How can play bring us together and teach us about ourselves? Our free Thursday, January 17 panel will explore the connecting power of sport and other forms of play.
 
To get the discussion rolling, we'll hear about Playing for Keeps an initiative to develop healthier, more active and better connected communities leading up to the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games. As well, special guest Claire Nelson, publisher of Yonge Street's sister publication Model D and the creative director for Urban Innovation Exchange, will join Ajooni Sethi in talking about Detroit's Hopscotch project, which last fall saw a 3.78-mile hopscotch course chalked on Detroit sidewalks.
 
OUR PANELISTS
 
Rosalyn Morrison is vice president of community initiatives at the Toronto Community Foundation and leads the development of the annual quality of life report, Toronto's Vital Signs, grant programs and collaborative projects, including Playing for Keeps. Her community involvement includes serving as board vice-chair at Ontario College of Art and Design University and member of the Metcalf Foundation's Strategic Initiatives Committee, funders collaborative of Artreach, CivicAction's Emerging Leaders Network and most recently, chair of the Ontario Summer Games Legacies Committee. Currently, she serves on the governing board of Get Active Toronto.
 
Claire Nelson is publisher of Model D and creative director for Urban Innovation Exchange (UIX), a new initiative to showcase and advance the growing social innovation movement in Detroit. She is the co-founder of Open City and Declare Detroit, and serves on boards for D:hive, Hatch Detroit and Mayor Bing's Emerging Leaders Roundtable. A native of Chicago, she has lived in New York, D.C. and Paris, and just celebrated her 10th anniversary in Detroit. She lives in the Cass Corridor neighbourhood of Midtown.

Ajooni Sethi is the community engagement manager for the Wedge collective, which put on Hopscotch Detroit this past fall. The collective's mission is to create community connections through art, design and other forms of collaboration. 

The evening will be facilitated by Peter MacLeod, principal of Mass LBP. 
 
The Yonge Street Speaker Series is supported by the Toronto Community Foundation.
 
It's free and everyone is welcome. Please click here to register.
 
THE DETAILS
Thursday, January 17
6pm-9pm
Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas Street East
 
We'll be using the hashtag #yongetalks for this series.