Although the 2022 National Health Outreach Conference (NHOC) hosted by the University of Missouri is still a couple of months away, now is the time to consider whether your institution would be interested in hosting the 2023 conference. Originally known as the Priester Conference, NHOC is an annual gathering of Extension faculty and staff, cross-campus collaborators, and external partners focused on the role that they can collectively play in improving the health of the nation. A copy of the...

When viewing the vital conditions framework, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the categories and get lost in thinking about your role in changing any one, or many of the conditions in the community. But, if we look at the conditions as an opportunity to speak to the work that we do as a system, it becomes something that feels right in the work that we do day in and day out, and maybe is the least "measured" in the people counting, and knowledge, attitudes and beliefs surveys many of us do...

Thanks for this great article, Gina. When residents of a community develop a sense of agency and the skills to lead change they can make great things happen.

Great reminder of why our work in Extension is important at all levels.

So well said! Extension is in the perfect position to support communities as they build this critical foundation. We need to adapt our reporting systems for including these stories and capturing the outcomes of the systems change work that we are involved in.

Possible indicators for including in planning and producing narrative "stories" and outcome/impact "reports" of social and community change across vital conditions, including belonging and civic muscle, align nicely with a social justice lens. Indicators of change include access (equity & inclusion-who does/doesn't have access & why), agency (intentions and choices), advocacy (voice and skills), and solidarity actions (participates and work toward) for change. The processes of...

Thank you for this post! @Deborah John , I'm not able to access the educator resource you shared with the link, not sure if others had that issue too. Can I look for it online? What's it called?

@Amira, thanks for letting me know! The Social Justice Lens Booklet is available for download at: https://www.bctf.ca/classroom-...justice-lens-booklet

We are sharing different ways in which EXCITE and other health and wellness projects can share their great efforts with both internal and external audiences! This will help foster best practices, create and build partnerships, and spread the work of Extension. We encourage teams to explore different platforms and audiences to share their projects and further the mission of Extension becoming a trusted partner in public health. Internal Extension-focused opportunities: Consider writing a post...