A Community of Practice (CoP) is “a group of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.”
Wenger, E., McDermott, R., Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
REX Virtual Café currently hosts six Communities – five Communities of Practice (CoPs) and a Community Board. The CoPs provide a space for members to share ideas, resources, and experiences around a particular issue that can support better youth outcomes.
When you join the Virtual Café, you select which CoPs interest you. Membership in a CoP allows you to participate in that CoP’s discussions or even start new discussions within the CoP.
In addition to members, each CoP includes four to six Animators with knowledge, skills, and experiences in different aspects of youth work – youth programming (frontline youth work and administration), policy, research, and advocacy. While some of the Animators are part of the YouthREX team (staff, research assistants, interns, etc.), most are volunteers who have deep interests in the CoP topic and are passionate about having a space to connect and dialogue with other youth sector stakeholders.
Animators energize a CoP’s discussions, share resources, and encourage participation of all members while making sure that the discussions are relevant to the theme of the CoP. Occasionally, Animators will steer discussions that are outside the CoP focus to other CoPs where the discussions might be a better fit. More importantly, Animators ensure that conversations adhere to the community guidelines of our terms of service.
In addition to the five CoPs, there is a Community Board where members can share and discuss job postings, events, and other youth sector opportunities from across Ontario.
Current Communities of Practice:
| Cannabis and Youth Legalization of Cannabis in Ontario has led to some confusion about what is safe and healthy for young people. The Cannabis and Youth CoP is for members who want to discuss the health, social, and legal risks associated with cannabis use, to support informed decision-making, and to educate and increase awareness among young people. | Critical Youth Work For members who want to engage in critical dialogue about the political, social, and economic realities that characterize youth work. The CoP will provide members with the space to critically analyze key youth work issues and share strategies and tools for creative and transformative practices that support and strengthen youth well-being. |
| Evaluation in Youth Work For members who want to discuss the challenges and promises of evaluation in a youth program context including ideas, experiences, and tools about program evaluation. How can evaluation support youth programs to share the REAL story of their programs with stakeholders, including youth, parents and guardians, community members, and funders? How can evaluation help programs not just to ‘prove’ that their program is effective but to also ‘improve’? | Good Youth Work Practices For members who want to explore, dialogue about, and identify ‘good’ practices that evidence from multiple sources (research, youth work practice, and lived experience) has consistently shown to be most effective in supporting better outcomes for youth. Members will share ideas and experiences on how these ‘good’ practices play out in various strategies and approaches when working with young people in a variety of contexts. |
| Youth Engagement / Outreach For members (youth leaders and other youth sector stakeholders) who are interested in sharing ideas, resources, and experiences about meaningful youth engagement in all aspects of youth work. | Community Board The Community Board is a space to share what is happening in Ontario’s youth sector such as jobs and volunteer opportunities, Request for Funding calls, professional development opportunities (workshops, webinars, conferences, events) as well as youth sector news. |