The Harper Government Announces Support for Project Connecting Young Canadians with Canada on the Road to 2017

PAQUETVILLE, NB, Oct. 22, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced an investment from the Government of Canada in Collectivité ingénieuse de la Péninsule acadienne (CIPA) for their contest Here is Canada: Road to 2017.

"This contest is a great opportunity for young people to better understand how one important historical milestone has influenced our country and their lives, while gaining hands-on video production experience and expressing their creativity," said Minister Glover. "Our Government is proud to invest in projects that help youth experience history in meaningful and relevant ways."

Here is Canada: Road to 2017 is a national bilingual contest that will invite 300 young people aged 19 to 25 to offer their views on Canada through five-minute videos. Participants will choose a significant milestone on the road to Canada's 150^th birthday in 2017 and discuss its impact on Canada's past, their present and our country's future. The videos will be available on the contest's Facebook and YouTube accounts, and viewers will be invited to comment on them. Ten winners will be selected from the entries received.

"CIPA would like to thank the Government of Canada for its financial support. We are very pleased to present the new contest Here is Canada," said Caroline Haché, Director General of CIPA. "This season, we are inviting youth from one end of the country to the other to bring out their creative side to find out about an event that has a link to Canada's 150^th anniversary. This will be a good occasion for our young people to learn more about themselves and the history of this country and to better understand the country in which we are living today."

The Government of Canada has provided funding of $160,000 through the Youth Take Charge program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This program provides opportunities for young Canadians to become involved in a range of activities designed to strengthen their knowledge of and attachment to Canada.

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SOURCE: Canadian Heritage

For more information (media only), please contact:

Marisa Monnin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
819-997-7788

Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
[email protected]

(This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Newsroom.)