Archive for March, 2010

Nous sommes très honorés car Madame Mary Simon est une figure emblématique, voici quelques lignes pour la présenter :Madame Simon a consacré sa vie à une meilleure reconnaissance des droits des Autochtones et pour la réalisation de la justice sociale pour les Inuits et autres peuples autochtones tant au niveau national qu’ international, mettant un accent particulier pour les enfants ainsi que pour la préservation de la langue inuit.Mary May Simon was born in Kangiqsualujjuaq (George River) in Nunavik (Northern Quebec). She was elected to the position of President Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami in July 2006.She was the Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade from 1994 to 2003. Ms. Simon was the Canadian Ambassador to Denmark (1999-2001) concurrently during her Circumpolar position, a member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee of NAFTA’s Commission on Environmental Cooperation (1997-2000), and was the chairperson from 1997-98. Ms. Simon was the Chancellor of Trent University (1995 to 1999).Ms. Simon has devoted her life’s work towards gaining further recognition of Aboriginal rights and to achieving social justice for Inuit and other Aboriginal peoples nationally and internationally, with a particular focus on children and youth, and the preservation of the Inuit language. She began her career with the CBC Northern Service as a producer and announcer. She was subsequently elected Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (1976-1978). From 1978-1985, Ms. Simon was elected 1st Vice-President and then President of the Makivik Corporation and went on to hold a number of positions with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada’s National Inuit Organization. For 14 years (1980-1994), she served as Executive Council Member, President and Special Envoy of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference.Mary Simon was one of the senior Inuit negotiators during the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution as well as the First Minister Meetings (FMM) that took place in the 1980’s and the Charlottetown Accord. Ms. Simon also served as a member of the Nunavut Implementation Commission in 1993 until her appointment as Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs.In 1994, Ms Simon was appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada to be the first Canadian Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs. As part of her work, she was instructed by the Government of Canada to take the lead in negotiating an eight country council, which is now known as the Arctic Council. This Council was established in 1996 and includes the active participation of the indigenous peoples of the Circumpolar Region. During her Chairmanship of the Arctic Council and subsequently as the Canadian Government, Senior Arctic Official, she worked closely with the Indigenous “Permanent Participant’s” of the Arctic Council, as well as the 7 other Arctic Countries, including Russia.Mary Simon has received many honours for her leadership in developing strategies for Aboriginal and Northern affairs. She has been awarded the Order of Canada, National Order of Quebec, the Gold Order of Greenland, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award and the Gold Medal of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She is a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America and of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.She has received honorary doctorate of law degrees from McGill, Queen’s, Memorial, Guelph, and Trent Universities.www.itk.cawww.itk.ca/blog/mary-simonhttp://en.http://www.isuma.tv/hi/fr/arctic-languages/arctic-indigenous-languages-symposium-mary-simon.org/wiki/Mary_Simon

Nombreux sont les visiteurs nous ont demandé pourquoi nous n’avions mis que très peu de photos du Nunavik sur le blogue. C’est une très bonne question !En effet, nous vous offrons des photos pour les fonds d’écran, avec cependant qu’une seule photo du cratère… Cela peut paraître étrange, c’est vrai. C’est un choix délibéré. Nous gardons le plaisir de la surprise, de la découverte pour la sortie du livre ! Il faut savoir garder ses secrets pour mieux les révéler au moment opportun. En attendant, vous avez la possibilité de découvrir les photos de Mario aux quatre coins du monde (Antilles, Mauritanie, Croatie…). La galerie Flickr va être alimentée au fur et à mesure pour vous donner plus à voir…Vous pouvez ainsi voyager tout en gardant le Nunavik en tête !

I am aware that the blog should have been in English and in Inuktituk because of the theme of the book and to be able to reach more people. I apologize for that. The blog is my initiative to create more synergy around the book project. Unfortunately, I have no time at all to translate all the content nor do I have any skill (I am French from the south of France). I hope you understand.However, one of the most important features of the project is that the book is in three languages – Inuktituk, English and French!We’ll keep in touch and hope to see you in October 2010 for the release of the book.Cheers!