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Defining the focus of the 6th State of the Inner City Report unfolded as it does every year.  We began the process by meeting with representatives from various organizations working in the inner city.  Some of our partners have participated in the State of the Inner City since we began the process in early 2005.  Others have more recently become involved.  What has been consistent each and every year is that the individuals and organizations who have contributed are deeply committed to improving the quality of life for individuals and families living and working in the inner city.  
The fall 2011 issue of Our Schools/Our Selves, edited by Larry Kuehn, explores the ways in which neo-liberal forces and the power of capital continue to deform public schools and constrain democratic ideals. According to the editor:
On Wednesday, September 29th the CCPA–MB launched its latest report at the Freight House. The launch was part of a one-day conference entitled “Building Positive Relationships” organized by the Coalition of Community-Based Youth-Serving Agencies (CCBYSA).
Did you know that parents want their children to have access to well-stocked libraries in their schools? Were you aware that they’re very concerned that provincial governments aren’t doing enough to ensure that there’s enough money to pay for these books and libraries? Or that increasingly teachers have to dig into their own pockets ($453 on average) to compensate for funding that just isn’t there?
Welfare "reform" in BC has made it more difficult to qualify for welfare, and many of those who have managed to remain on income assistance have multiple barriers to employment, including addiction, mental and physical health problems, learning disabilities, lack of English skills, unstable housing and homelessness. These recipients have not been well served by the “reformed” system, particularly employment training programs.
The summer issue of Our Schools/Our Selves, the third in the "Iron Cage" series, is edited by David Clandfield and George Martell. At a time when neighbourhood schools are threatened with closure, this issue provides an invaluable and thoughtful exploration of community schools--the good, the bad, and the ugly--across various Canadian provinces and in a number of countries. 
For the past ten years Manitoba has been mapping unchartered territory in an effort to transform a child welfare system that will better serve the needs of children and families. In particular, through the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry – Child Welfare Initiative a new governance structure was developed to address Manitoba’s very poor track record of serving the Aboriginal children and families who are vastly overrepresented in the child welfare system.
“Anti-Racism in Education: Missing In Action, a book I am glad to be part of, addresses needs across the educational spectrum, from primary school up to and including university, and addresses quite directly the link to our workplaces and to ongoing issues of societal and institutional racism. It also looks at the relationship between education and other systems in which racialized and Aboriginal peoples face on-going challenges, e.g., children’s aid societies and law enforcement.
In the lead-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, Stephen Lewis laments in this issue of Our Schools/Our Selves that it may be too late to prevent a climate catastrophe.