The Confluence to receive Alberta Museums Association’s 2024 Leadership Award for Sustainability

Press Release

Aug. 22, 2024

The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland has been awarded the Alberta Museums Association’s (AMA) 2024 Leadership Award for Sustainability. The AMA Leadership Awards recognize exceptional work and innovative thinking in the museum community, and winners in the sustainability category work to integrate the AMA’s Five Facets of Sustainability into their museum practices: cultural, health and well-being, environmental, financial and social sustainability.

The Confluence received this award in recognition of their ongoing work in cultural and social sustainability and their commitment to financial and ecological sustainability of the site as a meeting place, now and in the future.

Cultural and social sustainability comes from deepening relationships with community members and organizations, and diversifying narratives through exhibits and programming. It’s something that Jennifer Thompson, president at The Confluence, has strived to do since she started at the organization.

“For years now, we’ve been actively expanding the narratives we share here and we’re building relationships with some of the wonderful communities in Calgary,” Thompson says. “We’ve already had some amazing collaborations with Indigenous partners, the Chinese Calgarian community and the 2LGBTQ+ community, and we will continue building these and other partnerships in the future.”

These nurtured relationships have affected real change. In May 2024, The Confluence announced a partnership with the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC) to create an accessible Ceremonial and Programming Space within the existing building. The space will be operated autonomously by the AFCC.

In addition to the Ceremonial and Programming Space which will be completed this winter, existing event spaces at The Confluence are available for use by Indigenous-led organizations and events at no cost, thanks to The Confluence Reciprocity Program, which is funded through a dedicated portion of admission and other revenues.

Feedback from extensive community engagement about The Confluence identified the land and ecological sustainability as a priority. Since then, The Confluence has taken steps to improve, maintain, and protect the land, and reduce the environmental impact of programming and large-scale events. This included creating new infrastructure and beginning development on a Site Concept Plan to improve both the land itself and the visitor experience.

The award will be presented to The Confluence during the AMA’s 2024 Fall Gathering on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, at the Royal Tyrell Museum of Palaeontology.

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