Media Toolkit
Local Media and Social Media Toolkit
2026 OSUM Conference
The 2026 Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) Conference runs from Wednesday, April 29 to Friday, May 1 in the Town of Parry Sound. The conference serves as a key moment for municipal and provincial officials to connect on the unique challenges faced by small urban municipalities.
You can help OSUM maximize media and social media coverage of municipal priorities and amplify the value of conference participation by municipal councils and staff by using the local media and social media toolkit provided.
Social Media and News Release Templates
We have attached templates that will make it easy to share content on Facebook, LinkedIn, X or Instagram. We encourage you to create your own content using the conference hashtag, #OSUM2026, and to follow OSUM on LinkedIn.
We are also attaching a template Media Advisory that will help you prepare notices for local media. Media is invited to attend the conference and must register upon arrival. For the first time, accredited media from across Ontario will also be able to tune in remotely to conference content. The template advisory provides the details.
Reporters are always looking for the local angle for a broader story. Making yourself or local municipal officials available for interviews provides an opportunity to highlight how you are working collaboratively through OSUM to address local community priorities.
Lastly, you may be wondering if you are an OSUM member. The answer is most likely, “Yes”. OSUM does not have membership fees, or a formal registration process. Rather, it serves as the voice for small cities, towns and counties under the umbrella of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). OSUM’s goal is to help these communities navigate the unique challenges they face. If you are a member of AMO and come from a small city, town or county government, then you are part of OSUM.
Conference Highlights and Details
The OSUM conference will feature presentations on Strong Mayor Powers, the changing landscape of municipal communications and local media, and fostering respectful leadership in local government. Other sessions will focus on AMO’s groundbreaking homelessness study, public libraries, local infrastructure and Indigenous relations. Participants will hear from keynote speaker and award-winning journalist Althia Raj. Associate Minister of Municipal Affairs Graydon Smith will also speak.
Please take a moment to review the program and identify the sessions that may be of interest to your municipality and local media. Familiarizing yourself with the content will make it easy for you to explain how your attendance at the conference will benefit your community. Full program details are available on the OSUM website.
If you have any questions regarding conference communications, please contact Farah Tayabali, OSUM Media Relations, tayabali@redbrick.ca, 416-570-8413.