ABCtech #79 28DEC16 Open Letter to the Alberta Government

ABCtech #79 28-DEC-16 Open Letter to the Alberta Government

The following letter was delivered today to the MLAs of the Alberta Government in recognition of help received in the conduct of our recent Convention – “Creating the new Alberta – Vision & Leadership.” A Convention Program was attached to each letter. – Editor

December 28th, 2016

Dear Alberta Government MLAs,

Please accept our sincere appreciation for your support in helping fund our Convention, “Creating the new Alberta – Vision and Leadership”. The program is attached. In return we’d like to share with you the highlights and resolutions stemming from the event.

Over 250 attended the Convention with another 700 viewers On-line.  Alberta’s Youth were recognized in the granting of our 2nd Innovation Award and was received on their behalf by Alberta Junior Achievement.

Of the 14 industries and 6 professions invited to present BIG ideas for fixing Alberta’s economy, the three “best” – receiving the most votes, were:

1. Agriculture & Food Processing – Paul Pryce
2. Education & Creativity – Haley Simons
3. Alternative Energies – Allan Offenberger

These were each awarded a 45-minute interview on the webinar “Building the Future” aired by Hybrid Ventures out of Atlanta to over 300 thousand across the USA and into Europe.

Other Big Idea presentations in the Top 10 worthy of honorable mention were: Finance & Accounting (Robert McGarvey), Construction & Real Estate (Peter Wardell), Mining & Mineral Processing (Michael Dufresne), Health & BioTech (Peter Fenwick), and Forestry & Wood Products (Dalibor Houck).  Rounding out the top 10 were: Transportation & Logistics (Peter Wallis) and Engineering & Design (Craig Eastman).  All 20 presentations are available for viewing at ABCtech.ca

Presentations of the associated Very BIG ideas included:

1. “Going Global” (Klaas Rodenburg and Kevin Horek) – linking Alberta with innovation zones in Europe (Brainport, NL) and establishing global broadcasting channels for profiling Alberta innovations and innovators.
2. “Engaging Youth” (Terry Godwaldt) – conducting a campaign in 2017 through the Centre for Global Education for engaging 5,000 Alberta high school students in team projects for designing the Alberta they envision.
3. “People Power” (Tema Frank and Simon Raby) – acknowledging the capacity of emerging technologies for the customization of personal services and the relevance of small business enterprise for innovation and job creation.

The Convention’s closing plenary session was designed to consolidate the attendees’ ideas for advancing Alberta’s economic recovery and long-term economic diversification. There were several including:

1. Education. Adding entrepreneurship as an option to Alberta’s curriculum and supporting mentorship of entrepreneurs. Educating Alberta’s markets about Alberta innovations and innovators.
2. Planning Ahead.Aligning public investments in infrastructure and procurement processes with goals of industry development and objectives to commercialize technology. Expecting Alberta’s socio-economic planning to take a more deliberate future orientation, e.g. introducing “Chief Futuristic Officers”. Introducing a new financial model and investment fund that values intangible assets.
3. Vision & Leadership. Developing local leaders in economic development for taking collaborative action on a Regional basis. Encouraging the formation of employee-owned corporations for creating a more sustainable economy. Identifying and transferring best practices between industries and expecting more creativity from Alberta’s professions.

We would be pleased to elaborate on the above and the independent contribution of Alberta’s NGOs – est. 25,000, in “Creating the new, more resilient Alberta!”

Sincerely,

for

Klaas Rodenburg, President

Alberta Council of Technologies Society

#316, 9488-51 Avenue

Edmonton, AB  T6E 5A6

Local (780)990-5874  TF 1-866-241-7535

bcc. Alberta Council of Technologies Society