 I'm Al Dawson, and the program that I participated in was the Aboriginal Eco-Tourism Program through Vancouver University and North Island College, sponsored and supported by the Halisoc Tribal Council. Primarily young adults through obviously adult age participants. The program is geared towards First Nations participants and participants coming from various communities up and down the coast. The aim of the program is to provide an opportunity for First Nations participants to enhance their skills in tourism, also to maybe discover an opportunity in tourism, and also gain some skills and certification in those areas. For me, kayaking was one, which I'm still looking forward to utilizing more in the obviously during tourist season. Also, other activities, canoeing, stand-up paddle board, things like that. Wilderness First Aid was really important. Obviously, there were other areas, other technical courses that were very useful to the students. One of them being Radio Operators Certificate was very beneficial. The program was designed so that students had an opportunity to travel from community to community and participate in the program eight days per month. So they'd spend eight days where they would get intensive study in a couple of areas. And depending on what those communities offered, those eight days, each eight-day period was very intensive and covered a lot of material in a short period of time. And I think that's a really useful and beneficial way of delivering the program. Some of the communities we traveled to were Quadru Island, the Chakalutin Lodge. We spent eight days there. It was our first place we visited. And then obviously Courtney, Nanaimo, we've gone to Lund, Lurt Bay, and Duncan were the communities that we visited. We were fortunate enough to connect with local tourism companies, whether it be kayaking companies, or just a person that provided interpretive guiding in the community. It was a walking visit through the community or areas of the community. Other things we visited were accommodations in communities. A lot of the operators or the people that obviously had businesses in tourism were very supportive to the program, and they offered a lot of guidance in terms of how to get into certain areas, whether it was kayaking or whatever it might be surfing. And we were able to establish quite a network of contacts from the various communities that we visited. Not only did we go to that specific community, but neighboring communities were able to come and offer expertise and support to the program as well. I think the success for me was the fact that such a program offered what I would call a safe place for First Nations participants to study among their peers and feel that support and have that understanding of each other, just by virtue of the fact that they come from similar communities and similar backgrounds. But also, I think it gave a lot of the students and participants an opportunity to really learn more about what they're capable of and also find a passion or establish a passion about the things that they want to do in their lives. Obviously tourism was the focus, but it offered an opportunity for those that probably didn't have the confidence to go out and do other things or the things they wanted to do. It gave them that opportunity to gain confidence and experience and understanding of who they were, and then take off and go and do and experience their lives the way they wanted to do it. Some of the students have gone on to continue their studies, whether it was in tourism or other areas, and others have, such as myself, stayed within the tourism realm and worked for various companies in whale watching or kayaking and things like that. I think the fact that the program we're in, I think, our cohort being the first one, we're in about four or five cohorts now. That itself says a lot for the program. The fact that there's value in the program, so it gets funded, and the funding itself is huge. I think my hope is that it continues, so I think that is in itself a huge bonus to the program to have it run over and over again. So us being the first cohort and now seeing the fourth and fifth cohorts go through is amazing. When you first walk through the door, there's obviously a lot of uncertainty in terms of who we are and what we're capable of, what we all bring to the table. At the end of the day, we discover who each other is and all the tools and experience and things we bring to the table. At the same time, there are things that we're able to have understanding of where mainstream schooling would never offer, so we're able to support each other in those areas. When you see somebody come in and not having the wherewithal or the confidence to maybe stay with the program, we're right there to support them and help them along the way and get them through every step of the way. When they come in, obviously there's a huge lack of confidence or there's a huge uncertainty. At the end of the program, you see a huge shift in them, people coming out, and all of a sudden they've got a voice and that's so important. I think there's a demand for such programs. Myself being part of the first cohort and then obviously the cohorts after ours are a testament to that. If it's not this program, if it's something else and people are pursuing these kinds of things, then yeah, there's obviously a place for it and there's an opportunity for it, a room for it, but in terms of it being geared towards First Nations really offers an opportunity for First Nations participants who desire such a format to study in is really critical, is really important. I think the methodology in mainstream schooling is very structured and it has its benefits and it caters to a certain audience and having said that, First Nations participants are able to explore both methodologies coming from a First Nations background and a lot of us living and working within our First Nations communities. Obviously our approach to study is considerably different. I think that First Nations participants are more tactile learners than more so than academic learners. So the program itself really lent itself to First Nations participants in the sense that it gave us a chance to dabble in the academic world and at the same time maintain the ability to learn hands-on and visually. So that's a very huge plus for participants. There's a lot of business owners that support First Nations whether it's endeavors or interests in tourism and or people seeking opportunities in First Nations people seeking opportunities in tourism. It's huge because I think, I mean especially today I'm seeing a shift in what I do in the whole whale watching marine tour business. A lot of people are looking at at First Nations people saying you need to come on board with us because you know there's a shift now. Whale watching is becoming saturated to a point where I think that we're going to see a change in how whale watching is conducted and more of a shift towards other areas and other opportunities in tourism and I think First Nations are going to be at the forefront in that area so I think it's going to be hugely important for us to maintain our involvement. The Aboriginal Tourism Program, I think for me it's a program that is so beneficial especially it was huge for me it obviously gave me voice and gave me an opportunity to explore things that I otherwise never would have attempted and if there was anything I could say about it would be I hope that and wish that it would continue on and that we get you know five years down the road and see such a program still going on or developing and enhancing into something bigger and I think that would be the one thing that I'm one thing I really think about and I want to see for the program.