Expert facilitators and speakers to share perspectives

SUMMERSIDE – Oct. 20, 2017 – Municipal leaders from across PEI will come together on November 3rd to explore opportunities for population growth during a day-long Municipal Forum in Summerside.

Various Island stakeholders involved in demographic development are joining forces to sponsor this major event.

“The Time is Now for Growth in all PEI Communities” is the theme of the forum, supported by the PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada, Skills PEI, RDÉE Prince Edward Island, the LIENS project, the Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Î.-P.-É. and Rural Action Centers.

Over the past decade, a number of PEI communities have seen population decline and loss of services. Participants will be asked for ideas to improve growth in more of our PEI communities through increased attraction and retention of new residents.

This forum will provide an opportunity for communities to share experiences, learn from each other, and commit to action in support of community growth.

EXPERT FACILITATORS

During the day, participants will have an opportunity to learn from facilitators and trainers who will share their population growth experiences in other Canadian communities. The facilitators are:

• Tim Merry, an experienced speaker and facilitator, brings diverse stakeholders together to launch, sustain and grow innovative initiatives in communities, organizations and societies. His experience spans 16 years and includes international business, government agencies, local communities, and regional collaborations.

• Marguerite Drescher, the founder of Brave Space who is a visual artist and graphic recorder, trained in cultivating vivid expressions for learning, using visual forms – large scale mural drawings and note taking – to capture and document collective insight and ideas.

• Tina Hennigar, a doer, out-of-the-box thinker, speaker, population growth leader, and currently at the helm of the Now Lunenburg County movement – an initiative that is turning innovative population growth ideas into action.

The PEI Municipal Forum is funded in whole or part through the Canada-PEI Labour Market Development Agreement.

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CUTLINE: Preparing for the Nov. 3 Municipal Forum are organizers, from left, Chérine Stévula, coordinator of the LIENS project, Amy Swallow MacDonald, director of Rural and Regional Development for the province, Melanie Bailey, representing the PEI Local Immigration Partnership (PEI ANC), and Jacinthe Lemire, executive director of the Coopérative d’intégration francophone de l’Î.-P.-É. Missing from photo are committee members Bonnie Gallant, executive director of RDÉE PEI, Catherine Rioux, bilingual settlement officer with Workforce and Advanced Learning, and Lisa Dollar, multicultural educator with the PEI ANC.

 

 

For more information:

Melanie Bailey
PEI Immigration Partnership Coordinator
PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada
(902) 628-6009, Ext. 214
melanie@peianc.com

Bonnie Gallant
Executive Director
RDÉE Prince Edward Island
(902) 854-3439, Ext. 232
bonnie@rdeeipe.org