Membership: (Some appointed June 15, 2013 or later by the President) Jay Chan (UBC) and Heather Patry (Dalhousie).

Activities

Since the last AGM, the IIC has focused on three projects:

  • Creation on a PowerPoint presentation
  • Logo design and branding
  • Launching the FCDSA Facebook page

Hayley Faulkner (Toronto), Victor Le (Manitoba) and Pier-Mathieu Gagnon (Montreal) created a power point presentation. This presentation is available to Council members to help promote awareness of the FCDSA to dental students.

The ICC continued consulting with CDSPI staff regarding the logo design and branding strategy.  During the previous year, Paul Knapp of CDSPI had graciously given of his time and worked with some CDSPI graphic designers to develop possible logos.  Unfortunately, when they were presented to the 2013 AGM, there was no strong support for any of the proposed logos.  As Mr. Knapp has now left the company for other opportunities, CDSPI identified another staff member who could help us regroup. We will now be working with Ms. Deborah Niles, Manager, Marketing and Communications.  The ICC plans to make initial contact and begin discussions anew before the AGM.

On August 6th, 2013 the FCDSA created and launched a Facebook page to create one means of communication between the FCDSA and dental students.

Results

The FCDSA PowerPoint presentation was distributed to Council members on September 6, 2013.  It is available in English and French.

 FCDSA still needs a logo and the IIC is regrouping to work with a new CDSPI staff contact to help move this forward. The ICC is committed to developing a logo which reflects the mission and vision – and energy –the FCDSA wants to communicate.  In the interim, it was agreed to use one of the proposed logos as a placeholder for the Facebook page and Website. 

The Facebook page was launched on August 6, 2013 and currently has 345 “likes” as of May 30, 2014. Staff receives weekly insight reports on page likes, post reach and engagement.  All Council members are invited to visit the page and “Like” us if you haven’t already. 

Summary and Reflection

It is hoped that the PowerPoint presentation will be part of regular yearly presentations planned by each member association to introduce first year students to the FCDSA as well to remind other dentistry students of the organizations, its mission, vision and goals and the encourage students to becoming involved at the local and national level.

While we’ve made a good start with the Facebook page, we need to increase the number of people and their involvement/posting.

At this point in time it is important to move forward with branding and decide on a logo. If contact with CDSPI cannot be made to continue with the logos that were provided at the 2013 AGM, then a new resource should be sought.

Also, a key point that needs to be addressed is the need to identify the goals of the Federation. A mission and vision for the FCDSA has been established, but it is important for the council to determine what the FCDSA stands for so that a logo and brand will express just that.

Next Steps

  1. Meet with Ms. Deborah Niles, CDSPI Manager, Marketing and Communications to discuss logo.
  2. Set a deadline for logo design, approval and determination of brand.
  3. Continue to invite new students to “like” the Facebook page as well as sharing of the power point presentation.
  4. Decide on a logo

Proposed Resolutions

RESOLVED that members of the FCDSA Council continue to invite students from their respective schools to “Like” the FCDSA Facebook page and that they strive to post member association news, awards, and other items of interest.

RESOLVED that members of the FCDSA Council promote student awareness of the FCDSA by planning events or other opportunities where they can share the FCDSA PowerPoint presentation with incoming first year students.  Council members are also to share their experiences on Facebook and with the Secretariat so that other members might benefit from best practices.