durham Region, located at 72 Queen St. It features five galleries that enable people of all ages to experience art in ways that are meaningful to them.

“Culture has ignited throughout the City,” says Councillor Amy McQuaid-England, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee. The City of Oshawa has many enriching opportunities to get the community involved, and it is great to see a positive impact as a result. I hope people continue to share their Our Oshawa stories.

The Our Oshawa campaign includes a series of videos that will be filmed and released throughout the year highlighting accomplishments, positive stories and achievements within our community.

Residents are encouraged to share their stories online on Connect Oshawa (www.connectoshawa.ca). It is these stories that will inspire future videos and promotional materials that will be available throughout the city and posted on the City’s Twitter, Facebook and new Instagram accounts.

The City’s new Instagram account (@CityOfOshawa) continues to grow with more than 250 followers since the account’s launch last month in April. The account is frequently updated with all the great things happening within the Oshawa community.

For updates on the City of Oshawa, visit www.oshawa.ca or follow “OshawaCity” on Twitter and Facebookand “CityofOshawa” on Instagram.

Between Thursday, April 21 and Thursday, May 5, the public was invited to provide feedback that will guide the redevelopment of Glen Stewart Park’s playground, splash pad and parking lot, and they did not disappoint.

“We appreciate all the comments and input from the citizens living in this community”, said Councillor John Aker, Chair of the Development Services Committee. “All of us want Glen Stewart Park to be a great recreation destination to be enjoyed by all”.

65 members of the community, aged 18 – 65+, captured their current views and usage habits, as well as their hopes and visions for the Park’s playground, splash pad and parking lot redevelopment in a survey.

An identical survey was used at both engagement opportunities:

• 38 individuals attended the Public Open House on Thursday, April 28, with 24 completing the survey and submitting feedback, while
• 41 shared their thoughts online on Connect Oshawa during the campaign period.

Additionally, community feedback shared on Facebook and Twitter was collected and shared with the City’s project team.

“Many thanks to those that provided comments and suggestions on the park redevelopment”, said Councillor Bob Chapman, Chair of the Community Services Committee. “I know staff will give these careful consideration when developing the plan to improve Glen Stewart Park”.

Staff will now review the public’s input and use it to guide future decision-making on the playground, splash pad and parking lot projects. Upgrades to the Glen Stewart Park ball diamonds will be based on recommendations from the Outdoor Field Study (2004) and Parks, Recreation, Library and Culture Facility Needs Assessment, which sought feedback from the public in late 2014.

The Park redevelopment is anticipated to begin in September 2016 and continue through to the fall of 2017. To learn more, visit the Glen Stewart Park Redevelopment webpage.

On Wednesday, May 11 City Council together with the Oshawa Accessibility Advisory Committee (O.A.A.C.) honoured businesses and residents who have improved access for individuals with disabilities throughout the city. The Accessibility Improvement Awards recognize the outstanding contributions made within the community resulting in greater opportunities for people to live, work and play.

“We have some amazing businesses in Oshawa that have taken significant steps to improve access to all residents of our city. I encourage other businesses to follow the lead of our award recipients and take an active lead in working towards a more accessible city”, said Councillor John Shields, O.A.A.C. Council Representative. “This year’s resident awards went to five outstanding individuals who have taken it upon themselves to go above and beyond in making Oshawa a more inclusive city”.

The recipients of this year’s Business Accessibility Improvement Awards are:

• AIDS Committee of Durham Region
• Alzheimer Society of Durham Region
• Brain Injury Association of Durham Region
• Canadian Hearing Society – Durham Region
• Canadian Mental Health Association – Durham
• Canadian Red Cross Society – Durham Region
• Cornerstone Community Association Durham Inc.
• Durham Association for Family Respite Services
• Durham Deaf Services
• Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre
• Community Living – Oshawa Clarington
• John Howard Society of Durham Region
• Kerry’s Place – Autism Services
• Kinark Child and Family Services – Durham Region
• Melt“wich” – Oshawa
• Red Lobster – Oshawa
• Simcoe Hall Settlement House
• Taxi Taxi
• United Way of Durham Region

The recipients of this year’s Resident Accessibility Improvement Awards are:

• Darrell Brown
• Ben Fudge
• Josh Galliford
• Laurie LeBlanc
• Adam Stuart

The City of Oshawa is committed to the development of an inclusive, healthy and safe community by providing accessible facilities, programs and services for all to enjoy. To learn more about accessibility in Oshawa visit the Accessibility webpage.

Today, the City of Oshawa and community partners welcomed the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery.

During her visit to Oshawa, Her Honour participated in a Civic Engagement Roundtable to discuss how the City and our partners excel and manage the challenges in relation to environmental stewardship, inclusive economic prosperity, and social inclusion.

“We are very honoured to meet and host the Lieutenant Governor. It was a privilege to discuss our amazing city and how our accomplishments align with Her Honour’s key themes of focus,” said Mayor Henry. “We learned a lot from each other today and recognize that there is more work to be done to advance these key areas for Oshawa to continue to shine on the world stage.”

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell was invested as Ontario’s 29th Lieutenant Governor on September 23, 2014 following a distinguished public service career. Her Honour has made it her mission to bring people together to engage in meaningful conversations with a goal of building just and sustainable communities for the betterment of Ontario and the world.

Once again, Oshawa’s website has been recognized for its communication excellence receiving an OVATION Award of Merit by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Toronto Chapter.

The City of Oshawa received an IABC/Toronto OVATION Award in the Digital Content Category for the redevelopment of the City’s new website which launched in May 2015. The City’s award submission showcased multi-faceted marketing and communication elements including technical skills such as editing, writing, design and multimedia production. The submission also highlighted the City’s website strategic alignment, the creative process undertaken and outlined measurable results.

“We are very proud to have been acknowledged for the outstanding work that City staff completed on this major project,” said Councillor Amy McQuaid-England, Chair of the Corporate Services Committee. “We also appreciate the input received from the community that helped shape the new website’s design, organization of information and web content. We welcome continued feedback to help strengthen the City’s online presence.”

The City’s website is also accessible and mobile friendly, meaning that the site will resize accordingly to the device being used. The majority of the City’s website content was rewritten and reorganized to make it easier to find information. Additional website features include:

• Prominent search function
• Homepage pop-up menus
• Business & Investment section
• Parks & Facility look-up tool
• Directory of local businesses and organizations
• Bids & Tenders
• Events & Meetings Calendar

Additionally, all these features and more are captured in a video, which was created to provide residents with a visual tour of the website. The video is available on the “OshawaCity” YouTube channel.

Input from residents, business leaders and community partners was integral in shaping the City website’s design, organization of information and top priorities for web content. The City would like to continue an open dialogue with residents to improve the website. Users can easily connect with the City through social media and online chat directly from the top of each webpage. On the bottom of every webpage is contact information for Service Oshawa, as well as a Feedback Form for users to provide comments to help improve the City’s website www.oshawa.ca.

IABC was founded in 1970 and currently operates in more than 80 countries, with more than 100 chapters worldwide. IABC/Toronto is recognized as the association's largest chapter in the world with more than 1,500 members. The prestigious IABC/Toronto OVATION awards recognize outstanding achievements of communication professionals and organizations located in the Greater Toronto Area. For more information, visit http://toronto.iabc.com.

For updates on the City of Oshawa, visit www.oshawa.ca or follow “OshawaCity” on Twitter and Facebookand “CityofOshawa” on Instagram.