Mr. Speaker, February 18

th to 22

nd is Education Week and is also

Heritage Week.

To celebrate Heritage Week, the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre is hosting a number of heritage-themed free events in partnership with the City of Yellowknife, including Amazing Family Sundays, an art show and guided tours of the Back Bay Cemetery. Association Franco-Culturelle de Yellowknife is hosting a youth film night and school programs. The Norman Wells Historical Society is offering snowshoe-making workshops and Fort Smith’s Northern Life Museum is holding behind-the-scenes tours of its facility and collections. These activities highlight our collective heritage and culture, and provide unique learning opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, technology is a powerful force in the lives of youth. Young people are immersed in this, moving beyond traditional boundaries as they access, absorb, communicate, create and repurpose media content. Youth need to develop critical thinking skills and awareness of how powerful the Internet can be and how it can impact their lives. They must be comfortable walking in two worlds, where they are proud ambassadors for their culture but also well versed in modern technology.

The theme for Education Week is Innovative Learning, which shines a light on the opportunities to use technology and culture inside the classroom. Our new video contest encourages second language learning. To enter, youth can submit a video clip of themselves learning to speak any of our territory’s 11 official languages. As we move into Aboriginal Languages Month and French Week, we will use the video clips received from this contest to promote language speaking across the North. In our approach to northern education, it is essential that we integrate our culture and language into our learning environments.

Our French Weeks, or Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, will take place March 8

th to 24

th . It is

an annual national initiative to promote and celebrate French language and culture. The theme for 2013 is Joie de vivre. This year, French

translators from the francophone affairs secretariat will facilitate hands-on workshops with students at both Ecole Allain St-Cyr in Yellowknife and Ecole Boreale in Hay River.

As the world continues to look north with increasing curiosity, these kinds of activities contribute to our larger body of work in language preservation, culture and education, helping our cultural communities create interesting perspectives on where and how we live. We have a tremendous opportunity to showcase this work for the upcoming Northern Scene Festival from April 25

th to May 4

th ,

2013, in Ottawa. Northern Scene is part of a series of nationwide arts presentations providing opportunities for exposure, as well as marketing and economic opportunities. The department, along with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, has committed $200,000 to Northern Scene from existing resources.

Mr. Speaker, education, cultural preservation and language revitalization in the Northwest Territories are priorities and opportunities for the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and we employ many approaches to share these messages. With strategic and measured steps in all of our programming and initiatives, we are on a new path of discovery and economic opportunity, which will help us achieve our goals as an Assembly, with healthy, educated Northerners and proud cultural ambassadors. Mahsi, Mr. Speaker.