For immediate release
January 24, 2012


Community Image Summit 2.0 – a dialogue about our region

On the heels of the first successful Community Image Summit held last year – Keyano College and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo are pleased to bring to you the second Community Image Summit on February 2.  The unCONFERENCE will be held in Elements at the Clearwater Campus.

“The Community Image Summit 2.0 is going to be a conversation that builds on the first full day of dialogue and discovery about our community image that was held last January. We brought communications professionals together to talk about how we can do a better job achieving a sense of balance about how we are perceived by the outside world,” explains Russell Thomas, Director, Marketing & Communications, Keyano College.

The unCONFERENCE theme implies there is no set agenda for the event.  Participants determine the topics, and any potential outcomes.

“This is going to be a very democratic and transparent process that will also be shared, in real-time, on Facebook and Twitter.  We hope that those unable to join us can drop in from time to time to see what we’re talking about and to share their ideas,” continued Thomas.

In addition, the summit will be an invaluable chance for networking.  Thomas says this is a great opportunity to not only have a dialogue about our image, but also to create a more balanced perspective about our region.

“The better job we do creating a sense of appreciation and understanding about our community and region, the easier it will be to attract and retain the people we need.  We’re about to go through an unparalleled period of growth and development that will demand an influx of people from around the world.  This is a great place to live, work, play and learn.  We want them to understand that long before they come here.  However, some of the negative media coverage that we get makes it difficult to inspire a shared vision for the world of opportunity that exists in Wood Buffalo.”

The session starts at 1:30 p.m. with a discussion until 5 p.m.  A social and supper will follow before conclusions are discussed from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Cost is $45. For tickets, please visit:  www.keyano.ca/theatre.


For more information, please contact:
Kiran Malik-Khan
Communications Specialist
Marketing & Communications
Keyano College
780-791-8971
Kiran.Malik-Khan@keyano.ca

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