Sharing of best practices, discussions, stakes, challenges and opportunities

BRUDENELL, PEI – Feb. 18, 2014 – Immigrant and non-immigrant entrepreneurs, employers, economic development agencies and immigration stakeholders from all over Canada are being invited to Rodd Brudenell River Resort, in Brudenell, PEI, May 26-28, 2014, to participate in the first-ever national Forum on Economic Immigration held on the Island.

Organized through RDÉE Prince Edward Island’s LIENS project (Linking Economic Immigration to our Successes), “this national forum will allow participants to discover national best practices in regards to economic immigration, to understand the challenges and opportunities faced by immigrant entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada, to develop relationships and new partnerships between entrepreneurs and economic stakeholders in the Atlantic region and in Canada, and to discuss issues, challenges and opportunities in economic immigration in Atlantic Canada,” explained RDÉE president Martin Marcoux.

It was during a press conference in Charlottetown, Feb. 18, that the RDÉE disclosed details of the forum and launched an invitation touched by immigrant to register.

THE FORUM

Event coordinator Francis Thériault explained that the forum itself will begin on the evening of Tuesday, May 27, with a networking reception and a banquet with a guest speaker, followed by the finals of a contest for young adults who have developed business projects. This “Dragons’ Competition” will offer winners substantial prizes as well as an opportunity to access funding for the establishment of their business.

On Wednesday, May 28, participants will get to attend a breakfast conference, a first series of workshops, a luncheon conference and an afternoon series of workshops. A wrap-up session will close off the forum.

The workshops will focus on the themes National best practices, ArtsSmarts: Immigration as seen by our young geniuses, Immigrant entrepreneurs: challenges and opportunities and Research, studies and conclusions. These workshops, which will be all be offered twice to ensure everyone gets a chance to participate, will be delivered respectively by resource people from RDÉE Canada, ArtsSmarts, the French Chamber of Commerce of Canada, Atlantic Network, and the Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Î.-P.-É.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Several peripheral activities are also planned for Brudenell May 26-27, before the forum. Monday will feature a friendly golf tournament for those who arrive early. It will be followed, later on in the day, with a sampling of “local flavors” prepared by well-known Atlantic Canadian chefs.

On May 27, during the day, a workshop will be offered to immigrant entrepreneurs from the Atlantic region, in addition to a gathering of RDÉE Canada’s national committee on immigration, composed of immigration development officers from all of Canada’s provincial and territorial RDÉEs.

“We are extremely pleased that RDÉE Canada has accepted to hold its national gathering in immigration here on PEI so that the development officers from this committee will be able to participate in and contribute actively to our forum by sharing their experiences, challenges and success stories with our participants,” said Thériault. “Certain regions of Canada are already quite advanced in the whole area of immigration. So it will be very beneficial for us to have participants from these regions right here to inspire us in our future actions in Atlantic Canada.”

An artistic exhibition of by young participants of the ArtsSmarts program will be shown in the hallways of the convention centre, thereby offering the perspective of youth on immigration.

REGISTRATION

The registration fee for the forum itself is $125 plus HST. Those unable to attend the entire event may choose to attend either the banquet or the day-long forum for $75 plus HST. Rooms and cottages are also available at various prices. Those wishing to participate are asked to fill out an online registration forum at http://garago.net/forms/Forum2014 or in the documents section of the www.rdeeipe.net website.

PARTNERS

The forum is being made possible through support from various collaborators. The main financial partners, who are contributing through the LIENS project, are Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Prince Edward Island Office of Immigration, Settlement and Population.

The forum’s organizing committee is made up of representatives of La Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Î.-P.-É., the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, the University of Prince Edward Island, the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI, ArtsSmarts, the Carrefour de l’Isle-Saint-Jean, the French Chamber of Commerce of Canada, Atlantic Network, and RDÉE Prince Edward Island.

LIENS PROJECT

RDÉE PEI’s executive director Bonnie Gallant explained during the press conference that LIENS is a three-year project that aims to promote the integration of (permanent citizen) immigrants in the PEI workforce and to help entrepreneurs understand the importance and value of hiring immigrants.

In addition to the forum, the LIENS project also includes the organization of workshops and lunch-and-learns, work internships, a coaching program and the development of a web portal.

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CUTLINE: Seen during a press conference to announce details of their upcoming national Forum on Economic Immigration are, from left, Martin Marcoux, president of RDÉE Prince Edward Island, executive director Bonnie Gallant and forum coordinator Francis Thériault.

 

For more information on the Forum:
Francis Thériault
Coordinator
Forum on Economic Immigration
(902) 370-7333, Ext. 403, or (902) 888-8807
francis@rdeeipe.org

For more information on the LIENS project:
Catherine Rioux
Project coordinator
LIENS Project
(902) 370-7333, Ext. 404
catherine@rdeeipe.org