BACKGROUND & INTRODUCTION

Co-Chairs:
Suzanne Lawson, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Canada
Johanne Bélisle, Canadian Heritage (formerly Jérôme Moisan, Privy Council Office)
Members:
Jamey Burr, Human Resources Development Canada
Marcel Custeau, Canadian International Development Agency
Ann Dostaler, Environment Canada
Helen Friel, Correctional Service Canada
Louise Gagné, Le bureau international des droits des enfants
Martyn Goodger, Salvation Army
Murry Krause, Central Interior Native Health Society
Leslie MacLean, Canada Information Office
Jim Mintz, Health Canada
Trudy Schroeder, Winnipeg Folk Festival
Rieky Stuart, OXFAM Canada
Sue Tomney, TransAlta Corporation

The mandate of the Table is to help foster recognition of the vital role of the voluntary sector in Canadian society. It will achieve this goal by developing and implementing an action plan designed to influence the attitudes, opinions and perceptions of Canadians by:

• Informing a variety of audiences (community leaders, the private sector, media, governments, Canadians, youth and the voluntary sector itself) of the important work of the voluntary sector organizations;
• Positioning the voluntary sector as a contributor to Canada's social, economic and cultural well-being; and
• Encouraging Canadians to participate and become engaged in the work of the voluntary sector.

The Table's work is designed to reach the following desired outcomes:

• The voluntary sector will recognize the broad range of its contributions to the health of Canadian civil society, and will be recognized as a significant contributor by the public and private sectors, as well as the general public.
• Governments and the private sector will appreciate the value of partnership with the voluntary sector, and will work with the sector when developing policies and programs on public policy issues.
• Canadians, including youth, who currently are not engaged in the voluntary sector, will be drawn to contribute time, skills and financial resources to voluntary sector organizations.

The Table is proposing to develop a national community-based Awareness Campaign; a nation-wide Awards Program to recognize the professionalism and excellence of voluntary sector organizations; and is undertaking several smaller pilot projects to reach specific audiences. Additional information on the Table's objectives and initiatives can be found in Appendix B: Facilitators' Introduction on pages 29-31.

Consultations were planned in February and March 2002 in all Canadian provinces in order to seek the input of representatives from the voluntary sector on the Awareness campaign and ask them their thoughts on the Awards Program. Five questions were discussed by participants across the country:

• Question #1: What words would you use to describe the voluntary sector? What message do you want the awareness campaign to communicate?
• Question #2: Of the audiences listed, which groups most need to gain a better understanding of the contributions of the voluntary sector? Voluntary sector organizations; Business; Opinion leaders; Youth; Governments
• Question #3: What kind of support or tools do you need to tell your story?
• Question #4: Do you think an annual awards program for voluntary sector organizations should be developed? What areas of excellence and professionalism should be recognized through such awards?
• Question #5: Any final comments?

The consultations were designed to last for three hours. Participants were sent a two-page document with some background information and the list of questions in advance. A copy of the backgrounder is included in Appendix A on pages 27-28. The consultations were held as follows:

Two consultations were held in Montréal, one in each official language. A meeting was planned in Vancouver on March 20th. Unfortunately, because of the small number of registrations, the meeting was cancelled.