Atkinson Field Notes
Learning Through Action
News, presentations and reflections from Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer Colette Murphy and the rest of the Atkinson team.
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27 Mar 18
Recently, I was looking up whether a couple of the TV shows I like were going to return for another season. To my dismay, one of my favourites was characterized as being “on the bubble” - a new phrase for me. I learned it’s showbiz-speak for being on the cusp of cancellation or renewal. The show’s future rests in powerful hands. This seemingly innocuous term struck a surprising and deep chord. Read more >
22 Mar 18
I'd like to start with my conclusion. I believe the nonprofit sector is better equipped to handle emergence and disruptions than other sectors. We’re resourceful and centred on people not profit. We know how to engage new realities, adapt, and get organized to take care of each other in all weather conditions. Read more >
23 Feb 18
Thank you for inviting me to pick up the conversation where David Watson left off last night. Like UNISON Scotland, the Atkinson Foundation knows inequality is a political choice and not a natural condition. We look to leaders in every sector like David who have made the choice to get behind the people who are suffering the most from the politics of austerity. Read more >
22 Jan 18
The Atkinson Decent Work Fund is open and ready to hear from you. Since 2014, we have invested over $3 million in organizing communities to protect workers’ rights, create decent work, and share the benefits of public investment and economic growth more equitably. Read more >
23 Nov 17
Opening remarks for a panel discussion on "making economies work for everyone" at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians on Friday, November 17, 2017 in Ottawa by Atkinson’s Executive Director Colette Murphy. Read more >
4 Nov 17
We’re here tonight to celebrate the good fight. The fight for a better world. No one can reach the age of 75 without having to think about what makes some fights good and others not. The Atkinson Foundation is no exception. We’ve had our fair share of both.
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4 Nov 17
If you know the history of the Toronto Star, you’ll know Joseph Atkinson expected his reporters to “Get the news first, sew it up, pursue every detail, and play it big.” The fight for decent work benefits from the Star’s passion for investigating, reporting and effecting change in countless ways. One way stands out tonight. News gatherers are fighting for the future of journalism these days. Read more >
4 Nov 17
When my grandfather established the Atkinson Foundation in 1942, he had been a journalist and the publisher of the Toronto Star for over 40 years. There are signs, however, that he might have been an architect at heart. Not only did he envision the Toronto Star’s first home on King Street in the late 1920s Read more >
4 Nov 17
I’d like to start by thanking you for the opportunity to advocate for “humanity above all” in a world that is too often inhumane. In preparation for this night, we set out to learn more about this phrase, this timeless mission that Mr. Atkinson placed at the centre of his life and his foundation. We discovered that it has all the characteristics of what’s called a “meme.” Read more >
1 Nov 17
I was a kid who loved the weekend comics but who never quite became a comic book nerd. I discovered Chester Brown's now acclaimed graphic novel on Louis Riel while in university. It was a revelation to me to see such serious information delivered in an entertaining and sensitive way. While the playful illustrations pulled me in
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