CURIKO - Filling the Spaces in Between

Community inclusion for people with developmental disabilities is and always will be a driving force for DDA. However, here in 2024, some new players and organizations are emerging to fill the spaces in between to help broaden horizons and cultivate relationships for people of all abilities. Say hello to CURIKO.

 

TRANSCRIPT

 

CURIKO – Filling the Spaces in Between

 

00:07

Welcome back to another episode of DDA's Encouraging Abilities podcast. I'm your host, DDA Communications Manager, Evan Kelly. Doing things a little bit differently today. We normally have one person either in the studio or on the phone, but today we have three guests in the studio, four, including myself. We only have two mics, so we're going to have to be agreeable when it comes to sharing. No fighting. So joining me today are Sarah Knowles, John A and Rodrigo Galvan. They are part of a new digital platform called Curiko.

 

00:37

They're here to talk to us about what Curiko is and why it's here. So all of you, firstly, thanks for making the effort to come out and, you know, make the trip, as it were, it's a lot harder than getting on a phone. So thank you for being here today. Thank you. Thanks so much for inviting us and also for accommodating, you know, allowing it to be three of us. That's kind of how we run with Curiko. We like to.

 

01:04

switch things up and kind of push the bounds a little bit. Exactly. Well, you know, for those of us, for those just listening, that's awfully cozy in our little pod booth here. So it's going to start to get warm, I think. So perhaps maybe just start by telling me a little bit about yourselves. How about you first, Sarah? Yeah. So I'm Sarah, Sarah Kay. And I'm a Cureco team member. I'm what we call a curator.

 

01:33

And all that really means is that I work with all sorts of individuals, organizations, and businesses to share their passions with others. Um, outside of work, I'm just someone who absolutely loves people and really am always happiest when I'm on top of a mountain. On top of a mountain. So you're hiking or like actual climbing? Hiking.

 

01:59

I do indoor bouldering, but haven't actually gone into the outdoor climbing scene yet. And John, how about yourself? Well, I'm not sure. I'm just, I'll just say that I'm getting three words. I'm a Catholic autistic gamer.

 

02:23

Catholic Autistic Gamer. That looks good. And what's your role with Kiriko, John? Just a member. And I guess I'm starting hosting. Oh, that sounds good. We'll get into that in a little bit. And how about yourself, Rodrigo? Hi. Well, yeah. My name is Rodrigo. I'm a Catholic.

 

02:42

What can I say about me? I love exploring. I'm a nomad at heart. I like food. I like cooking. I like trying new things. And I'm, I started as a member and I'm a host. It has been almost a year as a host in Curico.

 

02:59

And we were talking just earlier, you're from Mexico. Yes, I'm from Mexico. See, I said that properly. Yes, in Spanish, Mexico, right. And how long have you been in Canada? Five years, a little bit more than five years. So what brought you here?

 

03:16

I used to be a digital nomad. I travel around the world. I arrived here in Canada at the end of 2017 and I fall in love of the trees the trees that were near the the SkyTrain I was like this amazing. I want to stay here. So you you've given up Sun for rain is what you're saying Yes, but let's put it like this. I prefer cold. I don't like

 

03:42

warm weather, so I'm in the right place. You're an anomaly. You're an anomaly, I'll give you that. Okay, so Sarah, let's just talk about Curiko. What is it, what is it for, how does it work? Yeah, so...

 

03:57

We like to describe Curiko as a community building platform. So we have a website, Curiko.ca, and on this website, you can find tons and tons of different experiences. And these are all sorts of opportunities for anyone. Anyone can go on these, and these are kind of activities or events that can be one-on-one or group, in person or online. And they're just opportunities

 

04:27

to have different types of connection. More moments of connection to themselves, connections to other people, connection to spaces, to ideas, to a sense of, you know, culture. And so really that's what Curiko is, is we're a community building platform. We offer up opportunities for people with and without disabilities to come together and have experiences. So when was this started?

 

04:55

Yeah, so Curiko as Curiko kind of got started at the very end of 2020, very beginning of 2021 was kind of the time. However...

 

05:07

Um, Curiko kind of actually is just the most recent iteratio