Well, it’s been a busy summer for the CES team. We travelled from coast to coast across
Canada to share new opportunities about how communities can celebrate the
spirit and identity of their people through digital storytelling. Our passion
for preserving indigenous cultures and finding innovative ways how communities
can share their story drove us to create the Cultural Preservation Initiatives
Program.
We set aside $50,000 as part of our Corporate Social
Responsibility to support local community development initiatives that ensure
preservation of culture through responsible economic development and
empowerment. We believe strongly in sustainable community development and the
promotion of Canada’s unique cultures and we were excited to visit communities
across Canada.
Throughout our travels we met with some amazing people, made
new friends, shared a lot of laughs, and learned about the
different communities and their culture, some of their challenges, and their
thoughts on projects related to preserving their culture; in particular
projects that encourage bridging the generational gap between Elders and Youth.
Workshop participants in Mississauga First Nation |
The most powerful moment that we’ve learned was the drive
that Youth had to create positive changes in their communities. One of the younger participants in one of our
workshops shared that she was so happy to see her community taking steps to
involve the Youth and it was evident that there is a need for the community to
work together to preserve and celebrate their culture. The Elders that
participated were thrilled to see a project that focused on bringing the
community together as a whole to preserve and celebrate their culture. One of the Elders just responded ‘finally’ at
the end of the workshop. This emphasized the need for these types of projects.
Hanging with the crew in Potlotek First Nation |
The CES team would like to personally thank all of the
communities that were part of this initiative!! It was a pleasure visiting your
communities and meeting all of the amazing people.
Because of the success of this initiative we are planning to
do it again! Contact us at
1-877-444-5550 or email us at amanda@cescleints.com for more details.