OTTAWA—On the eve of the official opening ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Their Excellencies the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, and Mr. Jean-Daniel Lafond will meet with over 500 young leaders to mark the Olympic Winter Games through a high-energy discussion, entitled the GG's 2010 Olympic Truce Youth Dialogue: Promoting Mutual Understanding.
This 22nd Governor General's Youth Dialogue will focus on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Truce and how peace, mutual understanding, inclusion and co-operation can be used in communities to resolve many of the common challenges faced by society today.
"I believe that sport, like art, has the power to unite us, and that peace is always possible and can be built by seemingly simple gestures," said the Governor General, patron of the Olympic Truce. This dialogue will engage Canadians from coast to coast to coast to break down the walls of prejudice and injustice, and to work together on building mutual understanding for a stronger Canada and a better humanity".
Presented as part of the Vancouver 2010 Indigenous Youth Gathering, this intercultural dialogue will also bring together Olympic athletes, young leaders, participants in the Gathering, foreign dignitaries, government officials and other special guests on Thursday, February 11, 2010, at 9 a.m., at the Vancouver Public Library's Central Branch (350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia).
Watch the GG's 2010 Olympic Truce Youth Dialogue live
The Youth Dialogue will be webcast at www.sharingthedream.gov.bc.ca/resources/ on February 11th at 9 a.m., as part of the British Columbia Ministry of Education's Sharing the Dream webcast series. The webcast will also be available at www.gg.ca.
Get involved online
Canadians from across the country can contribute to the dialogue through the www.citizenvoices.gg.ca online forum, or by posting a comment on the Canada Code Challenge Web site, at http://canadacode.vancouver2010.com/challenge/michaelle-jean.
About the Governor General's Youth Dialogues
Building on the momentum generated by the Governor General's last four years of engagement across Canada and overseas, the GG's Youth Dialogues 'Can We Talk' series focuses on galvanizing Canadians in every part of the country to become catalysts of hope, creativity and social transformation in their neighbourhoods, villages, reserves, communities and in broader society. Her Excellency shares the ideas and perspectives presented during the dialogues with decision makers. To date, 21 Youth Dialogues have been hosted in Canada and abroad. For more information, please visit www.youth.gg.ca.
About the Indigenous Youth Gathering
The Indigenous Youth Gathering is hosted by the Four Host First Nations and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). The Gathering will bring together more than 300 First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth from across Canada. The 2010 Winter Games mark the first time in Olympic Games history that the IOC and the Organizing Committee recognize Indigenous peoples as official partners in the Games.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler, from February 12 to 28, 2010, while the Paralympic Games will be held from March 12 to 21, 2010. For more information, please visit www.vancouver2010.com.
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Media are asked to confirm their attendance no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, with the Rideau Hall Press Office at meletourneau@gg.ca.
Media must bring their power bars as power is limited on site.
Media Information:
For information about the Governor General's Youth Dialogue, please contact:
Marie-Ève Létourneau
Rideau Hall Press Office
613-998-0287
613-302-0219 (cell)
meletourneau@gg.ca
For information about the Indigenous Youth Gathering, please contact:
Dallas Squire
Four Host First Nations Communications
778-990-9545
FHFNcommunications@gmail.com
For information about the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, please contact:
Suzanne Walters
VANOC Communications
604-403-2386
604-404-9629 (cell)
suzanne_walters@vancouver2010.com
