Building Winnipeg into a City of Compassion

At Kahanee, we believe meaningful change begins with listening, relationship, and shared responsibility.

Why We’re Holding These Conversations

Across Winnipeg, people are feeling the impacts of disconnection; on our streets, in our neighbourhoods, and in our relationships with one another. While many organizations and individuals are already doing important work, too often these efforts happen apart rather than together.

When people are given space to share their lived experiences, without judgment and with care, new possibilities emerge. Compassion becomes something we practice, not just talk about.

Kahanee is partnering with Compassionate Cities Winnipeg to host these dialogues because we know that community wisdom lives in the room.

What Are Community Conversations?

Build and grow icon

Share what they are seeing and experiencing in the city

These are facilitated, inclusive dialogues that bring together people from different backgrounds, cultures, and lived realities.

Hear and reflect icon

Reflect on how these realities affect us personally and collectively

What is shared is documented and distilled into insights that can inform community action, partnerships, and systems change.

Connect and engage icon

Explore what we can do together to create change

These are not debates or lectures. They are relational spaces grounded in respect, curiosity, and collective responsibility.

How We Guide the Dialogue

Each conversation is shaped by three simple questions. This framework centers lived experience while keeping the focus on shared action.

What have you noticed in your community?

This question invites you to share what you are seeing and experiencing in your everyday lives, grounding the conversation in lived reality rather than assumptions or headlines.

How has this affected you or others?

This creates space to reflect on the personal and collective impacts of these experiences, helping us connect emotion, story, and responsibility with care and honesty.

What feels possible when we work together?

This shifts the conversation toward shared imagination and action, inviting you to explore hopeful, community-led pathways forward.

How We Show Up Together

These conversations are about belonging, dignity, and collective care. We invite participants to

Connections icon
Speak from lived experience

Participants are encouraged to share from their own stories and realities, honouring personal truth rather than speaking on behalf of others.

Hear and reflect icon
Listen with openness and care

Listening is approached as an active, compassionate practice—one that makes space for understanding, even when perspectives differ.

Inspire icon
Share ideas with generosity

Ideas are offered in a spirit of curiosity and collaboration, with the intention of contributing to collective learning rather than persuasion.

Leadership icon
Build toward solutions, not blame

The focus remains on what we can create together, moving away from fault-finding and toward shared responsibility and possibility.

A Shared Commitment

Kahanee is proud to host these conversations as part of a broader effort to strengthen connection, cultural understanding, and community-led solutions across Winnipeg. Becoming a City of Compassion doesn’t start with policy, it starts with people coming together, building trust, and choosing to care for one another.

About your Hosts

Your hosts for these facilitated dialogues

Devon Clunis

Former Winnipeg Police Chief, community safety and leadership advocate

Terry Brown

Community leadership consultant and social change facilitator

Somia Sadiq

Founder of Kahanee, peacebuilder and dialogue facilitator

Perry Kimmelman

Dentist, artist, interfaith leader, City of Compassion organizer

Jewel Roscelli

Community engagement specialist and dialogue facilitator

Jermaine Frazer

Youth advocate and community leadership facilitator

Gary Senft

Executive Director, Charter for Compassion International

Courtney Friesen

Director of Partnerships and Dialougue Facilitator

Rometh Suriyarachchi

Peace Practitioner and Dialougue Facilitator

There is space for you here.

If you care about the future of Winnipeg, Come listen. Come share. Come build with us.

Stay Up to Date

Join our mailing list to get notified of our latest episodes.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.