Iqaluit (May 12/03) - Janice Mathewsie has an important job.

It is her responsibility to ensure the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) keeps the communication lines open with Baffin region beneficiaries and within the organization itself.

It's a job she takes seriously.

"It's one of the priorities of the board of directors. It's very important to be able to access information," said Mathewsie.

On a regular basis Mathewsie develops strategies to ensure effective internal and external communications to articulate their goals, projects and vision for the QIA.

Her department also provides interpretive and translation services.

"We put a lot of emphasis on Inuktitut. Everything we do has to be translated," said Mathewsie.

"We have to ensure the beneficiaries understand clearly, that is why Inuktitut is so important."

To further that goal Mathewsie is currently working on revamping the QIA Web site.

"Our web site was designed to provide information for Southerners in the past," she said.

With more people in the North logging on to the Internet, Mathewsie said it is time to use their Web site as an avenue for communicating with their clients.

"We'll be including Inuktitut on our Web site as our primary language. That will be a big project to create a bilingual Web site," she said.

To help facilitate communication at the community level, Mathewsie works closely with community liaison workers who are new to the organization this year.

Through those new positions each community has a representative over and above members of the executive, to whom they can provide feedback and input.

Overall, Mathewsie said, her job is both rewarding and challenging.

"One thing I like about my job is it allows me to be creative. Every day is different and I can be dealing with a number of different project all in one day," she said.