Symposium explores paths to creative knowledge.
THE CREATIVE PATH. Lauren Ogilvie, a photography student at Haliburton School of the Arts, teaches the finer points of felting in a breakout session at the Knowledge Network’s Paths to Creative Knowledge symposium at Nipissing University on Saturday, Oct. 27. (Photo by Pamela Steel)
Pamela Steel
MUSKOKA - Educational opportunities in Muskoka were explored during a symposium at Nipissing University on Saturday, Oct. 27.
The free event featured keynote speaker Emily Pohl Weary, a panel discussion, workshops, a networking luncheon and an educational marketplace.
About 80 people were registered for the symposium, which was organized as the culminating event of a yearlong project by the Knowledge Network.
Arlene Belanger travelled to Bracebridge from her home in Kilworthy for the event. She hoped to have the chance to network with like-minded people.
“I’m a crafty person,” she said. “I like to play with leather and wood and I see people actually making a living playing. I would like to learn how to do that.”
Currently Belanger works five part-time jobs.
Presenters included Muskoka Futures, Haliburton School of the Arts, Learning in the Knowledge Age, the Business Enterprise Resource Network, Northern Lights Canada and artist Pat Hillcoat. Several other organizations participated in the afternoon’s educational marketplace, including Muskoka Chautauqua, the Muskoka Small Business Centre and YMCA literacy and employment services.
Topics covered included skills development and business incubation, understanding how you learn and how to use that information to advance your career, ways to make money with business ideas, the rights and responsibilities in terms of health and safety in the workplace. Creative workshops included a felting class and learning how to manage a creative project.