February 15, 2013 - 2:45am
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2013
Issued by the City of Nanaimo
Nanaimo BC – The City of Nanaimo, the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, and Vancouver Island University are pleased to announce that they will be working together on exploring with the community, a new collaborative structure that will take the Chamber’s Successful Cities Committee and the City’s Progress Nanaimo Committee to a single new entity that will guide the community in its move toward a Successful City.
"VIU is pleased to build on its contribution to the Successful Cities dialogue taking place in Nanaimo," said VIU President and Vice-Chancellor Ralph Nilson.
"Our Provost, Dave Witty, has chaired the Successful Cities initiative at the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce. VIU supports the notion that Successful Cities require a solid foundation composed of a well-planned built environment, vibrant cultural and economic sectors, healthy natural environment and resilient social fabric. VIU looks forward to continuing to contribute to the discussion as Nanaimo continues to transition to one of British Columbia’s most Successful Cities."
Mike Delves, Chair of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce said, "In recognizing its role in the greater community, the Chamber explored how the concept of Successful Cities could be applied to Nanaimo. We engaged in community consultation and a number of events and presented the Successful Cities program to City Council.
"Subsequently they included the 12 elements of Successful Cities in the City’s Strategic Plan. The Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has adopted the 12 Successful Cities elements as a guiding principle. Economic, social, cultural and natural and built environment conditions are interdependent and this is an opportunity for us all to focus on common goals."
“I am proud of our City following our Strategic Plan by building alliances and partnerships with VIU and the Chamber of Commerce on initiatives where we share similar outcomes and constituents.
"A community driven process to achieving Successful Cities status is not only a exciting goal it is certainly within reach of our fine City if we work together with all of our community partners,” said the City of Nanaimo’s Mayor John Ruttan.
The three parties involved will be scheduling public meetings in the near future to engage in public workshops to determine how best this structure should be developed to be inclusive and appropriately represent the five pillars of our society, those being, the environment, economy, culture, social fabric, and the built environment.
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Contact:
Mayor Ruttan
City of Nanaimo
250-755-4400
Ian Howat
Director of Strategic
Relationships
City of Nanaimo
250-755-4502
Tags: In the Community
