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BY GEORGE LEE
The PEGG
In their first 100 years, Albertans developed transportation networks and
great cities, discovered and developed vast reserves of oil and gas, and became
leaders in research areas as diverse as geomatics and nanotechnology. They irrigated
the south, put people to work on critical public projects during two depressions,
and figured out how to extract and refine oil from the tar sands.
So what's next?
Innovation 2005, a non-profit partnership of Alberta science supporters led
by APEGGA and the Science Alberta Foundation, believes it can help answer that
question by encouraging Albertans to celebrate their past — and think about
their future. “Innovation built Alberta in its first century and innovation
will lead Alberta in the next,” says Jo-Ann Fraser, manager of marketing
and communications with the foundation.
To emphasize the point, Innovation 2005 wants APEGGA members and others to
provide names of people and their creations for a campaign it will officially
launch at the APEGGA Summit Awards in April.
“We're looking for people and things that have profoundly changed the
way we live, work or play,” says Ms. Fraser. “We're going to take
some of these unique personalities who have shaped our last 100 years, and we're
going to celebrate their accomplishments, and the fact that these are Albertans
and innovations we can all be proud of.”
Stories selected through an independent adjudication will be told in TV, radio
and other messages, kicking off before Alberta's Centennial, Sept. 1, 2005, and
carrying through Science and Technology Week in October. Ms. Fraser _ who is
co-managing the project with foundation community relations person Paula Leslie
_ hopes airlines, buses and movie theatres will also show video versions of the
public service messages. Newspapers and other news outlets around the province
will be encouraged to build on the Innovation 2005 campaign as well.
APEGGA has put $50,000 towards the project, and other funders include the
Alberta Department of Innovation and Science with $85,000. APEGGA co-leads the
project with the Science Alberta Foundation, which is a non-profit organization
championing science and technology learning in Alberta. Created in 1990, the
foundation is the brainchild of APEGGA Honorary Member Jim Gray.
Ms. Fraser says Innovation 2005 is a call to action as well as a celebration. “We're
going to push a bit and suggest that this is not the time to rest on our laurels.
We want to excite and inspire people to engage in innovative behaviour — to
employ creativity, continuous improvement, relationship building and risk taking
to lead Alberta in the next century.”
APEGGA Executive Director Neil Windsor, P.Eng., a co-chair of Innovation 2005
steering committee, says the campaign fits one of the Association's key mandates:
to promote science and science education in the greater community.
“This follows directly from our Outreach Program in schools and unversities,
our scholarship program and our Excellence in Education Awards for teachers,” he
says. “APEGGA professionals serve society in their daily lives and they
care about the future of Alberta, and respect those who have brought technology
to where it is today.”
Mr. Windsor encourages members to take part by passing their suggestions on
to APEGGA Communications Manager Philip Mulder, APR. See information box with
this story.
“Our membership drives most of Alberta's innovation and advancement,
and that's something we can all be very proud of as professionals,” Mr.
Windsor says.
Science Alberta Foundation CEO Arlene Ponting, the steering committee's other
co-chair, adds: “We're committed to advancing science literacy in the province
and fostering an understanding that science and technology are integral to our
quality of life and prosperity. This project tightly fits our mandate, as knowledge
and positive attitudes towards science and technology are key components of an
innovative culture.”
Philip Mulder, APR
APEGGA Manager of Communications
pmulder@apegga.org
Jo-Ann Fraser
Alberta Science Foundation
jo-annf@sciencealberta.org
Science Alberta Foundation Website
www.sciencealberta.org
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