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LIVE WEBCAST CONNECTS ABORIGINAL AND NON-ABORIGINAL YOUTH

IQALUIT (NUNAVUT), October 29th, 2003 - The Honourable Robert D. Nault, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, is pleased to announce the launch of Connecting Youth in Canada, a webcast initiative that uses the internet to enable students across Canada to talk about issues and topics of concern to them.

"This webcasting pilot project underlines the Government of Canada's commitment to reach Canadians directly, and in innovative ways," said Minister Nault. "It also moves us closer to achieving our goal of increasing awareness among non-Aboriginal educators, children and youth about Aboriginal culture, history and peoples."

Supported by the Learning and Innovation Seed Fund, a Government of Canada program to encourage innovation in the pubic service, Connecting Youth in Canada is a series of four 30-minute live webcasts hosted by Aboriginal communities. One Inuit and three First Nation communities will each host a discussion and answer questions by email from students across Canada.

Each webcast will explore one of the four scheduled themes, which include the Richness of cultural diversity, Facing the challenges of youth, Perception as reality and Exploring other cultures and societies

The first live webcast is scheduled today at 1:30 EST, and will be broadcast from Iqaluit, Nunavut. Information on locations and dates for subsequent webcasts can be found at www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/connex/.

For more information, please contact:

Jennifer Powroz
Media Relations
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
(819) 997-8402

Maria O'Hearn
Communications Manager
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Nunavut Region
(867) 975-4510

Haig E. Sarafian
Executive Director
Learning and Innovation Seed Fund
(613) 947-4729
haig.sarafian@ccmd-ccg.gc.ca

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