How it works What We Stand For Why Auricle
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Listening to understand
 

TRY A NEW ROLE IN 2023
THE LOCAL LISTENER

Do you live in Edmonton, and love listening & talking to strangers? Apply by Sunday, July 30th at midnight!

 
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HEAR FROM A LOCAL LISTENER!

Hey there! Hello! My name is Rochelle and I want to tell you about my personal journey with the Local Listener role, and the curiosities, interests, and excitement it sparked in me! I invite you to consider whether it might be a good fit for you too.

Two summers ago, I heard about an experimental approach to measuring the wellbeing of people in a neighbourhood: it was called Auricle. Auricle had a completely different approach to “research” and “data collection” that felt liberatory to me. Auricle was, and is, centring  delight & beauty, human relationships, personal stories, and community ownership over the research and its interpretation. I was so intrigued!!

I wanted to challenge myself to come up with quirky and lovely ways to have meaningful encounters with strangers, so I applied. Along with the first cohort of Local Listeners, I was trained to reach out to strangers around me,  host conversations about things that matter to people, and record their contributions in the form of stories & anecdotes. I got to meet so many fascinating & beautiful fellow Edmontonians!

Although I used to consider myself an introvert, I’m also deeply curious about the people around me, and I appreciated the opportunity  to challenge myself and have new experiences. 

 
 
 
 
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THE DETAILS

  • Auricle is a network of Edmontonians who listen to each other’s experiences of wellbeing in particular spaces and places, all so we can use the power of story to bring us together.

    It’s also:

    1. A way for cities to get a different kind of intelligence about how they influence, or could influence, wellbeing in different neighbourhoods and public spaces

    2. An approach to engaging the people of a place that can generate a sense of community belonging and ownership

    3. A flurry of fun, quirky, creative pop-ups and guerilla arts events that contribute to the vibrancy and magic of any space

    4. A source of public, open source data to fuel community dreams

  • This summer, be 1 of 8 Edmonton-based Local Listeners!

    Join our team to learn about people’s relationships to some of the City’s transit spaces. This includes riders and non-riders, commuters, and folks who ride the line all day! The team will be spending time in three LRT stations and transit centres. They will engage, listen, and honour the stories & insights of many different folks - including those who are often excluded from mainstream community engagement and data-collection processes.

  • These 8 Local Listeners will:

    1. Dream up delightful ways to engage strangers, and run pop-ups or activations to draw attention in transit centres (e.g. think juggling station, kitten-petting, or watermelon bowling lane and giveaway, etc!);

    2. Use a set of conversational tools to elicit a story about their use of transit spaces, and get underneath the surface to better understand what the experience means to that person;

    3. If needed, schedule follow-up meetings to finish those conversations;

    4. Participate in weekly or biweekly debriefs & planning sessions with the rest of the Local Listener cohort;

    In late fall, gather for the most fun part: Knowsy Fest! A carnival of community story-sharing and sensemaking

  • Do you:

    • Feel super curious about the people around you?

    • Like getting out of your comfort zone?

    • Enjoy being creative, quickly coming up with new ideas, and bringing them to life?

    • Have curiosity about questions of wellbeing & want to get underneath the surface to understand what actually matters to people in this city?

    • Want a side-gig this summer/fall?

    People who might love this role might also love …

    • Street theatre and other surprising and whimsical events

    • Working in pairs and as part of teams

    • Frank conversations over cocktail conversations

    • The chaos of public spaces

NUTS AND BOLTS

We’ll be working at 3 transit stations: Churchill, Clareview, and Jasper Place!

  • Remuneration: $21/hour for up to $1400 total (roughly 66 hours)

  • Hours/days: The time commitment includes: 

    • 10-12 hours for onboarding (likely during a weekend in mid-August so those working during daytime hours can attend)

    • 4-6 hours per week subsequently (may be morning, afternoon, or evening shifts depending on transit peak times & your range of availability)

  • Time frame: August to early November, 2023

  • What’s expected: Playfulness, curiosity, willingness to learn & communicate as you go, deep respect for different ways of knowing & being in the world, and attention to detail

 

 APPLY NOW

Register your interest until July 30 2023 11:59PM MST. Tell us a little bit about you, why you’re interested in the role, and what you might bring to it. We’ll be considering applications on a rolling basis.

  1. If you have a resume, you’re welcome to upload it to the typeform, but it’s not necessary!

We welcome questions. Email rochelle@inwithforward.com if you’d like more details.

 
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