Teeny Tiny Summits
- Website: http://www.teenytinysummit.com/
- Categories: Associations, Government/Municipal
The Teeny Tiny Summit welcomes community leaders from small communities of all kinds for an informative and inspiring day.
Each Teeny Tiny Summit includes success stories from small places throughout the region, and opportunities to network and learn from other community leaders. Much of the content is focused on what can be accomplished by volunteers working together with municipalities. In small places, volunteers are a critical part of economic development.
Teeny Tiny Summits started in 2016, and since that time, there have been seven sessions throughout Ontario, with over 800 attendees in total. In 2019, there are five offerings; Renfrew County (Calabogie), Cochrane District (Black River-Matheson), Durham Region (Clarington), Haliburton (Dysart et al.), and Middlesex County (Thorndale).
“Teeny Tiny Places” have a few common qualities. They tend to be small rural communities with village centres that have populations under 1000. Villages often do not have water and wastewater infrastructure. The communities lack dominant economic drivers, and tend not to have paid, dedicated economic development staff at the lower tier level. Despite these challenges, Teeny Tiny Places have many unique assets and opportunities to better their communities and achieve their goals. The Teeny Tiny “movement” began in response to a lack of economic development resources that were targeted to places with these characteristics, and has been driven by the energy and dedication of people who are committed to their small communities.