From: "Karen Heisler" <karen.heisler@airdrie.ca>
Date: July 18, 2007 9:41:42 PM GMT-06:00
To: "dhh@cs.uregina.ca" <dhh@cs.uregina.ca>
Subject: [CRRF] Connecting Communities: Rural and Urban Conference
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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In this issue:
• Early Registration until September 1, 2007
• Conference Program Details
• First Plenary Session
• Second Plenary
• Third Plenary Session
Early Registration until September 1, 2007
Connecting Communities:
Rural and Urban
Annual Rural Policy Conference of the
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation
Vermilion, Alberta, Canada
October 11-13, 2007
Three plenary sessions will address:
• The Search for Rural and Urban Synergies
• The Role of Community Colleges and Universities in Rural Development
• Rural Health
>> To register click here
Conference Program Details
The 19th Annual Rural Policy Conference of the Canadian Rural
Revitalization Foundation will be held in Vermilion on October 11
to 13, 2007. This year, the Canadian Rural Health Research Society
has joined us as a collaborating partner. CRRF conferences always
draw policy analysts, rural development practitioners and rural
researchers who wish to meet together to understand and to pursue
policy options for stimulating rural economies.
There are three plenary session scheduled featuring academic
research and applied projects. Interspersed will be sessions where
over 50 rural researchers will present results of their research on
rural health and rural development issues in general. Local rural
leaders will be invited to ask the first question in each of these
sessions to ensure that the researchers focus on the practical
‘actionable’ implications of the research.
We are pleased that Senator Joyce Fairbairn, Chair, Senate Standing
Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, will present the initial
results of their committee’s investigation on rural poverty. Their
interim report, Understanding Freefall: The Challenge of the Rural
Poor, will form the basis of her introductory remarks. She has
indicated that she will welcome an interactive discussion on the
options for the rural poor.
First Plenary Session
Our first plenary will consider ways of linking rural and urban
perspectives for the mutual benefit of rural and urban communities.
Professors Mark Partridge and Rose Olfert have mapped the
interdependencies of rural and urban communities across Canada. The
geographic dimensions of these interdependencies will surprise
many. Many rural citizens are in the same economic boat as their
nearby urban cousins. Thus, when it comes to issues of economic
development, there are important opportunities for economic
development when rural and urban communities work together.
Early in 2007, a Metro-Rural Accord was signed between the City of
Edmonton and the Northeast Alberta HUB. This is an example of rural
and urban interests agreeing to pursue mutually-beneficial
objectives of economic development. We asked the members of the
"Accord" to tell us what they envision the impact the Accord will
be over the next 10 years. A key member involved in the negotiation
of this accord, L. Peter Apedaile, Councillor, County of Smoky
Lake, will address this issue.
Second Plenary
The second plenary session will address another aspect of linking
rural and urban communities. Specifically, how can colleges and
universities foster regional development?
Steve Garlick, University of the Sunshine Coast (Brisbane,
Australia)will review the performance of post-secondary
institutions across OECD countries. Are colleges and universities
in play or in the way?
In 2006, colleges and universities in Alberta established an
"Alberta Rural Development Network." Rick Neibig (Northern Lakes
College) and Roger Epp (Augustana Campus of the University of
Alberta) will tell us how they will wish their network to be
evaluated 10 years from now. Will they be in play or in the way?
Third Plenary Session
The third plenary session will explore the rural-urban interaction
the Canadian of health care system.
Marie des Meules, with Canada’s Public Health Agency, has authored
(with colleagues) a major report on the How Healthy are Rural
Canadians? which was published by the Canadian Institute for Health
Information in 2006. Ms. des Meules will illustrate the gap in
health outcomes experienced by rural Canadians, relative to urban
Canadians.
One initiative to address the rural health gap is Quebec’s Réseau
québécois de Villes et Villages en santé (Network of healthy towns
and villages). A key participant in this network, Dr. Réal Lacombe
from Abitibi-Témiscamingue, will offer his views on how rural
communities can improve their health outcomes.
Hosting Partners
Town of Vermilion
Lakeland College
Collaborating Partners
Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation
Canadian Rural Health Research Society
National Rural Research Network
Travel InformationLooking for travel information? Visit the
conference web site to learn more.
Accommodation
Transportation
Tourism
For more information
Please contact the conference co-organizers:
Shelley Griffith
Town of Vermilion
(780) 853 5358
sgriffith@vermilion.ca
Darlene Barr
Lakeland College
(780) 853 8427
darlene.barr@lakelandc.ab.ca
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