This is the first international event to bring Indigenous housing leaders, politicians, policymakers, researchers and corporate leaders from around the world together to learn from best practices, build a global network, and showcase Indigenous cultures.
An outstanding lineup of international leaders in Indigenous housing will speak at the 2012 World Indigenous Housing Conference, being held June 11-15, 2012, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is the first international event to bring Indigenous housing leaders, politicians, policymakers, researchers and corporate leaders from around the world together to learn from best practices, build a global network, and showcase Indigenous cultures.
Keynote speakers and presenters will cover five conference themes—Sharing Our Stories, Governance and Capacity Building, Government Partnerships, Housing as a Determinant of Health, and Disaster Preparedness. WIHC speakers include:
Well-known TV host and housing expert Mike Holmes will give the opening keynote address at the conference on Building Homes and Building Skills—a partnership between the Assembly of First Nations in Canada and the Holmes Group—to renovate housing in the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation in Ontario, and build a sustainable community based on green practices. Mike Holmes stars in Holmes on Homes®, the #1 show on HGTV Canada, which is syndicated in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany and South Africa. Mike Holmes will also lead a workshop at the conference—Rebuilding Devastated Communities—on strategies for Indigenous communities to build the social, financial and technical capacity to respond to natural disasters.
National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations will open the conference and join Mike Holmes to share information on the AFN-Holmes Group Pilot Project, designed to build housing, skills and employment capacity in First Nations communities. Ultimately, this project will lead to the creation of a First Nation Centre of Excellence on green, sustainable community design, led by the AFN. A-in-chut is a Hereditary Chief from the Ahousaht First Nation in British Columbia, and was elected AFN National Chief in July 2009, following two terms as Regional Chief of the BC AFN. He has a Masters of Education in Adult Learning and Global Change from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia (in partnership with the Universities of BC, Western Cape South Africa, and Linkoping Sweden).
The Honourable Linda Burney is the first Aboriginal Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the most senior Aboriginal politician in Australia. She was a senior Cabinet Minister in the NSW Labor Government, and is currently Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She was also an executive member of the National Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Director-General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and President of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. At the 2012 World Indigenous Housing Conference, Linda Burney will lead a workshop on Women in Leadership to share insights and strategies for Indigenous women in leadership roles, based on her unique experiences as an Indigenous leader and politician.
Chief Clarence Louie from the Osoyoos Indian Band, British Columbia, has emphasized economic development as a means to improve his people’s standard of living. Under his direction, the OIB has established nine businesses and employs hundreds of people. Chief Louie is Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board, and has received numerous awards, including the Order of British Columbia, the province’s highest honour for outstanding achievement. At the WIHC, Chief Louie will lead a workshop called Foundations for Success on a leadership model Indigenous communities can use to preserve language and culture through economic development and wealth creation, developed by Harvard University.
Geoff Scott is Chief Executive Officer of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is a Founding Editor of the Journal of Indigenous Policy and has participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People, through the NSW council. At the 2012 WIHC, Geoff Scott will share the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Model for Indigenous Housing: working to secure the return of culturally significant, economically viable land, and pursuing cultural, social and economic independence for Aboriginal people in Australia.
Dr. Evan Adams is a Coast Salish physician and actor from the Sliammon Band near Powell River, BC. He is Director of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health in the University of BC Department of Family Practice, and the Aboriginal Health Physician Advisor to the BC Ministry of Health. Evan Adams has also starred in the Emmy Award-winning movie, Lost in the Barrens, its sequel Curse of the Viking Grave, the Business of Fancydancing, and Smoke Signals, for which he won Best Actor awards from the American Indian Film Festival and from First Americans in the Arts. Dr. Adams will lead a workshop on Social Investment and Creativity in Housing Solutions for Better Health, examining stories of successful interventions that impact housing and health.
Other distinguished speakers have also been invited, including:
· The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian Minister of Health, to give a keynote address on the crucial link between housing and health, a key conference theme
· Professor James Anaya, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to give a keynote presentation on his mandate to promote “good practices, including new laws, government programs, and constructive agreements between Indigenous peoples and states, to implement international standards concerning the rights of Indigenous people”
· A keynote panel discussion among national housing ministers from Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand to share their knowledge of best practices in Indigenous housing
In addition, the 2012 World Indigenous Housing Conference will include:
· A by-invitation workshop for government leaders and officials to exchange knowledge and ideas with their peers in other countries
· Evening cultural receptions to showcase Indigenous performers
· A tour of Vancouver-area Indigenous housing operations
“The World Indigenous Housing Conference offers an unprecedented opportunity for dialogue among international Indigenous housing leaders and government officials,” says Mellor Willie, Executive Director of the National American Indian Housing Council, and a member of the International WIHC Committee. “We will create a database of success stories and best practices everyone can use to expand capacity in their own countries, and a network to sustain connections beyond the conference.”
“We will also take recommendations on Indigenous housing from our conference forward to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for international action, as the Aboriginal Housing Management Association in BC, which is hosting the conference, is an official UNPFII participant,” adds Andrew Leach, 2012 WIHC Director and AHMA Chief Executive Officer.
The 2012 WIHC focuses on Indigenous housing providers from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, because these developed countries share common housing experiences and have established infrastructure. Consequently, the knowledge exchange at Sharing Our Stories; Sharing Our Successes is expected to help enable Indigenous people around the world achieve self-sufficiency and prosperity.
For more information:
· For information on the WIHC and/or sponsorship, contact Andrew Leach, AHMA CEO, at 604-921-2462 or
· To register for the 2012 WIHC, visit www.indigenous2012