Agenda

Regional mobilization meeting, November 11, 2009

On Wednesday November 11, 2009, some 250 people gathered at the Sports Centre Alphonse-Desjardins in Trois-Rivières with the aim of sharing and reflecting on the issue of educational achievement among Mauricie youth. Those attending included representatives of the Mauricie school system, teachers, university researchers, youth workers, police officers, politicians, and representatives of ministries and community organizations.

The meeting had three main objectives: inform, mobilize and engage different players in the youth sector. It also aimed to address the school dropout situation in the Mauricie by examining economic and social issues, proposing and implementing new ideas, and galvanizing all parties to strive for success.

This mobilization day was an initiative of COMPERES (Comité mauricien sur la persévérance et la réussite scolaires), and was commissioned by TREM (Table régionale de l’éducation de la Mauricie. (COMPERES is also now known as COMPETES in English.) As stated by Hélène Corneau, Chair of COMPERES and Deputy Director-General of the Commission scolaire de Chemin-du-Roy, the mission of COMPERES is to mobilize and involve all regional players in countering school dropout.

A content-rich morning
During the morning program, speakers examined various issues related to academic success. Pierre Fortin, a journalist and economist at UQAM, talked about success from an economic standpoint, including the cost of dropping out.
Jules Bergeron, a regional economist with Emploi-Québec, discussed the consequences of the dropout situation for the Mauricie labour market.
Pierre Potvin, a researcher at UQTR, demonstrated a systemic approach toward young people. Michel Perron, a teacher and researcher at UQAC and a member of the ÉCOBES groups, presented charts for 2005-2007 illustrating the rates of school-leaving without high school diplomas for boys and girls in the Mauricie. In addition, he cited as an example of a successful mobilization campaign the experience of CREPAS (Conseil régional de prévention de l'abandon scolaire) in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
Closing the morning session was writer, actor and teacher, Bryan Perro, who delivered a stimulating message on his model of school retention and success.

During the lunch break, participants were invited to visit the Rendez-vous de la formation et des professions, which was being held at the same venue.

A busy afternoon
COMPERES used this mobilization meeting to launch its communication campaign under the theme Soyons compères! [roughly: L ] The campaign was to be disseminated with the collaboration of regional media partners Radio-Canada, TVA, Rythme FM and Le Nouvelliste. This campaign aims to raise awareness among the main players working with young people, including employers, who were urged to limit the average number of working hours of students to 15 a week.

Workshops followed. Participants were able to exchange information on their experiences and propose new ideas for implementation in the Mauricie, to intensify the efforts already being made. To this end, about ten video clips spotlighting the successes of COMPERES partners were presented.

The day ended with an individual commitment on the part of participants and a closing address by Michel Morin, president of TREM and director-general of the Commission scolaire de Chemin-du-Roy. He argued that "by combining our expertise, creativity and strength, we can together launch many initiatives contributing to the success of our young people."

The meeting was considered a success. It certainly enabled stakeholders in various sectors (education, intervention, employment, etc.) to learn more about successes achieved elsewhere in the region and to make their own commitment toward the success of young people in the Mauricie. The ultimate outcome was to encourage the joining together of regional forces and focusing efforts to improve educational persistence and success.

Download highlights of the program (in French only):

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Le cahier du participant

La synthèse des ateliers à télécharger

^{Photo: Émilie O'Connor}

Présentation de COMPERES par la présidente, madame Hélène Corneau

^{Photo: Émilie O'Connor}

Les coûts du décrochage, par monsieur Pierre Fortin, économiste et journaliste, UQAM

^{Photo: Émilie O'Connor}

Les conséquences du décrochage sur le marché du travail en Mauricie, par monsieur Jules Bergeron, économiste régional, Emploi-Québec

^{Photo: Émilie O'Connor}

Approche systémique des agents de réussite autour du jeune, par monsieur Pierre Potvin, chercheur, UQTR

^{Photo: Émilie O'Connor}

Les facteurs de réussite pour la région du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, par monsieur Michel Perron, professeur et chercheur, UQAC et Groupe ECOBES

Thank you!

We at COMPERES/COMPETES sincerely thank everyone who participated in the organization of this event. The experience clearly showed that when we join forces, nothing is impossible. We hope this movement will become contagious and directly benefit the young people of our region in their educational experience. We also hope that this meeting will enable us to achieve our common goal, namely to increase the high school graduation rate in the Mauricie region. In this spirit of hope, we say: to the next time!