Ottawa, March 3, 2001
Networking and Partnerships: The Way of the Future for
the Development of Minority Communities
Speech Delivered at Live Dialogue
Dr. Dyane Adam – Commissioner of Official Languages
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Dear friends,
I would like to thank the organizers of Live Dialogue for inviting me to speak today. As Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, I am very pleased to be with you at this unique and, to say the least, innovative meeting.
It is not often that forums are held to enable people from different linguistic and cultural horizons to engage in open dialogue and pool ideas beneficial to the development of their community.
I would also like to underline the active participation and presence of representatives of the First Nations, of the ethnocultural communities, of the English- and French-speaking communities and of the federal and provincial governments.
I would also like to sincerely congratulate the members of the Dialogue task force, as well as all those in the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) who contributed to the pan-Canadian tour, the production of the report and this weekend's meeting.
I want, first of all, to mention the courage and vision of the positions taken in the Dialogue report, a report that invites us to reflect seriously not only on how we see ourselves as Francophones, but also on our relations with the other components of Canadian society.
As you know, the report calls on Francophone minorities to become more open to the cultural communities, First Nations and Francophiles across the country. The suggestion to rethink the very definition of a Francophone is, in my opinion, a courageous gesture that sets the discourse of the Canadian Francophonie firmly in the modern world.
The report is also right in pointing out that the falling demographic weight of the Francophone and Acadian communities makes it essential that they create a larger and more accommodating space for the cultural communities. Like all Western societies, the demographic renewal of Canadian society depends almost exclusively on immigration. That ties in with one of my main concerns as Commissioner of Official Languages: finding ways of making the minority communities more accommodating of this immigration.
That effort to create greater openness to diversity also calls us to strengthen the bonds and solidarity among the country's Francophones, for whom Quebec is the main locus.
That is the backdrop for the discussion I would like to have with you in the next little while about the importance of networking between Francophones and the other components of Canadian society.
All of you who are here today have in common the desire to carry out projects that will ultimately increase the vitality and influence of your respective communities. And the beauty of this event is precisely that you have seated near you a potential partner, someone who will be able to guide you in achieving your objectives, or simply someone with whom you can share experiences and ideas.
That is what networking is: a complementarity of minds and of resources. In other words, it means recognizing the principle that two heads are better than one!
That is why I think the approach proposed by Live Dialogue is so relevant. It is not only enriching in terms of interpersonal networking, it also provides a promising model of inter community networking, of potential use to all sectors that contribute to the development of minority communities.
For our minority Francophone, Aboriginal, ethnocultural and Anglophone communities, networking responds to very concrete needs. It puts an end to isolation and withdrawal and thus prevents economic and social marginalization. In this way, networking helps to enhance the vitality of our communities by encouraging their active participation in the development of Canadian society.
Indeed, isolation and withdrawal into oneself are among the greatest dangers that threaten the economic, social and cultural development of this country's minority communities. Our future depends more than ever on being more proactive and on using partnerships to serve as levers of development, not only with other minority communities, but also with majority communities.
In addition to the importance of intra-community networking, if I may use the term, inter community networking seems to me to be fundamental for creating synergy and solidarity among the minority groups.
The development of rewarding relationships among our communities depends, naturally, on the fact that, despite our linguistic and cultural differences, we all have a great deal to learn from one another and certainly a great deal to share. This need, however, also has to do, and perhaps even more so, with the fact that the minority communities are fundamental to Canada's national identity. They are in many respects the very essence of the Canadian ideal, an ideal based on respect for cultural diversity and linguistic duality.
The Dialogue report puts it so well, and I quote: "Supporting the principle of diversity means recognizing that interaction between the different groups within a society brings about better results. It also means encouraging the idea that different perspectives can result in more just and enlightened decisions with regard to specific racial, linguistic, cultural, religious, regional or other situations. In Canada, diversity is enshrined in the Constitution, in particular by the articles dealing with official languages, multiculturalism, and native peoples" end of quotation.
In a world that is changing at the quickened pace of globalization and technological innovations, networking has become more than just a fashionable word. It is now part of a new imperative that responds to the growing interdependence of our communities, as well as of all the societies on the planet at the start of this millennium.
This is particularly true culturally, linguistically and socially, but also economically where, for example, networking is increasingly integrated into the business culture in this era of the knowledge economy. An interesting parallel, moreover, could be drawn between the networking needs of our minority communities and those of businesses.
In a context where businesses rely more and more on innovation to ensure their survival and development, human networks are required to play a central role, for it is precisely they that are the basis of the business' capacity to innovate.
Professor Pierre-André Julien of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières recently presented the results of research in connection with the États généraux sur l'avenir de la langue française au Québec. In this research he demonstrated the importance of human networks, or if you prefer, networking, to the capacity of high-growth SMBs to innovate.
Without going into the details of his work, Professor Julien reached the conclusion that the businesses that did best in the new economy were those that created comfort zones for themselves while at the same time being open and accessible to interaction with other businesses. They were also the ones that had the capacity to develop new links between "fragmented information," a process from which innovation arises and that ensures the survival and growth of the business.
I find that there is a very pertinent parallel to be drawn between the workings of these businesses and that of our minority communities. Like the businesses, the minority communities must have their space to make them comfortable in what they are and what they aspire to become. At the same time, however, like businesses that need to innovate to survive and expand, the minority communities need to open themselves up and be accessible to interaction with the other communities in order to gain new vigour and develop themselves.
This Canadian ideal of respect for diversity and linguistic duality must not, however, be lost in the tumult of globalization. For this reason, the minority communities owe it to themselves to be at the forefront of this movement by uniting their voices and contributing, with other Canadians, to building the Canada of tomorrow. Together, we must take advantage of every opportunity and every forum to draw closer, joining our strengths and relying on the added value of our differences.
That is why I find interesting the recommendation in the Dialogue report that the FCFA propose the creation of a permanent foundation having as its chief aim the promotion of dialogue between the Francophone and Acadian communities and all sectors of Canadian society.
That is what, in my view, justifies the importance of inter-community networking. However, these are the same factors that also justify the importance of networking with the majority communities. For maintaining closer ties with those who form the majority means being able to be better understood by them, as well as being able to share all the richness of our country's diversity.
Such ambitions cannot, of course, be limited simply to a communications strategy. In addition to the idea of creating a permanent foundation and extending the Dialogue formula to a range of sectors for inter-community co-operation, you may also have to exploit the vast possibilities of networking afforded by the new technologies, particularly the Internet.
Without wanting to overestimate its importance, there is no question that the growth of the Internet is now at the heart of economic, social and cultural development, both here in Canada and in the other developed countries. Information highways open up new perspectives for trade, networking, reducing isolation and access to services and are an inexhaustible source of information of all kinds.
For the same reasons that led governments to develop a vision and strategies concerning the Internet, it might be in the interest of the groups representing the minority communities to do the same. This would not only help to develop links among the minority communities and with majority groups, but also to reach other minority groups elsewhere in the world who are faced with challenges similar to those we face.
Conclusion
In closing, I just want to say how much I agree with the major thrusts of the Dialogue report concerning the need for openness in the minority Francophone communities.
During the spring and summer of 2000, I held a series of consultations in 20 Canadian cities and met over 500 people from 51 groups, of which several were represented by young people. The purpose of the consultations was to sound out the participants on the role of the Office of the Commissioner and on the major issues affecting the future of official languages in Canada.
I thus had a chance to see just how dominant the perception was that there is a lack of dialogue not only between Canada's two main linguistic communities, but also with the Aboriginal peoples and among the Francophone communities themselves. I was also able to see to what extent bilingualism could be seen as a problem and how the media often tend to contribute to a negative image of linguistic duality.
My own conclusions are in the end the same as yours. The time has come to work together to establish real networks for exchange and partnerships that will ensure the sustainable development of our communities.
With the hope that this weekend marks the start of a new era of co-operation among our communities,
I thank you and wish you a good Dialogue!
