The
organizers of the 2003 Meet the North Conference and Exposition
wish to sincerely thank the sponsors who participated. Your
generous contributions have once again made this event a great
success.
"Meet
the North - Makin' it Work" 2003 (held May 12 - 14) was
the third in a series of bi-annual Meet the North conference
events envisioned by his Worship, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith.
From
its beginning in 1999, Meet the North (MTN) was designed to
bring together the commercial and cultural entities of the
industrial south with those of resource-rich northern Alberta
and the three northern territories: the Yukon, N.W.T and Nunavut.
While
each previous conference has successfully aided in establishing
productive north-south relationships, none has done so quite
as dramatically as Meet the North 2003.
Held
at Edmonton's Mayfield Inn & Suites, this event demonstrated
new life and depth-of-purpose by enthusiastically selling-out
both the conference and a 50,000 square foot trade-show theatre.
Over
500 registered delegates from across southern Canada and the
three northern territories participated in a series of 16
moderated panel discussions designed to identify and share
"best practices" associated with four broad-scope
disciplines: Aboriginal Relations, Transportation, Education
& Workforce, and Economic Development.
In
addition to a roster of elected Alberta provincial and Edmonton
civic officials, the event attracted personal appearances
by the premiers and First Nations executives of all three
northern territories.
Corporate
and business representatives included such notables as Eric
Newell of Syncrude, Ian Reed of Finning (Canada) and Carmen
Loberg of Norterra Inc. and Canadian North Airlines, among
many others too numerous to mention here.
While
the break-out sessions filled to capacity, the trade-show
featured 170 display booths representing some 150 different
companies, organizations and governments. Visitor attendance
reached well over 2,000 as casual and select clientele took
advantage of hundreds of purchasing opportunities.
Live
local television coverage daily, plus national media attention,
both broadcast and print, brought Meet the North 2003 to the
furthest reaches of the Arctic North and coast-to-coast to
all Canadians.
Considerable
anecdotal evidence suggests Meet the North 2003 was, far and
away, the finest organized and most rewarding event of its
kind to date.
With
this dedicated website reflecting the key highlights, comments
and personalities of each conference break-out session and
speakers' address, plus de-briefing sessions with MTN Task
Force Chair, Dr. Paul Byrne, and former Whitehorse Mayor Kathy
Watson, the legacy of Meet the North 2003 continues
The
event itself was indeed a rewarding re-confirmation of the
bonding between North and South. We salute the determination,
hard work and incredible spirit so essential to the realization
of the vision, the inspiring relationships, and the mutual
processes of building for the future, that were the indisputable
cornerstones of Meet the North 2003.
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