I had the good fortune this week to attend a great conference on arts, culture, economic development and tourism right in my own backyard. The Global Mural Conference was held in Chemainus, BC and the organizers assembled a great combination of speakers for the gathering. The day kicked off with a great video on Chemainus and its evolution. Narrated by Karl Schutz, the video tells a story of vision, leadership, community spirit and success. I was happy to be sharing the room with so many great people, including about 9 of our graduate students from the Masters in Sustainable Leisure Management here at VIU. Their program emphasizes what it takes to create positive collective change, so to witness a local case study where all the components come together was great.
They also had the great fortune to hear from one of the most respected voices in community change - Bill Baker. We heard Bill speak twice during the day - once on secrets of successful destinations and again later on branding. I know many communities have benefited from Bill's work and have witnessed the influence he has had while out on my fieldwork. The day closed with an interesting roundtable session with the Mayors of Qualicum Beach (Teunis Westbroek), Parksville (Chris Burger), Ladysmith (Rob Hutchins) and North Cowichan ( Jon Lefebure). Together, they profiled what their communities have been doing to enhance quality of life and to use tourism, arts and culture as a core economic development strategy. I found their addresses playfully competitive but at the same time, you could tell that there was a respect for one another which is the prerequisite to regional collaboration.
The intimate nature of the conference was great - it allowed people to speak to one another, walk along the streets and hear from different perspectives. The conference had a wide range of delegates from all corners of the globe.
Pulling off these sorts of gatherings is no small feat - and I want to acknowledge the effort of everyone in Chemainus that pulled this together and of the efforts of the speakers to come and share their knowledge and innovation with others. It is the best way to learn - thank you.
Photos - the MA gang with community visionary Karl Schutz and the program of the conference showing sponsors.
