Registration is now open for the 2023 RIEP Forum, taking place April 25-27 on Gabriola Island.
Organizers of the 2023 Forum, a conference focused on the health and resilience of BC’s rural islands hosted by the Rural Island Economic Partnership (RIEP), expect this year’s focus on action will lead to a sell-out event.
Tickets went on sale last week for the Forum, taking place on Gabriola Island from April 25-27, 2023. Called an ‘unconference’ conference, the Forum was created in 2019 to address challenges and build resilience across the province’s network of rural island communities. Following a series of online-only events during COVID, this year’s Forum marks a return to in-person events for RIEP, and will feature and focus on action.,
“We’re thrilled to be back in-person, but the challenges for many rural island communities go back many, many years—economically, environmentally, and socially,” said RIEP Board Chair Francine Carlin. “Our 2022 Virtual Forum gave us a real head of steam, and we’re carrying it forward to this year’s theme: connect, reflect and act. We’re grateful to our supporters, like presenting sponsor Vancity, who understand the action imperative and have stepped up for the Forum and our rural island communities.”
The 2023 Forum program will include interactive panels and presentations on a variety of topics, such as the economics of climate change, regenerative economics, and working with Indigenous-owned businesses and communities, as well as participatory ‘action labs’ on themes such as housing, tourism, arts, and agri-food.
Carlin says participants should know that the participatory nature of the Forum will ensure it leads to outcomes that deliver on the promise of change.
“Our slogan ‘connect, reflect, act’ is focused on the action. We’re seeking to affect good change—this was reinforced by the outcomes from the last Forum that gave voice to what our island communities want,” Carlin said. “It’s important to put our words and ideas into action on behalf of BC’s rural islands and the coast. It’s time, and the Forum is the venue.”
Early Bird registration for the 2023 RIEP Forum ends April 7th. Learn more and register at RIEPForum.ca.
We respectfully acknowledge that the land on which we live and work is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
Media Contact:
Colin Stein
Engagement & Communications, RIEP
colin@ruralislandspartnership.ca
778-908-0185
