The Moncton Forum

December 3, 2008


The room generously provided by the Capitol Theatre in Moncton is filled to capacity : 46 participants, almost exclusively Acadians, have come to meet with the CCA National Director, hear about the organization and discuss how we can better work together to position arts and culture on the public agenda. One thing is clear from the outset : the CCA is not well known, its mandate is not clear to most and the work it does not widely acknowledged. If this is the case in a milieu as dynamic and structured as the Acadian cultural sector, we have got our work cut out. The message in this respect is very clear : raise your profile, work on networking and personal relationships and target your communications!

The vitality of the Acadian artistic community is once again manifest in the interest given to the challenges facing the whole sector in these difficult times. There has been here, over the past four years, a unique and extremely well orchestrated campaign of mobilization of all sectors interested one way or another in culture (artistic, education, business, the three levels of government and other elements of civil society). This has led to the development of a socio-economic strategy largely centered on creativity in all aspects. The whole venture makes one wonder if such a coordinated movement will ever be possible at the national level! After all, this initiative is based on a collective identity developed over centuries, a sentiment of community with little equivalent and a leadership who is politically savvy and has been very successful against all odds.

I’ll report only on the discussion concerning priorities. The first one identified by all participants concerns the reaffirmation of Ottawa’s role in supporting arts and culture. As long as this country wants to remain a distinct entitiy in the international community, the federal government must acknowledge that it has a crucial role to play, in coordination with the provinces, the municipalities and the private sector, in ensuring the vitality of our arts and culture sector.

Other priorities identified : the promotion of the creative economy, the improvement of the socio-economic status of artists and creators and the democratization of access to culture. But it is made clear to me that the immediate priority for the CCA as an organization is to develop and sustain its networking with other organizations across the country : only thus can it hope to fulfill the unique role it has to help identify common objectives and harmonized strategies to achieve them. Sustained consultation and dialogue must be at the top of the agenda : only thus will the CCA be able to engage its constituencies in the pursuit of the common good and only thus will it be able to increase the resources at its disposal.

I leave the meeting convinced of at least one thing : if we pursue those priorities, the CCA can count of the active support of the Acadian community. Can one ask for more!