Save the dates! Attracting and retaining young adults to rural communities conference

Probably the most frequent issue I hear voiced at the community level is the concern about how to attract and retain young adults to settle in rural areas.  So, I've decided to pull together some people to help host a National Conference on that topic. Working with Dr. Terri McDonald (BC Regional Innovation Chair in Rural Economic Development at Selkirk) and community partners in Golden (Golden Area Initiatives) we want to announce to everyone that shares an interest in this topic to save the dates on your calendar and share widely with others!

 

Rural Resurgence : Innovative Solutions for the Attraction and Retention of Young Adults

June 11-14, 2013

In Golden, BC

The event will bring together a mix of individuals ranging from researchers from a variety of disciplines that have studied interventions, to communities that have piloted innovative projects and governments that have supported initiatives.  The event will be infused with the voices of young adults who will give their opinions on what attracts them to rural areas.  It will not be a regular conference, but designed in a way to provide opportunities for sharing and exchange so that everyone leaves with new insights and ideas to address this concern in their own context.

We are also gearing up for sponsorship and partners for the event. If this is something you would like to be a part of and support, please contact Nicole Vaugeois at VIU (nicole.vaugeois at viu dot ca) for more information.  Our website is just being designed right now but keep posted here for more information and when ready, we will post more details on the event.

Wise practices in Indigenous Community Development Sept 13-15 2012

I had the pleasure of sitting beside, and getting to know, two young ladies Anna and Katie from the Banff Center at the conference in Osoyoos this weekend.  They let me know about an upcoming conference that I thought people would be interested in attending - so mark your calendars.

September 13-15, 2012 a conference on "Wise practices in indigenous community development" will take place at the Banff Center.  The agenda looks great and includes the results from a series of case studies where inspiring success stories emerged.

Our conversation also picked up on the need to find ways to share the voices of young adults with respect to attraction and retention in rural, remote and aboriginal communities. It sounds like they have been doing some very innovative work to learn about young aboriginal leaders so I think I have also found another speaker for our conference next year on "Attracting and Retaining Young Adults to Rural Regions". We are still working to submit the proposal, so we will share more as soon as we have a date to announce.