TITLE: Project of the Francophone Insular Telecommunity

ABSTRACT:

The new information and communication technologies are powerful and efficient tools for the community development. Not only those tools help to enhance the social and community interaction and the transfer and sharing of knowledge, but they encourage the social and economic development. The new technologies allow for an optimal utilisation of limited resources, for instance in the sector of distance training and education. The aim of the Project of the Francophone Insular Telecommunity, sponsored by Societe educative de l'Ile-du-Prince-Edouard, is to link all acadian and francophone regions of Prince Edouard Island, by means of an information and communication network, and to offer the Acadians and Francophones of the island a unique community development tool.

Mr. Aubrey Cormier, general manager of the Societe educative de l'Ile-du-Prince-Edouard, will present the strategic objectives, the achievements, the opportunities and the challenges of this unique telecommunity project in the Atlantic region.

BIOGRAPHY:

Aubrey Cormier was born in New Brunswick and completed his studies in information and communications at Universite de Moncton. He has hold numerous managerial functions at the francophone weekly newspaper "La Voix Acadienne", at the first acadian tout operator, Tours Acadie, at the Societe acadienne de l'Ile-du-Prince-Edouard and at the Societe educative de l'Ile-du-Prince-Edouard.

Under his management, the Societe educative opened, in 1994, the Centre provincial de formation pour adultes, who offers the francophone insular population post-secondary education and training for the first time in the history of the province. In 1996, Mr. Cormier also initiated the "Projet de telecommunaute insulaire francophone".

Aubrey Cormier has received several awards and distinctions during his 15 years of work in the field of community development, namely the "editor of the year" award from the Association de la presse francophone du Canada (1987), Honorary Member of the Northern Telecom Institute (1995), "l'Ordre de la Fidelite Francaise" of the Conseil de la vie francaise en Amerique (1996) and "professional community educator of the year" from the Canadian Association for Community Education (1997).