Overview

Background

Newspapers Atlantic, who support weekly papers throughout Atlantic Canada are sponsoring the Georgetown Conference in PEI, October 3 – 5^th (see www.thegeorgetownconference.ca ) on Rural Redefined.

The conference is  'where community leaders can take a kernel of an idea discovered at the Georgetown Conference and transplant that idea to their home community ‘. The conference is designed for and open to all citizens. There are no political affiliations, whether municipal, provincial or federal.

  What is happening in Annapolis County ?

The Annapolis Spectator, as one of seventy community newspapers is promoting local engagement in the Georgetown process. This is being done in two ways;

   a)  submission of Georgetown Letters to the Spectator   
   b) support for the Road to Georgetown conference (this event)

What is the goal of the Road to Georgetown Conference?

Citizens in Atlantic Canada understand and appreciate the creativity, resilience and desire to ‘live in place’. The one day event at COGS on May 4^th  is designed to share ideas with the community, but with an eye towards Georgetown in the Fall.

The morning session will focus on context. We will hear from Mark Austin, member of the Ray Ivany commission on building the rural economy in Nova Scotia. We will receive an update from the Ivany Commission. We will also look at the way existing institutions are supporting community activities.

At lunch time, we will hear a key note by celebrity Laurent D’Entremont on ‘story telling’. In the afternoon, focus shifts to contributions by individuals. Our goal is to share stories answering the questions:

How did they arrive in this part of Nova Scotia?

What have they done to make a living here?

What more could be done to improve the livelihoods and sustainability for more citizens?

How do we make things better?

A current list of speakers can be found on our Storytellers Page. They include:

                                                           

Leif Helmer                          Small schools as hubs

David Whitman                  Writer and Carver

Lynn Roscoe                        Software Developer

Bob Maher                           Keeping the community in college
Timothy Habinski               Harpist/ Harp Maker
                 

After hearing these stories, we will open up the session to the general audience. We will be trying to answer questions, like:

What lessons from Annapolis County can we share in Georgetown, PEI?

What actions need to happen between May and October to help the process?

Please pre-register for the conference online at the Register page at this site.

If you want to be identified as a storyteller, please complete the storyteller form via the link on the storytellers' page.

While at the Road to Georgetown event there will be the opportunity to check out what happens at COGS. it remains a world class training centre for Geomatics professionals, and also houses a remarkable collection of historical maps.

We guarantee that you will learn something new about technology, the landscape, and most importantly about each other. If you are willing to share your story, please let us know.

Perhaps you'd also like to share a story right now in the comments space, below.