Launch of Pan-Canadian Rural Initiative Website
Strengthening Rural Canada's website highlights issues facing rural Canada
TORONTO, Oct. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Rural, remote and small towns across Canada are integral to the country's prosperity – adding to our diverse cultural fabric, supplying the natural resources needed for survival and providing the food that sustains us. Yet, despite all that these rural communities provide, many of them are struggling to remain viable, facing increasing pressures from youth migration, aging populations and skills shortages.
Over the past year, Essential Skills Ontario and its partners, Decoda Literacy Solutions in British Columbia, Literacy Newfoundland and Labrador, the Saskatchewan Literacy Network and Réseau pour le développement de l'alphabétisme et des compétences (RESDAC), have been traveling to 28 rural communities across the country for the Strengthening Rural Canada-Renforcer les communautés rurales du Canada initiative. Funded by the Government of Canada's Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program and in part by the Roadmap for Canada's Official Languages 2013-18: Education, Immigration and Communities, this initiative aims to support rural communities in finding solutions to some of the unique challenges they face.
Today, we are pleased to formally launch the Strengthening Rural Canada- Renforcer les communautés rurales du Canada website: strengtheningruralcanada.ca / renforcercommunautescanada.ca
Available in both English and French, the website highlights:
- The initiative, its partners and the community selection process
- Some of the challenges facing rural communities in Canada, as well as the opportunities these communities provide
- Profiles of the four provinces in the initiative – British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan – as well as profiles of 28 rural communities
- An in-depth research report, executive summary and infographic for each of the four provinces using the latest Census and National Household Survey (NHS) data
Currently, research and most of the profiles for the province of Ontario are available online. Read Fewer & Older: The Coming Demographic Crisis in Rural Ontario, the executive summary, full report and infographic online. As we continue to visit new communities and as research reports are completed, new content will be added to the site. Stay up-to-date by following Strengthening Rural Canada-Renforcer les communautés rurales du Canada on Twitter - @SRC_RCRC.
Wednesday, November 19th at 1:00PM EST, we invite you to join us for our first Strengthening Rural Canada webinar - Fewer & Older: The Coming Demographic Crisis in Rural Ontario - hosted by economist Dr. Bakhtiar Moazzami, where he will discuss the findings of this recent research on rural Ontario. Please note that space is limited and available on a first come, first serve basis. Please click here to register.
ESO and its partners look forward to continuing to profile the challenges and opportunities in rural communities across Canada and providing continuous updates on the website.
SOURCE: Essential Skills Ontario
[email protected] / [email protected]; strengtheningruralcanada.ca / renforcercommunautescanada.ca
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