The 2008 Canada-UK Colloquium

Set in Montréal, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Canada, the 2008 Canada-UK Colloquium will delve into innovation and lifelong learning and host topic experts and policymakers from both the United Kingdom and Canada. The Colloquium will begin on November 20 with a tour of Montréal, where participants from the United Kingdom may witness firsthand lifelong learning in action at some of Montréal’s businesses and institutions. On November 21 and 22, participants will have the opportunity to engage each other in discussion at the Loews Hotel Vogue in the heart of downtown Montréal.

Knowledge, Innovation and Skills for a Global Economy

As globalisation accelerates the pace and interconnectedness of the world economy, citizens of developed countries like the United Kingdom and Canada must adopt new strategies for human capital development. Citizens and countries need to be innovative and enterprising, and they need to have the knowledge and skills required to develop and market their innovations and enterprises globally. They also need to increase productivity through learning and skills in order to remain competitive. The question Canada and the United Kingdom both face is: how can the organisations that promote and deliver knowledge, skills, and lifelong learning best provide citizens and the country as a whole with what they need to succeed in the global economy?

The 2008 Canada-UK Colloquium seeks to answer this question. Against a backdrop of globalisation and the challenges it brings to social cohesion both within countries and between countries, participants will discuss the gaps in current knowledge, skills and commitment to innovation, and how best to fill them. By bringing together knowledgeable and strategic thinkers from both the United Kingdom and Canada, the two countries will be able to share experiences and vision, offering a comparative perspective and innovative solutions.

The Colloquium will consist of six discussions. The first will assess where each country’s relative strengths and weaknesses are in knowledge, skills, innovation and lifelong learning. Participants will define how both countries frame the issue, and identify objectives to be achieved. The second will examine the advantages and disadvantages of different ways in which citizens can access lifelong learning: through the public, private, and non-profit sectors. The third will identify benchmarks against which to measure the success of these education provision methods, as well as any future initiatives launched to improve upon what we already have. The fourth will deal more specifically with secondary education, and its role as preparation both for post-secondary education and for entry into the labour market. The fifth will move on to the most pressing questions of post-secondary education: the issues of how to improve access and how to provide a fertile setting for innovative research.

The sixth discussion will take the form of discussion groups. This intensive session will allow participants to more thoroughly develop actionable solutions to specific issues in knowledge and skills provision. The intimate forum will bring out the full diversity of opinions and ideas amongst the participants, and enable the United Kingdom and Canada to more meaningfully share ideas and practices, and challenge each other to go beyond what has always been done domestically before.

The Colloquium will result in a published Rapporteur’s Report, outlining the results of the discussions and the solutions proposed by participants. Just as importantly, the Colloquium will also result in lasting connections between some of the most influential citizens of the United Kingdom and Canada, bringing our two countries together in friendship and mutual understanding.

About the Colloquia

The Canada-UK Colloquia are annual discussions aimed at increasing public understanding of the advantages of a close and dynamic relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom. The location alternates between each country, focusing discussion on pressing topics that concern British and Canadian citizens alike. One of the objectives of these discussions is to stimulate research and publications on these subjects. The Canada-UK Colloquia bring together a wide range of people from Canada and the United Kingdom, including parliamentarians, public officials, academics, private sector representatives and graduate students.

The Colloquia are supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the United Kingdom, and by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Canada. They are jointly organised by the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University and the Institute for Research in Public Policy in Canada, and by the Canada-UK Colloquia Committee and its Council in the UK.

For more information on the details of the Canada-UK Colloquium 2008, please visit www.Canada-UK.net.

Draft Program


Président du colloque / Colloquium Chairman :
Mr. Mel Cappe, President and CEO, Institute for Research on Public Policy
Former Clerk of the Privy Council Office and Secretary to Cabinet

Wednesday November 19, 2008 – Arrival

	4:30 p.m. Pick Up at the Airport UK participants arrival at the Trudeau Airport in Montréal at 4:05PM Most depart from Heathrow at approximately 1:30PM (Air Canada flight)
	6:00 p.m. UK participants arrive at the Loews Hotel Vogue 1425 de La Montagne Street (25 minutes from the Trudeau Airport)
	7:15 p.m. Florence Room Reception and Informal Dinner (25 participants)

Thursday November 20, 2008 / – Montreal Innovation Day
Jeudi 20 novembre 2008

	8:30 a.m. Salon Florence Room Breakfast at the Loews Hotel Vogue (25 participants)
	9:00 a.m. Mid-Morning Montreal Tour Departure for the innovation, investment, and lifelong learning study tour of Montréal
	9:30 a.m. Cirque du Soleil 8400, 2e avenue, Montréal, Québec
	12:00 p.m. Lunch at CN Railway: language training 935 de La Gauchetière Street West, Montreal, Quebec
	2:00 p.m. Afternoon Montreal Tour Continued Afternoon study tour activities Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., Ubisoft Canada Inc. 5505, boul. St-Laurent, suite 5000, Montréal, Québec
	4:00 p.m. GlaxoSmithKline R&D Centre 525 Cartier Ouest, Laval, Québec
	7:00 p.m. Salon Florence Room Reception - Cash Bar / Réception - Bar payant (45 participants)
	7:30 p.m. Dinner / Dîner Hosted by a local organisation with a focus on innovation and investment between Canada and the UK

Friday November 21, 2008 / Topics in Knowledge, Innovation and Skills for a Global Economy
Vendredi 21 novembre 2008

	8:00 a.m. Salon Florence Room Breakfast Buffet – Petit-déjeuner buffet (45 participants)
	8:45 a.m. Salon Paris I, II Room Opening Remarks / Mot de bienvenue : Philip Peacock, Chairman of the British Committee CUKC; Professor Arthur Sweetman, School of Policy Studies, and by Introduction of the chairman: Mel Cappe, President, Institute for Research on Public Policy
	9:00 a.m. Session 1 / Séance 1: Our Knowledge, Skills, and Innovation Needs Canada: Arthur Sweetman, Queen’s School of Policy Studies See Abstracts UK: Michael Osbaldeston, Cranfield School of Management See Abstracts
	10:30 a.m. Break / Pause
	11:00 a.m. Session 2 / Séance 2 : Private and Public Sector Roles in Lifelong Learning Canada: TBD See Abstracts UK: TBD
	12:30 p.m. Foyer Paris I, II Lunch Buffet / Déjeuner buffet (45 participants)
	1:00 p.m. Salon Lyon I, II Room Breakout Discussion With a view to providing input for the Rapporteur’s Report, participants will use this session to discuss specific actions the two countries can take to improve each nation’s knowledge, innovative capacity and skills. Special emphasis should be placed on lessons learned from each other in the course of discussion, and how best practices may be adapted from one country to the specific context of the other. Breakout discussion will be conducted around the lunch tables at the facilitators’ discretion. Results are to be submitted to the Rapporteur.
	1:45 p.m. Session 3 / Séance 3 : The Quality and Value of Education and Training Outcomes Canada: Ms. Marie-Lison Fougère, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy and Programs Division, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (Ontario) See Abstracts UK: John Randall, Skills for Justice See Abstracts
	3:15 p.m. Break / Pause
	3:45 p.m. Session 4 / Séance 4 : Priorities of Secondary Education Canada: TBD See Abstracts UK: Baroness Walmsley, LibDem spokesperson on skills
	5:15 p.m. Adjourn discussion for the day
	5:45 p.m. Gather in the Main Lobby of the Hotel Vogue for transportation to the University Club of Montreal / Rencontre dans le hall d’entrée du Loews Hôtel Vogue pour le transport à la reception au Club universitaire de Montréal
	6:15 p.m. Reception / Vin d’honneur (50 Participants & +) University Club Montréal / Club universitaire de Montréal Host / Hôte: Ann Jarrett, UK Consul-General / Consul general du Royaume -Uni
	7:00 p.m. Dinner / Dîner: Keynote speaker / conférencière d’honneur : TBD (50 participants & +) University Club Montreal 2047 Mansfield Street, Montreal

Saturday November 22, 2008 – Actions to be Taken
Samedi le 22 novembre 2008

	8:00 a.m. Salon Florence Room Breakfast Buffet / Petit-déjeuner buffet (45 participants)
	9:00 a.m. Salon Paris I, II Room Session 5 / Séance 5 : Access, Completion and Innovation in Post-Secondary Institutions Canada: Andrew Parkin, Millennium Scholarship Foundation See Abstracts UK: TBD
	10:30 a.m. Break / Pause
	11:00 a.m. Salon Lyon I, II Room Breakout Group Discussion Much as the breakout discussion on Friday, with the same groups, but more results-based. The aim at the end of the session is to have coherent, synthesised responses from both discussions to present to the Rapporteur.
	11:45 a.m. Discussion Group Presentations
	12:30 p.m. Salon Florence I, II Room Lunch / Déjeuner (45 participants) The Rapporteur will take time to organise the responses and his/her notes from the speaker sessions into a presentation, with the help of the discussion group Chairs.
	1:00 p.m. Salon Paris I, II Room Session 6 / Séance 6 : Rapporteur’s Report The Rapporteur will give a brief summary of the topics discussed and the conclusions reached by the participants. She/he will then draw broader conclusions about the state of knowledge, skills, and innovation in the global economy and the directions which the UK and Canada should take faced with the human capital challenge of globalisation. The participants will have an opportunity to comment. Rapporteur: TBD
	2:00 p.m. Meeting of the 2009 Colloquium Organisers Réserver local (15 personnes)
	4:00 p.m. Departure of UK Participants for Trudeau Airport A 25 minute trip for the 7:40PM Air Canada flight, arriving at Heathrow 7:30AM on Sunday, November 23