Every year, during the second week of May, the Professional Municipal Administrators, Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs come together to celebrate the work and leadership of the municipal sector in our province.
Our municipal administrators and staff are an essential workforce in our province. We value and celebrate their work and we want to show young people living in or moving to our province that the municipal sector is a future place of work for them.
To help you support and acknowledge the 2024 Municipal Awareness Week (May 5 – 11), we put together a few suggestions and resources for your celebrations. You can download the PDF here.
Here are some things your town can do to celebrate and participate in Municipal Awareness Week:
PROCLAIM MUNICIPAL AWARENESS WEEK
Proclaim Municipal Awareness Week in your community. You can find the proclamation PDF here.
INVITE RESIDENTS INTO MUNICIPAL FACILITIES
- Offer tours of municipally-owned facilities. Invite residents to take a closer look at the water and sewer monitoring system, heavy equipment, truck and vehicle fleet
- Host a Town Office open house
- Host school/group tours
- Go virtual with a livestream tour or walkthrough on social media
TRIVIA CONTEST!
Test your municipal government knowledge by hosting an online trivia contest. Questions can highlight key pieces of information and initiatives that are currently underway in your municipality.
CONNECT WITH YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL
Tell your local school principles that May 5 – 11 is municipal awareness week across the province. Let them know that leaders, councilors and administrative staff are available to speak with classes about how municipalities work, what kinds of services and programs they provide to communities and how young people can become civically engaged at the municipal level. Be sure to give the school ample time to arrange and prepare for your visit.
SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE
A challenge is simple to organize! Unlike a contest, there are no prizes or rules to worry about. Ask people to tag your town in their posts so that you can share the posts.
Start by posting a question on your municipality’s social media of choice. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Post a photo of your favourite place in town.
- What does your municipality mean to you?
- What do you like most about your community
- What’s one thing you love about your town, and one thing you’d like to change?
CAO/TOWN CLERK FOR THE DAY
Some students may be excited about the administrative roles in their local government! Pick an age group in your community to invite submissions for Town Clerk and/or CAO for a day.
We suggest asking students how they think they could make a difference to the community in this role.
MAYOR FOR THE DAY
Pick an age group in your community to invite submissions for mayor for a day. Often these contests are directed toward elementary school-aged children (grades 4-6). Form a committee, invite written submissions, and publicize your contest.
We suggest asking children what matter to them in their community and what they would do to change things if they were mayor for a day.
20 QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR TOWN CLERK/CAO/DEPT. HEAD
Municipal Awareness Week can be a great opportunity share some facts about the folks who work with the Town. Conduct an interview with a staff member and publicize the Q&A on the town’s social media or newsletter.
Find a sample list of questions HERE.
HOST A MUNICIPAL COLOURING CONTEST
Colouring can be a fun experience for everyone! Ask residents to submit colouring sheets to the municipal office.
CAREERS AND LEADERSHIP IN THE MUNICIPAL SECTOR
Connect with and engage post-secondary students to talk about career and leadership options in the municipal sector. Students form the College of the North Atlantic, Memorial University, and other post-secondary institutions are working and interacting with municipalities.