Cree Nation Youth Council - Best Practices Mission

I recently returned from a week-long journey through Alberta and B.C. with four representatives from the Cree Nation Youth Council (CNYC). We were on a Best Practices Mission, with the main objective of learning from experienced outdoor education and cultural organizations. The CNYC has been working on developing a 'Cree Wilderness Training Centre' over the past few years and it is the hope of the Youth Grand Chief, Joshua Iserhoff, that this mission would help to inspire and motivate the CNYC to make this project a reality.

This mission was one of the most intense itineraries I've put together yet. Many people think that a Best Practices Mission is a holiday - all fun and excitement. They are definitely lots of fun and very exciting, but they are also long and busy days, with little downtime, not a holiday at all. In just 5 days, the participants traveled from various communities in the James Bay region in Northern Quebec to fly to Calgary, then drove to Canmore, Jasper and Edmonton, to fly to Vancouver, then drive to Squamish and then finally fly back home. There was a mix of driving and flying and we got to see some of Canada's most iconic regions.

We visited a range of organizations, each chosen for different reasons:

• Ghost River Rediscovery Society
• Outward Bound and the Sage Program
• Palisades Stewardship Education Centre
• Dechinta
• North Vancouver Outdoor School
• Punky Lake Wilderness Camp

We met with the management staff of each organization to learn about:

• Challenges overcome
• Lessons learned
• Strategies implemented to stay sustainable
• Innovative partnerships
• Funding opportunities capitalized on
• Unique programming ideas

Each organization far exceeded our expectations in their hospitality, in their experiences they shared with us and the knowledge they imparted on us. The four participants, Cassandra, Jamie, Abel and Stella far exceeded my expectations in their stamina on such a crazy trip, in their questions they asked, in their professionalism and in their experiences they shared with our hosts and myself. I'm always amazed when I go on a trip with the Eeyou Istchee Cree how strong their ties still are to their culture and how much they have and want to share with other Aboriginal communities. We were on a mission to learn, but I feel that the people we met with, including myself, learned from them as well. It makes me feel incredibly proud and grateful that I had the opportunity to plan, coordinate and facilitate this mission with this group. 

There is still a long road ahead for the CNYC in the development of the CWTC, but I truly believe with champions like Cassandra, Jamie, Abel and Stella and a young and motivated leader like Joshua, this project can become a reality in the very near future. 

Only 2 Spots Left! - Indigenous Tourism Best Practices Mission in South Africa

CES has been working with indigenous communities in Canada and abroad to develop cultural tourism products. A Best Practices Mission and Cultural Exchange is an ideal opportunity for indigenous tourism businesses, community leaders, entrepreneurs, and economic development officers from Canada to learn from and experience indigenous tourism products and services in South Africa.

This unique 10 day learning experience will highlight sustainable community development practices. Participants will be provided with first hand knowledge on various cultural tourism development initiatives and inspired by operating models developed by successful indigenous owned businesses. They will have an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn about the challenges they overcame and the strategies they used to become successful. These missions are proven and effective in inspiring participants to take action in their own communities.
The desired outcome of this Mission will be inspiring participants to exchange and preserve their own culture while embarking on sustainable tourism development and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The timing for the mission is April 15 - 26th, 2013. The cost is $4,999 all inclusive from Toronto. This includes:

• Roundtrip airfare from Toronto to South Africa 
• All meals and accommodations
• Group transportation
• Professional facilitation and learning activities 
• All tour experiences
• Networking with local business owners and other participants
• Guidebook & certificate

Please contact jessica@cesclients.com or 1-877-444-5550 for more details or to reserve your spot. Final payment is required by March 31, 2013

Cree Nation Youth Council - Best Practices Mission

The Cree Nation Youth Council  (CNYC) is a progressive youth-led organization in Eeyou Istchee (James Bay Region, QC) whose vision is to ‘empower Cree Youth by directly integrating and involving them at the local and regional levels of government, politics and administration.’ The CNYC has been working on the development of a wilderness training centre over the past few years, which will serve as a world class training facility that links people, land and culture in both modern and traditional training methodologies and settings for human resource development. The Centre will provide a wide array of training programs that are flexible in addressing Cree community and regional employment. The Centre will provide training programs to meet the training needs that will qualify the new generation of Quebec Crees for employment in regional economic and community services.


We have been working with the CNYC on this initiative in a variety of capacities and the next task to undertake is a Best Practices Mission. Best Practices Missions allow participants to learn from organizations and businesses that are similar in nature,  have remained sustainable over the years and have continued to grow. Through on-site visits, workshops, roundtables and meetings, the participants get a 'behind the scenes look' at how the organizations developed. This includes examining their  development models, business models, programs, partnerships,  marketing strategies and training programs, just to name a few. 

The CNYC mission will take place in early April and will travel to Western Canada. Four participants from three different Eeyou Istchee communities will have the opportunity to travel to Calgary, Canmore, Jasper and Vancouver in four days! This is definitely no vacation!

The organizations we will be visiting were chosen collaboratively between the CNYC and CES and were chosen based on the following criteria:

• Aboriginal youth

• Outdoor skills & education

• Cultural skills

• Experiential programming

• Technical skills

• Life skills & teaching youth to become leaders

• A regional approach

• Long term sustainability - financial and environmental

We will be visiting:

• Ghost River Rediscovery

• Scouts Canada

• Outward Bound Canada

• Palisades Stewardship Education Centre

• North Vancouver Outdoor School

This Missions are intense with long days, but the amount of knowledge and advice gathered in just a few days is truly amazing. The participants will walk away from this trip feeling inspired, empowered and dedicated to ensuring this project becomes a reality!

- Jessica

 

Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre - RFP - Restaurant Tenant

La Vida Nica - A Three Week Trip through Nicaragua

I recently got married and had the pleasure of planning my and my new husband's honeymoon. If you know me, you'd know how much I love planning pretty much anything, a wedding, a birthday party, and most especially a trip. This could explain why I love my job as a tourism development consultant so much - it's essentially helping communities and entrepreneurs plan for tourism!

For our honeymoon, I was posed with the following question: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? The options and possibilities were endless! That feeling is one of the best feelings to experience.

We had a small set of criteria that needed to be fulfilled in our chosen destination:

- For me - culture, history, nature and price

- For my husband - sun, beaches and good weather

Not a very specific list, but it was a starting point. 

I started off my research as most people do these days, the internet (what did we do before the help of Google?). I also got some recommendations from friends who have traveled a fair bit. The options started rolling in. . . Indonesia, New Zealand, Columbia, Costa Rica, Morocco. We eventually decided on Nicaragua. When we began telling people we were travelling to Nicaragua for our honeymoon, the amount of people that asked 'why?' became comical (even from the Canadian Customs Official on our way home!). When replying to these people, we provided them with typical answers, and primarily those points found in our set of criteria: cheap, good weather, etc. Having spent 3 full weeks in Nicaragua, I can now say it is so much more than that. 

Another common comment we heard when telling people of our pending travel plans was, 'Isn't it dangerous?' Well, it isn't the '70's anymore and the civil war has long been done. Nicaragua is truly an interesting country to visit and has something for everyone: colonial towns, beautiful beaches, good surf, an interesting history, protected nature reserves, one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, good food and unique cultures (and even a resort or two if that's what you're interested in). The tourism industry in Nicaragua is still in the 'developing' stage and you can get easily spoiled by vast beaches that are empty except for you and your footprints.  

In the next few days, I hope to share some of our experiences in Nicaragua, and hopefully shed some light on what seems to be a misunderstood country. 

Gracias! ~ Jessica

Pimachiowin Aki Tourism 2013 Sharing Session

Clinton was invited to inspire and assist with facilitating the Pimachiowin Aki Tourism Sharing Session on January 10^th, 2013. This event was part of Pimachiowin Aki’s AGM and was well attended by community leaders, Elders, aboriginal tourism business owners, entrepreneurs, researchers, and invited guests with background and experience in tourism development.

The purpose of the event was to share information on planning directions, activities and events related to tourism, learn from aboriginal tourism elsewhere in Canada and abroad, and identify needs and priorities to support sustainable tourism in Pimachiowin Aki. Clinton shared stories on what he’s learned over the past years and continues to learn about indigenous tourism projects in Canada and abroad and how these experiences shaped a model for aboriginal tourism development. Our Pando Terra model uses indigenous ways to create sustainable tourism development – using 7 holistic elements it empowers, encourages and supports the community and its members first; positive economic development will follow.

Pimachiowin Aki is already well on their way to establishing sustainable tourism opportunities for their region and it was great to hear about some of the challenges and opportunities they faced along the way. There are some great leaders and business mentors that will continue to pave the way for aboriginal tourism development in the region and we wish them all the best.

More information on the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project can be found at http://www.pimachiowinaki.org/about-us.

If you would like to hear more details about our Pando Terra model contact info@cesclients.com. 

The Great Spirit Circle Trail Annual Tourism Conference - Call for Speakers