“SAVE-THE-DATE”
October 20 – October 21 & November 30th, 2021
Strengthening Connections Across BC’s Rural Islands:
Exploring ways to overcome challenges, share opportunities, and celebrate the creative fabric of rural island businesses and communities.
“Excellent presentations and conversations! I learned much and was also able to share things that seemed of value to others.” – RIEP Forum ’19 Participant
On October 20 and 21, 9 AM – 12:30 PM, the Rural Island Economic Partnership (RIEP) will host the all-virtual RIEP Forum, followed by a Forum Networking Wrap-up Event on November 30th.
This year’s themes include:
- Building Year-Round Livelihood for Long Term Sustainability
- Applying a Climate Lens to Community Economic Resilience
October 20 and 21 will include valuable networking, inspiring presentations, and lively discussions. Online hosts will also create a warm, fun, and inviting container to enhance the online experience.
Capped on November 30, 7-8:30 PM, RIEP will host the Forum 2021 Wrap-Up Networking Event featuring a showcase of rural island arts, music and culture.
Standing Together During Difficult Times
These past 18 months have been more than challenging for businesses. Even those that have prospered in the pandemic have still had many hurdles to overcome. The RIEP forum is a way of connecting with other rural islands business communities.
We’re at a turning point. Now, more than ever, we need to strengthen our connections among the islands. No one island can be resilient alone.
At the Forum we will be not only exploring opportunities for collaborative growth, regional networks to build capacity, and shared services to create efficiencies, but we will also be celebrating our local business communities.
Rural island economy is interwoven with island life and culture in a deep way. The Forum will explore economic challenges and opportunities, but will also celebrate the deep connection between business, community and culture that makes the rural islands a special place for all who come here.
Mark your calendars and watch for your chance to register in the coming weeks!
“We’ve created momentum here that is infinitely valuable to our goals and challenges. I made many beneficial relationships and established a great network.” – RIEP Forum ’19 Participant
Who Is RIEP?
Previous to November 2019 there was a patchwork of organizations and business leaders supporting various rural islands, but no official channels for facilitating cooperation between ALL rural island stakeholders, until the 2019 RIEP Forum. In November 2019, the inaugural RIEP Forum event led to the formation of the Rural Islands Economic Partnership (RIEP).
RIEP has since become THE connector organization – a unified voice for value-based and sustainable economic development across the islands through collaboration, engagement and advocacy.
Watch a wrap-up of RIEP Forum 2019 and learn more about the power of regional collaboration!
