Glimpses of My Early Work in Quebec

(Picture-with Professor Chris Bryant and REDOs)

I moved to Quebec from Scotland, where I was living at the time, to help develop province wide Community Economic Development and Employment Committees (CEDEC).  There was a Community Table representing the CEDECs and a Government Table representing the Federal Government of Canada. 

During my five years there the were many training sessions, much capacity building and over this time very few changes to the original group of eight original Regional Economic  Development Officers (REDOs) – the original name – other than adding three additional ones.   Much has changed since that time, but the organization is still active and many of  the faces you see here are still around.  These pictures provide a very quick glimpse of the very early days.

Our First REDO -GT Training Session
An introductory training Session for new REDOs

The Introductory picture is one of the REDOs in the earliest days.  Here is a later one of the with the expanded group of REDOs.

Training session REDOs and Government Table
Training session REDOs and Government Table

There were training session between the Government Table and The Community Table every three months at our joint meetings.  Here is  a session between the the REDOs and representatives of the Government Table.

A workshop on community mapping
A workshop on community mapping

In the early days there were workshops and training sessions on many aspects of community and economic development issues and tools.  This one shared information on community mapping processes.

A very hands on working session
A very hands on working session

There were as well less formal working sessions where we rolled up our sleeves and worked on challenges being experienced in the field.

Montreal CEDEC 2003
Montreal CEDEC 2003

There were eleven CEDECs across Quebec even in Montreal and a lot of involvement by local people hoping to make a difference..  I think over the years this work has touched a lot of people in a lot of ways both within the organization and in many communities across Quebec.  It was my pleasure to have worked in the very early days establishing a base for this most interesting development concept.

 

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