OHSWEKEN, ON, March 20, 2017 /CNW/ - To celebrate Canada's 150th Anniversary of Confederation, the Government of Canada established the Canada 150 Fund – selecting a few Canadian signature projects from thousands of applicants to participate in celebrations across Canada and to showcase events that are unique to the selected organizations.
Indspire was selected for its focus on supporting Indigenous education. Indspire received funding to showcase their Indspire Youth Laureates Cross Canada Tour, which will feature highly-interactive, youth-led panel discussions in seven Canadian cities – Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Yellowknife.
"Our vision is to enrich Canada through Indigenous education and by inspiring achievement," Roberta Jamieson, President and CEO, Indspire.
The objective of the Tour is to encourage dialogue between Indspire Youth Award recipients and local Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, educators, parents and community members to reinforce the importance of education and to highlight how Indspire can help students achieve their dreams for a brighter future. At each event, the Youth Laureate panelists will share motivational stories from their childhood, education, life challenges and post-graduate success. They will share stories on how Indspire supported them and encouraged them to dream big, move forward and create a better life. After the storytelling, the Q&A will create a highly interactive panel session geared towards Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth.
The first tour will launch at the Indspire Soaring Career Conference to be held in Ottawa on March 23, 2017 at The Westin Hotel. Following the launch, there will be one tour held on a university campus each month (except for July and August) until November 2017, with the closing celebration to follow in conjunction with the Indspire National Gathering at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal.
In addition to funding from the Government of Canada, TransCanada Corporation is supporting the Tour as part of a series of initiatives in celebration of Canada's 150th.
"As a company who has operated in Canada for over 65 years, we are proud to give back via organizations like Indspire who share our sense of purpose around creating lasting and positive impacts in communities through education," says Kristine Delkus, Executive Vice President, Stakeholder Relations and General Counsel, TransCanada. "As a long-time partner with Indspire, we feel our support of the Tour is a natural addition to our Canada 150 gift and we are very excited to play a small role in celebrating these incredible youths who have achieved so much."
Additional support is being provided by Shaw Communications Inc. as Youth Laureate Sponsor, helping provide a platform for the Youth Laureates to share their inspiring personal experiences, while motivating and engaging the next generation of youth in a conversation about the importance of education.
Each event will start with a VIP reception for host sponsors, local government officials, school faculty, media, laureates, board members, the MC and Indspire staff and will allow for interview and photo opportunities prior to the panel discussion. Panel discussions will be approximately two hours long and will include a Q&A session.
The opening and closing sessions will be taped for broader distribution and posted on the Indspire website. Attendance is free. To reserve your seat, please visit: indspire.ca/canada150
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada.
About Indspire
Indspire is an Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous people for the long term benefit of these individuals, their families and communities, and Canada. With the support of its funding partners, Indspire disburses financial awards, delivers programs, and shares resources with the goal of closing the gap in Indigenous education. Through the K-12 Institute, it provides resources to educators, communities, and other stakeholders who are committed to improving kindergarten to grade 12 success for Indigenous youth. In 2015-16, Indspire has provided $12.2 million through 3,792 bursaries and scholarships to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students. Each year, the organization presents the Indspire Awards, a celebration of the successes achieved by Indigenous people that is broadcast nationally. www.indspire.ca
About TransCanada
With more than 65 years' experience, TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure including natural gas and liquids pipelines, power generation and gas storage facilities. TransCanada operates a network of natural gas pipelines that extends more than 91,500 kilometres (56,900 miles), tapping into virtually all major gas supply basins in North America. TransCanada is the continent's leading provider of gas storage and related services with 653 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. A large independent power producer, TransCanada currently owns or has interests in over 10,700 megawatts of power generation in Canada and the United States. TransCanada is also the developer and operator of one of North America's leading liquids pipeline systems that extends over 4,300 kilometres (2,700 miles), connecting growing continental oil supplies to key markets and refineries. TransCanada's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TRP. Visit TransCanada.com and our blog to learn more, or connect with us on social media and 3BL Media.
About Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications Inc. is an enhanced connectivity provider. Our Consumer division serves consumers with broadband Internet, Shaw Go WiFi, video and digital phone. Our Wireless division provides wireless voice and data services through an expanding and improving mobile wireless network infrastructure. The Business Network Services division provides business customers with Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, video and fleet tracking services. The Business Infrastructure Services division, through ViaWest, provides hybrid IT solutions including colocation, cloud computing and security and compliance for North American enterprises. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, SJR.PR.A, SJR.PR.B, NYSE – SJR, and TSXV – SJR.A). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca
SOURCE Indspire
MEDIA CONTACTS: Anne Marie Gabriel, CAE, Vice President, Communications, P: 416 987 0260, E: [email protected]; Pour de plus amples renseignements en francais, communiquez avec Anne Marie Gabriel, FGA; TransCanada Media Enquiries: Shawn Howard, 403.920.7859 or Mark Cooper, 800.608.7859; Shaw Communications Media Enquiries: Chethan Lakshman, VP, Communications and Public Relations, P: (403) 930-8448, E: [email protected]
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