BEAVER ISLAND, MICHIGAN—Manitoulin Island will be represented at the 2017 Islands Summit themed ‘Laying the Foundation for a Great Lakes Coalition’ being held next week on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan.
“Jim Nies, a member of the Manitoulin Area Stewardship Committee and a summer resident of Kagawong, passed the information on to me just last week, saying it was a shame if Manitoulin wasn’t represented,” explained Manitoulin Expositor Editor and Publisher Alicia McCutcheon. “I thought it would be a great idea and, as The Expositor covers as much Great Lakes items as we can pertaining to Manitoulin and Lake Huron, and with urging from Jim, decided to go. My mother, Julia, will also be attending the event.”
“The 2017 Islands Summit will bring together island community leaders from all around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region to discuss the unique challenges of living, working and playing on islands,” the Summit website states. “Participants will identify common needs across islands and learn about best practices and other solutions that have already proven successful on islands. Leaders from the Island Institute (Rockland, Maine) will be joining us to share their experience and help guide our discussions. Here in the Great Lakes region, there is enormous untapped opportunity in establishing regular communication and collaboration between island communities and raising awareness among the mainland public. We hope the Summit will lay the foundation for a new coalition of island communities, where islands would reap the benefits of a peer-to-peer network yet remain individually empowered to seek their own unique path for growth and sustainability.”
“I have a feeling that Manitoulin is going to be the black sheep of the Great Lakes islands represented, not only because so far we are the only Canadian presence, but because Manitoulin is undoubtedly unlike any other island in the lakes,” Ms. McCutcheon said. “We are unique in terms of our size, our shared culture, as well as economically speaking. It will all be very interesting and we’re looking forward to the two-day lineup.”
There are over 50 people attending the Summit representing 10 island communities. Manitoulin is the only Canadian Great Lake island attending as of press time Monday.
See future editions of this paper for full coverage from the 2017 Islands Summit.
