Indigenous Inclusion-When talk is Not Enough!

 

There have been a great number of zoom meetings, symposiums and online conferences where Indigenous Inclusion is the topic of the day! I know because I have attended many of them.

I sign up hoping to find someone or some organization that is committed to putting themselves out there in an effort to make real change. I commend those who do organize and try to keep the conversation going. Without them I suspect the potential for real change diminishes. There is however a need to do more!

Indigenous Inclusion, the “textbook definition”:

Indigenous Inclusion is about building and fostering relationships with Indigenous people with other cultures. It is about creating a respectful environment to explore, learn, and communicate with a community that has been under-represented for a long time in history.

Bringing this one step forward we can introduce economic inclusion.

Economic Inclusion, the “textbook definition”:

Economic inclusion, the opening up of economic opportunities to under-served social groups!

Recently a well-respected Indigenous business leader who was speaking via Zoom, challenged the attendees to go outside the eco-system they created. You see, the attendees are all too familiar with themselves. The same group of like-minded people seem to gather, time and time again to talk and discuss the same topic.

His challenge resonated with me because it was not the first time, I had heard it. In fact, I have heard it many times in the council chambers of First Nations across the country, at Assembly meetings in almost every city in this country and within the halls of Parliament. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons I built the economic inclusion network, Itstimeforchange.ca.

With a single Indigenous partner and a group of people who believed we could effect real change, we began our journey to build a holistic solution addressing the economic inequalities Indigenous peoples, their communities and their businesses face.

Today, we are the number one referral by Google when searching Indigenous economic inclusion platform, the very space we know we must be in. We address the need to identify job opportunities for Indigenous peoples, create procurement opportunities and partnerships that expand the capacity of all parties involved. We have created an online economy where Indigenous peoples can share their knowledge and insights with employers in their back yard and across the country.

We did this without one dime of government money, we did this because it’s the right thing to do!

I am asking you to go outside of your eco-system, effect real change and share this post and the references to the platform and take action.

Indigenous Inclusion requires broad based participation from all Canadians!

Originally published at https://blog.itstimeforchange.ca on December 15, 2021.

Remote is the new Correspondence! Let’s get connected

Remote learning is not a new idea or way to learn. It has been a part of the curriculum for centuries, possibly as far back as the 1700’s. It was named “Correspondence” and although a slow and tedious process, it caught on and grew leaps and bounds, sweeping across the countries of the world.

One of the most prominent in its time was the “Society to Encourage Home Studies” in 1873. In 1888 adult, immigrant men entered correspondence learning to become state mine inspectors and foremen of a Pennsylvania coal-mining boom to alleviate a shortage of workers.

Correspondence in the states alone grew in twenty years to an enrollment of 2500 new students in 1893 and matriculated 72,000 new students by 1895. The growth was due to sending out complete textbooks instead of single lessons, and the use of 1200 aggressive in-person salesmen. By 1906 total enrollments at the expanded International Correspondence School had reached 900,000. Correspondence or Remote learning continues to grow today, from Grade school subjects to University degrees, all accessed online. I, myself, took Grade 9 Algebra via snail mail correspondence in 1974. Hmmm….What a difference a Zoom class would have made in my Algebra mark!

Do you remember the “ Draw Me “ ads of Tipsy the Turtle and Winky the Deer along with many other interesting characters in every newspaper and magazine in the 80's? Audrey Watters initiated this course to help budding artists see their potential, then offered an online art course after they sent in their version of these drawings. Ms. Watter found 3 characteristic qualities of distance education that remain reasonable today:

• First, that distance education is just as good, valid and high-quality as in person.
• Second, your earning potential will increase if you participate in this course of study.
• Third, that distance education is scalable to give access to students everywhere.
• In 2021 we can also add — frees up time allowing students to juggle work and class time when necessary, keeps cost and fees lower, less travel expense, ability to work at their own pace and remain in the comfort of their home

These are true of urban areas, however, still not the case in our rural and remote parts of Canada or the world for that matter.

Statistics Canada reports “40 percent of Canada’s workers found themselves working from home as pandemic lockdowns were enforced. That compares to less than 10 percent in 2018 who had the option to work a day or two a week from home.”

Whether e-Commerce itself would have moved us forward or Covid-19 has been the sole push, traditional classroom learning and jobs are rapidly moving from office settings to on-line capability. Economic booms and busts are long overdue to be a shared endeavor, for every Canadian, no matter their race or title. The future of connectivity through technically solid operations is looking brighter with an upswing in readily available teaching tools and learning opportunities. Many new options are on the horizon, in large part due to LEO’s scheduled installation and orbit by 2024 (as described in the previous “ LEO is out of this World “ blog). Many, many Indigenous lives will be changed in a positive, economic inclusive way with these new opportunities.

Let’s repeat a line we shared at the beginning of this blog regarding learning in the 1800’s, to show it’s relevance today when thinking of online learning and Indigenous inclusive economy… “although a slow and tedious process, it caught on and grew leaps and bounds, sweeping across the countries of the world”. With a holistic approach, Indigenous communities, regardless of their location in Canada are about to leap forward into the future.

It’s Time For Change is listening, watching closely, and being ready to liaise between Indigenous and non-Indigenous entities. Education, it’s delivery, well sourced honest information, and honorable inclusive negotiation is key.

Let’s all get connected!

Originally published at https://blog.itstimeforchange.ca on December 2, 2021.

Digital Trade / Services and the Indigenous Opportunity

 The Covid pandemic changed the way we work. The work from home revolution proved that employers could save money, access a more productive workforce and most importantly it proved that they could access human capital anywhere in the country. The remote workforce has and will impact the value of digital trade in Canada.

Platforms like ITFC that creates an environment for Indigenous service providers to engage and create economy contributing to the overall value of digital trade as a component of the Canadian
economy.

Though there is a framework established by the OEDC, WTO and IMF to measure the economic value of digital trade, they readily admit that there is no clear definition and thus it makes it hard to effectively measure.

According to a recent publication of the Conference Board of Canada one of the key findings of the most recent research is as follows:

Digital Trade in not just a simple substitution to conventional means of goods and services delivery. It also represents a new source of innovation, creativity and economic growth.

How can Canada’s Indigenous community benefit from movement?

Enhancing the digital capacity of Indigenous people in northern or remote communities by providing the internet and broadband infrastructure is the first step. The Canadian government has invested almost 1.5 billion dollars in Telesat Lightspeed that would bring internet, LTE and 5G to remote communities.(https://blog.itstimeforchange.ca/leo-is-out-of-this-world/ )This kind of investment will go along way in providing the confidence that employers will need to engage and mobilize an Indigenous remote workforce.

The opportunities for Indigenous peoples in remote areas of Canada are limitless. The ability to deliver short modular courses, now referred to as “Micro-Credentials” over the internet can
prepare underemployed individuals for emerging opportunities resulting from new collaborations with government, the private sector and Indigenous communities.

In platform sharing opportunities, like those available to Indigenous service providers on the ITFC inclusion platform provide opportunities for personal and professional growth that were not available before.

The Nominal GDP associated with digital economic activities in Canada totaled $109.7 billion in 2017, roughly 5.5 % of the total economy or the size of the wholesale industry.

That was 2017, the most recent study, imagine what it is today! If we as a country are moving towards a new relationship with Indigenous people and are committed to inclusion and engagement, Digital Trade has to be a part of the discussion. It must start with the policy makers and industry associations and business leaders.

Its Time for Change!

Originally published at https://blog.itstimeforchange.ca on November 30, 2021.