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PRESS
RELEASE
For immediate release
February 11, 2002
CONTACT NORTH/CONTACT NORD TO SHARE ITS EXPERTISE IN DISTANCE EDUCATION AND TRAINING WITH ITS FIRST NATIONS PARTNERS.
Contact North/Contact Nord’s Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Wayne Sajna Hebert, will explore with First Nation leaders how to jointly harness distance education and training to support economic development in Northern Ontario’s First Nations communities at the First Nations Connect Conference in Thunder Bay, February 11-14, 2002.
Dorothy Eshkawkogan, one of two Aboriginal representatives on Contact North/ Contact Nord’s Board of Directors points out that “this presentation on the opportunities of distance education and training is in the context of Contact North/Contact Nord’s ongoing strong partnership with First Nations communities throughout Northern Ontario”.
“As Northern Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network, headquartered in Thunder Bay and Sudbury, created and governed by Northern Ontario communities, Contact North/Contact Nord continues to increase its focus on small and remote communities. This is in keeping with its mandate which calls for a special priority on Aboriginals and Francophones”, adds Ms. Eshkawkogan.
According to Kuh–Ke–Nah Network Services Coordinator, Brian Beaton: “The conference will give delegates a chance to see working examples of online applications and services of information and communication technologies such as our partner, Contact North/Contact Nord Distance Education & Training Network, so they can understand the possibilities and begin to incorporate them into all aspects of their community and organizational strategic planning. A goal of the conference is to develop a NAN*-wide strategy to link all the Nishnawbe Aski Nation communities to the Information Highway.”
In the past 15 years, Contact North/Contact Nord has, as a consortium of Northern Ontario’s colleges, universities and school boards, grown into an extensive network of 145 Access Centres that link over 100 small and remote Northern Ontario communities for both educational and community development purposes.
“During its next phase of development, Contact North/Contact Nord will transform its network of 145 access centres into one-stop shopping lifelong learning centres where residents can readily access a variety of educational services from various providers. We are also in the process of leveraging our education into a training network used by both the public and private sectors to facilitate skills development”, notes Wayne Sajna Hebert.
Sajna Hebert has over 17 years of experience in telecommunications, technology applications for open and distance education, distributed and online e-learning, training, communications technologies in the workplace, telehealth/telemedicine and e-commerce applications. One of his publications is Videoconferencing Using Satellite and Terrestrial Technology.
As Northern Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network established, governed and administered by Northern Ontario communities, Contact North/Contact Nord’s mission is to increase and improve affordable and equitable access to quality education and training for Northern Ontario residents, supporting regional and community economic development and a culture of lifelong learning.
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