OTTAWA -- Leading military and civilian experts from around the globe will be in Ottawa May 31-June 4 to discuss the challenges of making reservists readily available to respond to world-security, overseas operations and disaster assistance missions. The experts will be delegates at the fourth International Conference on Employer Support for Reservists (ICESR) taking place at the Lord Elgin Hotel. The conference program will examine how different militaries throughout the world manage the situation when reservists experience difficulties obtaining time off from their civilian employment and educational institutions to train and serve. Analysis and collaboration on the best practices of Reserve Force Employer Support Programs (RFESP) will feature prominently in these discussions. RFESPs are public affairs programs intended to encourage employer support for reservists and thereby facilitate reservists being granted of leaves of absence for training and overseas operational deployments. Other conference topics will include: challenges caused by reservists being called up with increasing frequency, challenges in successfully addressing conflict between employers and their reservist employees, challenges convincing key decision makers (political, military, members of the civilian population) of the importance and relevance of the RFESP organization and its programs, and challenges recruiting and retaining Reserve Force members. Currently, about 1300 Canadian Forces members are engaged in overseas missions, 208 of whom are members of the Reserve Force. Many NATO and non-NATO countries that contribute forces to international military operations face similar situations. Ten of these countries will be represented at the ICESR including the Australia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, the United States and United Kingdom. The Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC) is hosting the conference. The CFLC is a group of prominent Canadian business leaders, under the chairmanship of John C. Eaton, who direct Canada's RFESP. Media are invited to cover the conference sessions at the Lord Elgin Hotel from 8:00 a.m. to Noon and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily. Media planning to attend are requested to contact Major Richard Gower, CFLC Public Affairs Officer, at (W) 613- 992-328 4 or (C) 613-720-2729 for more details. -30-
