Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jun 03/98) - Keewatin residents will have an opportunity to take a multimedia course in Rankin Inlet this summer thanks to a new initiative between the NWT and Manitoba.

Richard Connelly, managing director for Kivalliq Partners in Development, said the course is part of an exchange between the organization that provides assistance to regional businesses and the College Universite de Saint-Boniface in Winnipeg.

Representatives from the college were in the region last week to make a video for Kivalliq Partners and they have agreed help teach a multimedia course in August, open to all residents of the Keewatin.

"We're getting training in exchange for getting people up here for a video," he said. "We're kind of following the spirit of the MOU (memorandum of understanding between the GNWT and the Manitoba government to improve business relations)."

The multimedia course, the first of its kind to be offered in the region, is available to 16 people and will be offered at Leo Ussak elementary school for six days in early August.

"Something like this has never been done," said Connelly. "Depending on its success, we can do it again next year."

The promotional video, filmed over a week in Rankin Inlet and Arviat, is designed to tell the story of Kivalliq Partners and the businesses it's involved within the region.

There is also a trip to Coral Harbour planned for July 28 and 29 to continue gathering footage for the video. Connelly said that the video will be primarily used for promotion within the business sector to educate people about Kivalliq Partners, but added that a second video may be done next year to be used for tourism.

This video would include the other Keewatin communities not featured on this year's video.

Ron Lamoureux and Louis Dornez of the College Universite de Saint-Boniface were responsible for most of the shooting for the video, but Joey Hidalgo, Noah Tiktak, Dorothy St. John and Jessie Kaludjak of Rankin Inlet were also involved in making the video.

The main message of the project is that Partners has found a different way of doing things and it works.

Kivalliq Partners in Development, made up of the Department of Economic Development, Sakku Investments and Kivalliq Business Development, was formed out of a need to help new businesses with funding, planning and workforce needs.