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e-Commerce to e-Economy: Strategies for the 21st Century

Click here to visit the conference web site to see the background information.

Conference Background Paper: The Challenge of Change: Building the 21st Century Economy [PDF - 560KB]

e-Commerce to e-Economy: Strategies for the 21st Century is a two-day, national conference, hosted by Industry Canada. This exclusive event will bring leaders from business, government and the research community together to discuss and develop a shared strategic vision for Canada's economic future.

The spread of Internet-based technologies throughout society has become the dominant economic reality of the 21st century. The e-economy - the use of information and communication technologies for product and process innovation across all sectors of the economy - has emerged as the primary engine of productivity and growth for the global economy. Successful economic strategies will enhance our capacity to adopt and exploit these technologies to create competitive advantage.

The goals of the conference are to:

• Highlight the importance of the Internet and e-business to productivity, competitiveness and economic growth;
• Assess Canada's progress as an e-economy, its future challenges and opportunities;
• Establish strategic priorities for government, business, and academia.

This conference builds on a series of thematic workshops to review Canada's e-economy strategies and define their next iterations.

Canada Connects is partnering with K-Net to provide what we believe is the first national, public, web-based seminar, hosted using Macromedia Breeze. Registration deadline is Tuesday, Sept 21. The actual event takes place on Sept 23 starting at 7:30am EST with Bill Muirhead's presentation starting at 7:45am. The title of Bill Muirhead's presentation is "Hybrid Learning Environments Integrating eLearning with Face to Face Instruction". For more information visit  http://www.canadaconnects.ca/breakfast/

Participation will provide you with first hand experience with how this tool can be used to deliver an online conference. It will provide you with insight into how Canada's newest university is planning to blend eLearning technologies with face to face instruction and finally you will have a chance to meet like minded professionals within the BREEZE environment.

All registrants will receive the National Attendees list identifying colleagues from across Canada who share their interest in eLearning.

We believe that this is an exciting opportunity for Canadians to connect from sea-to-sea. ... For more details and online registration please see:
http://www.canadaconnects.ca/breakfast/

Bill Muirhead, the Associate Provost of Ontario University will explain how Canada's youngest University is building eLearning into their campus' instructional culture from the ground up.

In the spirit of the eLearning seminar series Bill Muirhead will be presenting live from Downtown Ottawa with seminar attendees located on the Algonquin College Campus.

The remote broadcast of Dr. Muirhead's presentation will be faciltated through the use of Macromedia BREEZE. The BREEZE server and hosting support will be provided by K-Net. K-Net Multimedia Applications Manager, Jesse Fiddler will provide additional background information on the use of the Breeze server and how it was used successfully by K-Net to host a national First Nations conference with over 150 on line attendees.

A Question and Answer session will follow Bill Muirhead's presentation with live questions coming from the floor at Algonquin Campus and from online attendees.

This is an ideal opportunity to network with eLearning enthusiasts while participating in the use of Macromedia's most advanced web event delivery product.

Online attendance: $10 ( pre-event Breeze training sessions included in both options)

Please register before 4pm Sept.21. Payment can be made online by credit card or call 613 731-8330 for special payment arrangements.

Jesse Fiddler, Multi-media Manager for K-Net and Adam Fiser, PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, are travelling to Prato, Italy to present papers about Keewaytinook Okimakanak at the CIRN 2004 Conference and Colloquium. The conference is being presented by Community Informatics Research Network, Inc. and is hosted by Monash University, Australia and Italy campuses.

Click here to download Jesse's paper from the conference web site. Jesse is presenting the KO story on Oct 1 and the title of his paper is "Walking the talk: Connecting remote Indigenous communities globally"

Click here to read Adam's Doctoral Research Project being presented on Sept 29 entitled "ICTs for Education In Ontario First Nations"

Grand Chief Delivers Message of Hope and Reconciliation to First Nations Resource Revenue Sharing Bill Hearings

(click here to see the entire press release as a Word document)

(Sioux Lookout, ONTARIO) On the opening day of the Provincial Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs hearings on Bill 97, the First Nations Resource Revenue Sharing Act 2004, Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy delivered a message of hope and reconciliation. “Resource revenue sharing is the first step in our journey to reconcile the injustices of the past and build hope for the futures of our communities,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Beardy.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations in Northern Ontario, also calls on the province to pass complementary legislation to require impact and benefits agreements with all resource companies active in the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation treaty area.

The private members Bill, sponsored by NDP M.P. Gilles Bisson,  proposes a "procedure be established by which resource companies that intend to extract natural resources from First Nations traditional lands in Northern Ontario, negotiate a comprehensive revenue-sharing agreement with the First Nations and the Government of Ontario.

"“While people in Ontario and the markets of the world benefit from the lands and resources of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, our communities continue to languish in poverty. Our goal is a fair and equitable Ontario where First Nation peoples and our culture are respected and valued and where our communities share in the province’s wealth,” said Grand Chief Beardy.

The Committee hearings are being held in four Nishnawbe-Aski Nation communities, Sioux Lookout (September 20), Mishkeegogamang (September 21), Attawapiskat (September 22) and Moose Factory( September 23).

"Today's submission is intended to send a clear message to the provincial government that First Nations need revenue sharing now. The future of our youth is at stake. There is no time to waste," said Grand Chief Beardy.

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation written submission to the Legislative hearings outlines a solutions agenda of hope and reconciliation based on revenue sharing with the province, compulsory impact and benefit agreements with the resource industries, land use planning, meaningful consultation and community capacity building.

*** For more information please contact:

Stan Beardy
Grand Chief
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
(807) 623-8228

Jenna Young
Communications Officer
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
(807) 625-4952
(807) 628-3953 (cellular)

Michael Binder, Industry Canada's Assistant Deputy Minister for Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunication and Lillian Beaudoin, Partnerships Program Officer with First Nations SchoolNet visited the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Sioux Lookout office today.

Geordi Kakepetum and the several members of his team provided our guests with a tour of the facilities and telecom infrastructure that has been put in place over the past 10 years in partnership with Industry Canada.

As a follow up to this brief meeting the following message was forwarded to Mr. Binder on Friday, September 17 ...

Good morning Michael … I want to thank you and Lillian for taking the time to visit Keewaytinook Okimakanak in Sioux Lookout yesterday. I believe it is very important for as many people as possible to get to see the type of strategic investment, the innovations and the opportunities that have been created through the development of broadband infrastructure.  Over the years, Industry Canada programs (FedNor, CAP, SchoolNet, Smart, Brand, NSI, etc) have supported the development of all the applications you got to see during your brief trip to our community. I hope you are able to accept our sincere thanks on behalf of your team for making these types of strategic developments possible for the rural and remote communities in this region of Canada.

There is still so much more work to be done to ensure all the communities in Canada are able to experience and develop similar applications that address their local and regional requirements. As discussed, the K-Net team is ready and willing to work with your team to help make these developments possible. We look forward to having more people from your team visiting Geordi Kakepetum and the Keewaytinook Okimakanak offices in Balmertown / Red Lake to learn more about these applications. Our technical team in Sioux Lookout also welcomes all visitors and potential partners.

Dan and I realized afterwards that in our rushed agenda that you did not get a chance to visit our server and satellite operations centre in the building in the rear of the K-Net office. This building was recently renovated with the support of FedNor to accommodate Dan and Adi Linden’s office along with the servers and NOC/NMS for the satellite served communities. This omission is an example of why you need to plan another trip to the north when you are able to visit some of the First Nations that are benefiting these strategic broadband infrastructure development investments by Industry Canada working in partnership with the communities.

I hope that you will be able to bring more people with you the next time you visit, including the Minister of Industry and hopefully the Prime Minister. Sending other key decision makers to visit the organizations and communities is an important professional development requirement for everyone working in this field. I believe they too need to see the type of health care and educational applications you witnessed yesterday, being managed and operated in these communities by local resource people. The socio-economic opportunities created by these strategic broadband developments complement all the other infrastructure requirements of all communities. Without the broadband infrastructure, the other infrastructure priorities discussed (water, sewer, roads, etc) really have very little local influence within today’s information society.

Other important items discussed that require further follow up and development include:

• The need for adequate satellite transponder space so satellite served communities can access equitable services for applications such as the telehealth service being provided by the local nursing stations.  In our January 21, 2004 submission to the National Satellite Initiative we indicated that we would require a second transponder to accommodate the dedicated video connections required for the delivery of telehealth from each of the 10 First Nations participating in the KO Telehealth program. Nine of these communities now are ready to begin receiving these services but the single transponder that is being shared by K-Net, KRG and the communities in Northern Manitoba will only accommodate up to two video sessions at a time. A second transponder would support an expanded telehealth application that can support other communities to access these health services as required.
• There is a need to address the long term connectivity requirements for these small rural and remote communities so they have the opportunity to develop their local applications and capacity to provide and sustain services and the infrastructure. The First Nations SchoolNet (FNS) program is introducing these tools and infrastructure in the communities but if this program is allowed to sunset as presently scheduled in March 2006, then there is a good chance that all this work will be wasted. These types of small remote communities require support to develop local and regional champions and applications that will sustain both the local loops and the regional networks. The present FNS support system involving the six Regional Management Organizations is a good first step. But these community based, First Nation owned support systems need to expanded to include other organizations and regional groups to ensure all the communities are connected. Then the work of ensuring that other departments then support and sustain these applications becomes possible as all the communities gain equitable and affordable access. In the end, everyone becomes a winner with such a development.
• The other five Regional Management Organizations are working and building infrastructure and capacity in First Nation communities across Canada. They too need to be visited and supported to be able to continue the growth and development of local broadband infrastructure and applications. It was unfortunate that we were not able to meet with them via video conferencing during your visit. Each of these organizations are also part of the Kuhkenah IP Video Conferencing Network and therefore it is possible to meet with all of us from your offices in Ottawa. The FNS team in Ottawa organizes monthly meetings with this team and I know everyone would welcome an opportunity to share and discuss their work with yourself and other members of your team.
• The BC Regional Management Organization (the First Nations Education Steering Committee of BC) is hosting the next bi-annual gathering of the RMOs in Cranbrook at the new Delta Resort on the St. Mary’s First Nation. This would be a great opportunity for yourself, Mary Carmen, Deborah Davis and the Minister of Industry or whoever you think should be there from your team to come and meet with all these First Nation organizations and map out a successful strategy for ensuring broadband infrastructure reaches EVERY First Nation across Canada and is sustained.  This meeting is scheduled for October 12-14, 2004.

Cal is busy going through all the video footage that he gathered yesterday during your visit. I am sure that he will be taking you up on your challenge to produce a four minute video clip that you will be able to show to the world. Maybe this message that I am copying to all the RMOs might be the challenge for everyone to be producing such a clip about all the great work in developing broadband infrastructure and applications that is happening in the First Nations across Canada.

I also want to acknowledge Dr. Dermot McLoughlin who provided us with a great presentation about his use of the teleradiology services. Carol Wood, Menoyawin Telehealth Coordinator, demonstrated and explained how the telehealth equipment is making a difference for all the communities with these resources in place. Then the staff and students of the North Caribou Lake First Nation Internet High School shared how these ICTs are making a difference for their community. Brian Walmark of the Keewaytinook Research Institute shared some of the work he is doing in documenting these success stories and First Nation case studies about the use of ICTs in local schools and communities. Of course, the great feast prepared by Jeannie Carpenter and her team helped all us continue through this crazy meeting pace.

I hope you get the chance to return to this region in the near future. I do look forward to working with yourself and your team in support all rural and remote communities to access equitable, affordable and sustainable broadband infrastructure and applications. I am sure these developments and this important work will make a huge difference for every community across Canada.

Brian

The Sioux Lookout DEPC Academic Readiness Project is hiring additional staff...

George Ferreira (PhD candidate at Guelph U), Ricardo Ramirez (Phd, Guelph U) and Brian Walmark (KO Research Institute) co-authored a paper for the workshop, Measuring the Information Society: What, How, for Whom and What? that is taking place on Saturday September 18, 2004 in Brighton, U.K.

Click here to read the paper they submitted entitled "Connectivity in Canada’s Far North: Participatory Evaluation in Ontario’s Aboriginal Communities". Click here to visit the conference web site.

Conference Information ...

Co-sponsored by:

• The Association of Internet Researchers Conference
• The European Chapter of the American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T/EC)

Organizers:

• Dr. Michel J. Menou, Information and Knowledge Management consultant, France & International liaison officer, ASIS&T
• Dr. John Daly, Science an technology consultant, USA
• Dr. Philippe Vidal, Coordinator E-Atlas project, GRESOC, University of Toulouse 2, France

Scope and objectives:

As public, private and civil society organizations are increasingly trying to promote and/or take advantage of the information society, or else the networked economy, the need for statistical data and indicators that reflect initial situations, change and its consequences is generating a variety of initiatives. Networked Readiness Index, Digital Access Index, Information Intelligence Quotient, INESXSK, Community Connectivity Indicators, to name a few, have flourished over the years.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for a critical review and unconstrained discussion of:

• existing instruments and the frameworks upon which they are based
• data sources, gathering and calculation methods
• intended audiences, usability and reliability
• requirements for improved measures serving all categories of stakeholders

It is hoped that as a result of the workshop, participants will be equipped with a renewed broad overview of information society measures and a vision of the main directions for future research and development in this area.

On Monday, September 13, Aboriginal leaders including Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine joined the First Ministers Conference in Ottawa for the start of the conference. In the past Aboriginal leaders have been excluded from these "first minister" conferences involving the premiers, the prime minister and all their teams. The conference was opened with a traditional ceremony lead by an elder.

Even though the Aboriginal leaders were included only at the start of this historic conference, they did get to hear "Prime Minister Paul Martin pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to take special aim at health problems specific to aboriginal communities."

Read more stories about this commitment at:

• CBC on-line - Ottawa promises to tackle health problems in native communities
• North CBC - Feds to spend hundreds of millions on aboriginal health
• CBC Manitoba - Aboriginal heath care front and centre at summit