CMEC represented at World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education

TORONTO, May 19, 2014 /CNW/ - The Honourable Jackson Lafferty, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment for Northwest Territories, will be delivering a keynote address this week at the 2014 World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WiPC:E) in O'ahu, Hawai'i, on behalf of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC).

WiPC:E 2014, which takes place from May 19 to 24, is the premier international conference on indigenous education. Held first in Canada in 1987, the conference brings together educators and education stakeholders from all over the world.

"WiPC:E is a tremendous opportunity to discuss contemporary movements in education that support unique indigenous world views. I am honoured to have been asked to be a part of this conference to deliver a keynote address on behalf of my ministerial colleagues," said Minister Lafferty. "I look forward to sharing the work we are doing in Canada and Northwest Territories with so many other indigenous educators, practitioners, leaders, and innovators. I also look forward to sharing Canada's story of indigenous education, including where we came from, where we are today, and where we hope to be in the future."

Aboriginal education will be on the agenda of the 103^rd CMEC meeting, which will be held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, July 7–9. Ministers of education will be meeting with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada to consider the work being done in provinces and territories to support the teaching of the history of Indian Residential Schools in Canada.

CMEC's pan-Canadian collaboration on Aboriginal education continues on a number of issues and complements the many initiatives currently being undertaken by individual provinces and territories, in cooperation with Aboriginal education stakeholders, to make education a positive experience for Aboriginal learners.

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.

SOURCE: Council of Ministers of Education, Canada

Colin Bailey, Director, Communications, Cell: 416-938-1911, Tel.: [phone], ext. 259, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @CCMEC