Given that this is my third such conference, I should no longer be surprised that Eval 2015 is an amazing, overwhelming, encouraging, and ultimately empowering event! Both of my workshops were great learning opportunities leaving me with lots of ideas to bring back home to Saskatoon, I’ve run into several friends and colleagues already, and I managed to push past the butterflies in my stomach to successfully deliver my Ignite presentation. Seriously, give that format (or its cousin, Pecha Kucha) a try sometime – a set number of slides that change automatically, it’s a rush to present!
The theme of this year’s conference is Exemplary Evaluations in a Multicultural World, and if the number of flags on stage at the opening ceremony is any indication, it’s definitely a global audience. I was proud, though perhaps not too surprised, to see that Canadians make up the largest non-American contingent at 139. And yet we don’t have our own badge ribbon? Next conference I should bring some maple leaf stickers.
I was heartened to see the opening ceremony beginning with a traditional welcome from a local Indigenous group. There’s a growing recognition in Canada and apparently the US as well of at least acknowledging the history of the land and people where we are meeting, and I hope this becomes the norm for events generally.
If there’s one take away from my experiences here thus far, it’s that we have the opportunity and the call to up our game as evaluators. Our field is gaining international recognition and legitimacy (2015 is the UN-recognized International Year of Evaluation), our skill sets are increasingly viewed as important and even necessary in creating sustainable social change, and at the same time we’re recognizing that we’re working in increasingly complicated and even complex situations. Our toolkit is growing to incorporate new ways of presenting data, engaging stakeholders, and demonstrating impact. We’re called to be exemplary.
Yes, it can be overwhelming and even a bit anxiety-provoking – who am I to take on these tasks and responsibilities? At the same time, it’s exhilarating to be here at this place and time, and to have this opportunity to learn and grow. I look forward to the rest of the conference, and more importantly, what I can and will do in the weeks and months to come to create a better world.