Seeking Workshop Presenters for AGM 2025
We're looking for individuals to host workshops at our Annual General Meeting this June!
At last year's AGM, hosted at Calgary's Vivo for Healthier Generations, guests had the opportunity to attend a series of affiliate-run workshops in addition to the meeting. These workshops were delivered in a variety of styles - from in-depth lectures to group work to hands-on arts & crafts - with some aimed at specific audiences and others open to anyone.
This year's AGM will be held on June 20 at the ACT Rec Center in Edmonton, and we're planning to offer 4-6 workshops for attendees to participate in after the meeting. If you're passionate about teaching and have a great idea for a workshop topic, we'd love to hear from you!
How to Apply
Pitch us your workshop using this form! Here's some of the information we'll need:
- A Working Title: this can be as casual or formal as you'd like, as long as it accurately represents the workshop topic.
- Target Audience: tell us who your workshop is targeted towards, or who might benefit from attending.
- Overview of the Workshop: describe the content of your workshop, including key takeaways or skills participants will gain.
If your workshop proposal is successful, we'll also need a headshot and brief bio of you, the presenter!
Please know that while we greatly appreciate all submissions, our selections will be determined based on the diversity in topics (we want to avoid running workshops that are too similar to each other), relevance to the Lifesaving Society's programming, and members' interest in the topics.
Please submit your proposal to us by February 28. If your workshop is chosen, we will reach out to you via email in March, and will work with you to develop the workshop for AGM.
If you have any questions about the proposal process or are having difficulty with the form, please contact us at Experts@Lifesaving.org.
Last Year's Workshops
The following workshops were run at last year's AGM:
Emergency Training - Building Confidence and Competence
Host: Naomi Switzer
Intended Audience: staff supervisors, emergency response staff/coordinators, support staff, and safety personnel, but anyone was welcome to attend
In this workshop, participants discussed the challenges often faced by new members of emergency response teams, such as a lack of confidence in their own abilities. Through this framework, they learned strategies to support and train their more inexperienced members.
Make Your Lessons Soar with Stuff from the Dollar Store!
Host: Dominique MacDonald
Intended Audience: Those who teach JLC, Bronze Cross, Instructor courses, National Lifeguard courses, or swim patrol, but anyone was welcome to attend.
In this workshop, participants discovered how small, simple items such as pipe cleaners, paper dolls, paint, felt fabric and more can be used to develop fun activities for teaching their courses. These activities included True or False, Spot the Symptoms, Lifeguard/Instructor Roles and Responsibilities, and more!
Hidden in Plain Sight: Strategies to Combat Inattentional Blindness at the Pool
Host: Joshua Koke
Intended Audience: Lifeguards, Instructors, or anyone on duty in a pool setting.
In this workshop, participants learned how inattentional blindness - the failure to notice visible objects when attention is focused elsewhere - can apply to lifeguards on duty at the pool, and were taught new strategies to overcome this psychological phenomenon.
"Draw & Doodle" Complex First Aid Simulation Experience
Host: Anthony Seto
Intended Audience: First Aid Instructors and Trainers
In this workshop, participants were broken up into groups, each led by a medical trainee from the University of Calgary or the University of Alberta, and presented with a situation where they would need to administer emergency first aid. Working together as a team, each group came up with their own approach to assess the situation and tend to the 'victim.'