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CANADIAN RURAL PARTNERSHIP
National Rural Conference 2002
Detailed Agenda
Charlottetown, PEI - April 4 - 6, 2002
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Thursday, April 4, 2002
Friday, April 5, 2002
Saturday, April 6, 2002
Sunday, April 7, 2002
The National Rural Conference 2002: Shaping a Successful Future for Rural Canada...Together supports community capacity building, an approach that helps communities build on the resources that they already possess. Community capacity building is a bottom-up, long-term process that integrates economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being. Its main goal is improved quality of life.
This Conference will address three areas that we must focus on in the future: Leadership Development, Attracting and Retaining People, and Skills Development for the New Economy .
Leadership Development
By developing leadership skills within their communities, rural citizens can help themselves meet the challenges that they face. Community leaders are the catalyst to the successful completion of new community initiatives. The leaders are expected to have a vision and are required to manage complex tasks and challenges.
Empowering community leaders to address challenges involves providing them with skills to allow them to develop strong working relationships, swiftly respond to challenges and opportunities, and use available resources when making decisions. Leaders must also have the skills to work in partnerships both within and outside their communities, facilitate discussions, motivate others and communicate effectively.
Successful community capacity building relies on a strong bottom-up approach. Leaders are responsible for mobilizing communities to build support for initiatives and for including as many community members as possible in the process. They need sound long-term vision, the motivation to plan and implement change, and an awareness of the many factors that could influence the outcome of a decision-making process.
Attracting and Retaining People
The key to success in any community is its people. Unfortunately, the reality of many rural communities is that there are more residents leaving than there are newcomers. Young people pursue education and training opportunities outside of their communities, and many choose not to return. This results in a loss of knowledge and skills key to community development.
Attracting and retaining people involves promoting the values and strengths of rural Canada. It also involves addressing factors such as the availability of jobs and quality of life, which draw people to a community. The challenge lies in sustaining and building the necessary economic, social, environmental and cultural assets that lead to the well-being of a community.
The objective of these workshop discussions is to focus on the factors that allow social, economic and cultural growth in communities, helping to make rural communities an attractive place to live.
Skills Development for the New Economy
Today more than ever, it is important for Canadians to have proper skills to compete in the global marketplace and to cope with everyday life. Technology is a large part of the workplace and our daily lives.
This means that the need for skills development is not limited to those working with broadband technologies and fibre optics. Indeed, in the new economy, a large part of the workforce must rely on continuous education and training to nurture and upgrade their existing skills.
Rural communities have proven their capacity to be innovative. As entrepreneurship and self-employment are becoming the driving force in the creation of jobs and income in rural Canada, management skills, finances and project coordination skills are also becoming more important. In addition, skills related to information technology help connect geographically-dispersed providers of goods and services with potential users.
| Thursday, April 4, 2002
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| 9:00am - 4:00pm |
Youth Forum
The Youth Forum will take place prior to the National Rural Conference and will include 75 participants from all the provinces and territories. A key objective of this event is to provide young adults from rural and remote areas with an opportunity to develop skills in and increase their knowledge of social and community development. These skills and knowledge will help the young people take a more active role in their communities.
The results of this seminar will be discussed at the National Rural Conference. Youth representatives will have the opportunity to report key findings of their discussions during the opening plenary, and will be asked to present relevant questions, issues or topics at the workshops. |
| 8:00am - 4:30pm |
National Rural Network Development Forum
To date, there is no existing National Rural Network. The objective of this meeting is to develop and implement a process for discussing issues related to the development of a National Rural Network, including a plan that addresses what to do next.
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| 7:00pm - 9:00pm |
National Rural Conference 2002 Reception and Opening Ceremony
Conference participants are invited to mingle with other participants from all across Canada. The Honourable Andy Mitchell, Secretary of State (Rural Development) (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario) will accompany the Honourable Pat Binns, Premier of Prince Edward Island, and other officials from the Atlantic Region to welcome the conference participants to Prince Edward Island and to the second National Rural Conference.
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| Friday, April 5, 2002
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| 7:30am - 9:00am |
Breakfast |
| 9:00am - 10:00am |
Plenary session : From Magog-Orford to Charlottetown
The Honourable Andy Mitchell will take stock of what has been accomplished in the area of rural development since the last National Rural Conference in Magog-Orford. During this plenary session, Youth Forum representatives will be asked to share the results of the workshop held prior to the conference.
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| 10:00am -10:30am |
Health break |
| 10:30am -12:30pm |
Ribbon Cutting - Official Opening of Exhibit Hall
Break-out Session /Workshops/Exhibition Hall/Local (PEI) site tours
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| 12:30pm - 1:30pm |
Lunch and Networking |
| 1:30pm - 2:00pm |
Guest Speaker |
| 2:00pm - 3:45pm |
Break-out Session /Workshops/Exhibition Hall/Local (PEI) site tours
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| 3:45pm - 4:00pm |
Health break |
| 4:00pm - 6:00pm |
Break-out Session /Workshops/Exhibition Hall/Local (PEI) site tours
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| 6:00pm - 7:00pm |
Break and Networking |
| 7:00pm - 8:45pm |
Dinner (Including guest speaker) |
| 9:00pm - 11:00pm |
Reception at Founders' Hall
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| Saturday, April 6, 2002
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| 7:00am - 8:30am |
Breakfast |
| 8:30am -10:15am |
Break-out Session /Workshops/Exhibition Hall/Local (PEI) site tours
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| 10:15am -10:30am |
Health break |
| 10:30am -12:15am |
Break-out Session /Workshops/Exhibition Hall/Local (PEI) site tours
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| 12:30pm -1:30pm |
Lunch and Networking |
| 1:30pm - 2:00pm |
Guest Speaker |
| 2:15pm - 3:00pm |
Accountability Session with the Honourable Andy Mitchell
Participants will have an opportunity to ask the Honourable Andy Mitchell direct questions related to rural issues. |
| 3:0pm - 3:30pm |
Health break |
| 3:30pm - 5:00pm |
Plenary session: Toward 2004
This session will consolidate the results from each of the 45 workshops held during the conference, allowing for the identification of priorities. |
| 5:00pm - 5:30pm |
Closing Remarks by the Honourable Andy Mitchell
The Honourable Andy Mitchell will wrap up the conference proceedings, commenting on the outcome of the conference and discussing the next steps for rural development.
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| 5:30pm - 7:00pm |
Break and Networking |
| 7:00pm |
Closing Banquet
The Kindle, a local group from Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island, will entertain participants at the banquet. The Sonny's Trio from Charlottetown will also play jazz music.
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| Sunday, April 7, 2002
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| 7:30am |
Continental Breakfast |
*Breakout Session / Workshops / Exhibition Hall / Local (PEI) site tour
During these periods, participants will be divided into five separate groups. While one group walks through the Exhibition Hall, another will tour a local site in PEI and the remaining three groups will participate in workshops. A rotation will ensure that each participant takes part in each of the organized activities.
The Exhibition Hall
The Exhibition Hall will display:
- Celebrating Rural Canada - Lessons Learned: visual displays showcasing successful pilot projects from across Canada
- Celebrating Rural Atlantic: displays focussing on Atlantic Canada
- Government and Organizations Toolbox: exhibits by the government (and other organizations) of tools available for community capacity building; and
- Internet café: a place where the participants can check e-mail and access the Internet
Note: The Exhibition Hall will be open to participants Saturday afternoon and Sunday. A marketplace where the participants can shop for Atlantic specialities will also be available.
PEI site visits
The government of Prince Edward Island has arranged a tour of a characteristic local rural site on the Island.
Workshops
A total of 45 workshops will be held during the conference. Fifteen sub-groups will attend a workshop on each of the three sub-themes: Leadership Development, Attracting and Retaining People, and Skills Development for the New Economy.
The workshops are intended to enable small groups of participants to discuss the three themes in relation to their own experiences. To illustrate the sub-themes under discussion, 36 workshop participants will hear a very brief presentation about a community-led project, by the project leader. Participants of the Youth Forum will summarize their findings for discussion in the remaining nine workshops.
Professionals from local universities and community colleges will facilitate these discussions.
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Date Modified: 2002-04-02
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