KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Friday, March 26, 2010

9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
How Vital Is Your Community?

How vital is your community? Is your arts organization ready to play a key role in community vitality? How ready is your community for all this? CIEL’s Mike Stolte will introduce you to several practical tools for assessing these important issues in this interactive workshop. Please check out CIEL’s Communities Matrix (that helps communities assess their state of readiness) or “Beyond Economic Survival; 97 Ways Small Communities Can Thrive - A Guide to Community Vitality” to get the most from this workshop.

Mike’s Bio

Mike Stolte is the Executive Director of the Nelson, BC-based Centre for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL – www.theCIEL.com ). He is the originator and co-creator  of the Business Vitality Initiative, the Community Vitality Initiative, the Communities Matrix, the Community Check-up, and the Green Light Check-Up, all tools and processes to assess and strengthen communities.

Mike has spent many years working in the field of community, economic & business/ entrepreneurial development. He has facilitated several national conferences and think-tanks, and has written many articles and publications in the field including Beyond Economic Survival - 97 Ways Small Communities Can Thrive - A Guide to Community Vitality.

Over the past few years Mike has made presentations in Australia, the United States, New Zealand and in many parts of Canada. His subject matter most often centres around the need and the method for creating entrepreneurial and vital communities. His work has been featured in the Globe & Mail's Report on Business, Canadian Living & Profit magazines, on CBC radio’s Sounds Like Canada, and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Mike is the past president of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation. He serves on the advisory committee of the Canadian Rural Research Network and is a past member of the Co-operative Development Initiative of Canada.  He holds degrees from Carleton University (MA in Public Administration) and the University of Western Ontario (Economics).

Mike also writes and presents as the Happy Economist, trying to bring community, quality of life, and well-being (genuine wealth) back into economics.

Mike enjoys photography, videography, kayaking, running, cross country skiing, hockey, road and mountain biking, and spending time with his family.