CAP Success Stories - January   Prepared by Jo Mrozewski, Industry Canada Vancouver

Strengthening Francophone Community

Campbell River - L'Association Francophone de Campbell River (AFCR)

The first Francophone CAP site in B.C. opened in 1998, thanks to CAP funding and the hard work of members of l'Association francophone de Campbell River. The opening of the site coincides with the twentieth anniversary of the AFCR. Over that time the association has created an active community of approximately 500 people out of individuals isolated in the population at large. The new site helps solidify and extend the identity of that community, and increases local awareness of francophone culture. The AFCR now has an extensive website that publicizes AFCR activities and resources, many of them for francophone and francophile school children. The site also has comprehensive links to francophone resources across Canada and around the world, resources that local residents have difficulty accessing otherwise, yet which are essential to maintaining their cultural identity. Through CAP, the AFCR is also developing local on-line resources such as a French community job network, a French tourism network, and services for francophone entrepreneurs. The CAP site is in the AFCR offices, but is not exclusively for the use of french-speakers. Everyone in the area is welcome to use the site facilities, participate in training using the francophone resources, and learn more about francophone language and culture with the help of the Internet.
http://oberon.ark.com/~franco/ or after May 1 http://afcr.bc.ca/

High-Volume, Hands-on Training for Special Groups

Creston - Kootenay Employment Services Society (KES)

Seniors are demolishing the stereotype that they're not interested in computers, and the trainers at Kootenay Employment Services are helping them do it. When community members were surveyed by CAP Youth workers, one of the greatest demands for training came from seniors. Course registration was offered during Seniors' Days at the local supermarket and all available courses were filled quickly. KES manager Donna Carlyle says most seniors are keen to use e-mail to keep in touch with family and friends, but many also want to research their interests on the Web and develop computer job skills. Carlyle says Internet and computer skills help seniors find part-time work to supplement their pensions. The success of the sessions, like others offered by the agency comes from trainers' abilities to modify workshops to fit the needs and abilities of learners. The KES CAP site has made community training its main priority. It has five staff offering a range of sessions every weekday morning. The full sessions and high volume of people through the door are proof of the demand. The agency was started to help people with developmental disabilities find jobs, and has grown now to serve all residents of the Creston Valley. KES helps them develop the computer skills they need for work, and gives them "Career Explorer" job research sessions. The "Career Explorer" courses are offered also to young people finishing school. Elsewhere in the community, KES has offered training to more than 40 non-profit organizations, so they can improve their effectiveness in meeting community needs. KES also partners with the local college to provide courses ranging from Internet training to desktop publishing. During afternoons and one evening a week, the KES computer lab is open for unlimited drop-in use. It's always busy.
dc@kes.bc.ca

Coffee, Tea ... or E-mail?

Whistler - Whistler Community Schools, Public Library, Chamber of Commerce, Resort Municipality of Whistler

The CAP Internet Café, "Why Not Wednesday" coffee clubs and business lunches were the hot tickets in Whistler in the summer of 1998. Their success in mixing social activities and Internet training won Whistler recognition as one of the country's best sustained CAP projects. The community has four CAP sites, each serving different functions; the one at Whistler Secondary Community School does community training. Its weekly "coffee club" had topics such as E-mail Mama, Home and Garden, and Healthy Living. The "business lunch" featured Internet Business Capabilities, Legal Issues, and the Future of Internet Business. The sessions were free, and always full, even through the sunniest summer on record. The Internet Café continues. School co-ordinator Sheila Mozes says it's always packed, and people show up even when it's closed. The cafe is looking at ways to extend its hours. The other local sites are always booked to capacity as well. High school students have played a big part in CAP success. With one professional trainer they delivered the summer program, trained trainers at other sites, and now operate the Café on their own. By charging a small fee, they've made it self-financing. This is one of the most affluent communities in Canada, but its huge population of seasonal workers, its permanent residents, small businesses and hundreds of thousands of tourists use the CAP sites for essential electronic connection to friends, family, travel information and business development.
http://www.whistlerweb.net/Library/