Today for Canadian Innovation Week we celebrate all of the young Canadian innovators and organizations that are supporting them along the way.

The innovation of tomorrow, starts with the youth, today.

Many Manitoba and Nunavut organizations are heavily reliant on volunteer boards, societies, and non-profits to serve the most vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, and partly as a result of the pandemic, many of these organizations lack governance and management capacity, support, and the stability required to secure adequate funding, fulfill legal and reporting requirements, retain staff, and prevent burnout. 

As a locally and regionally-focused community economic development project, Niriqatiginnga works to support and increase the participation of northern Indigenous communities and businesses in Manitoba and northern food sector opportunities. It also supports much needed organizational capacity building using participatory, arts-based hub and cluster-style approaches.

In addition to incubating food sector skills development, youth from Niriqatiginnga are involved in planning and design for future food production, developing an online marketplace and supporting social entrepreneurship programming. As a social programming component it works to enable Indigenous Peoples and Northerners to make their own decisions with respect to their food systems through creative food sector entrepreneurship.  

From zero hunger to climate change adaptation, gender equality and no poverty by 2030, the project recently created a cool SDG Action Tracker page. They’re using it to help measure how project activities align to each of the Sustainable Development Goals. It’s one of the first projects the Youth, Arts and Media team have been working on this spring. Starting this June, Inuit youth from Nunavut will work with Manitoba-based artists and entrepreneurs to explore climate, cultural and creative entrepreneurship as part of their summer program.

This year’s programming builds on the group’s artsincubator.ca pilot program, to establish dynamic online hub for Manitoba’s food, arts and culture sectors. The original arts incubator model was seeded with strategic innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse in 2021 and 2022 and the Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 program in 2023.

This May, students, youth, artists and researchers from Nunavut, Manitoba, Minnesota and Alaska are preparing for a number of exciting sessions and presentations to be held during Arctic Congress 2024. The international conference will take place May 29-June 3 in Bodø, Norway. For information on upcoming events and presentations visit the Niriqatiginnga Events page.

In June, youth team members will begin outreach, consultation and engagement with food sector and non-profit organizations as part of their media and communications internships. They will also explore Indigenous Cultural Expressions, technology and marketplace development with funding from the ISED Indigenous Intellectual Property Program. This will see relationship development and engagement with other organizations that are also working to build up sectoral capacity.

There’s a lot happening with this little group, that started out with little more than a plastic table just over a year ago. None of the program’s activities would be possible without a lot of support. Winter and spring 2024 activities have been supported with funding from a number of organizations including: Agriculture Canada and the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Skills Program (YESP) Manitoba Agriculture, the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. We thank them for their support in making this new, pilot program possible. Learn more about the program’s work at: http://artsincubator.ca

Canadian Innovation Week is an annual event that celebrates and promotes innovation across Canada. Held in May, this week-long event brings together entrepreneurs, inventors, businesses, government officials, and other stakeholders to showcase and highlight the latest innovations and technologies being developed in the country. Throughout the week, various events, workshops, and conferences are held to educate, inspire, and connect innovators from different sectors. These events cover a wide range of topics, such as technology, sustainability, food security, and more.

Take part in Canadian Innovation Week activities

Canadian Innovation Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of innovation in driving economic growth, creating jobs, and solving societal challenges. It also provides a platform for innovators to network, collaborate, and showcase their work to a wider audience. To learn more about how you can take part, visit: https://canadianinnovationspace.ca