February 10, 2010

CALGARY – On behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Lee Richardson, Member of Parliament (Calgary Centre), today announced funding for the Galileo Educational Network Association’s Wild and Free website.

Wild and Free is an online study of wild horses and their Southern Alberta habitat. First Nations Elders, students, artists, ranchers, and wildlife experts participated in the project and are featured on the website through video stories, artwork, computer animations, and interviews. The site also includes previously unseen footage of wild horses in their natural environment, as well as over 140 digitized books and other Aboriginal and environmental resources in a searchable database.

“Through the digitization of oral, written, and photographic histories and documentary information, Wild and Free is sharing the remarkable history of Southern Alberta,” said Minister Moore. “Our Government is proud to support the Galileo Educational Network Association as it strives to preserve and share our experiences with Canadians and the world.”

“We are proud to support this project and provide all Canadians with the opportunity to experience, express, and share their culture,” said Mr. Richardson.

“The idea to create a website that focused on the wild horses of Southern Alberta was an innovative way to appeal to students’ desire to learn more about the horse culture of the First Nations and the place of wild horses in the modern world,” said Brenda Gladstone, Communications Director of the Galileo Educational Network. “The larger benefit is that we now have the opportunity to share the story of wild horses with people all over the world, thanks to the support of the Government of Canada.”
The Galileo Educational Network Association is an independent, charitable organization which creates, promotes, and disseminates innovative teaching and learning practices through research, professional learning, and fostering external collaborations. Galileo works with students, teachers, and policy makers across Canada both on-site and online.
The Government of Canada has provided funding of $381,626 through the Partnerships Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Fund assists partnership initiatives between not-for-profit, public, and private organizations and institutions to connect Canadians with the riches of Canada’s heritage by making Canadian cultural collections held by provincial, municipal, and local organizations available online.

Visit the Wild and Free website:
http://galileo.org/initiatives/wildandfree/



The following are remarks made by MP Lee Richardson at the event for the launch of the Wild and Free Website

“Welcome everyone. I am very pleased to be here at Stampede Park on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, my colleague James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, and as the MP for Calgary Centre and Director of the Stampede, for the launch of the website about the wild horses of Alberta, Wild and Free.

First, let me commend the organizers; Galileo Chief Operating Officer Brenda Gladstone and Tracey Read from the Calgary Stampede, for all of your hard work bringing this initiative together. This event demonstrates the power of thinking outside of the box.

Our Government is proud to support the great work that the Galileo Educational Network Association is doing in the field of education. You are making great strides in preserving and sharing Canadian experiences with the world while stimulating young, inquiring minds. 

The Wild and Free project is also an excellent example of the value of connecting generations, using technology to transfer knowledge from one generation to another.

Our Government recognizes the valuable contribution that our Elders, custodians of knowledge, play in mentoring the next generation of leaders, our youth.  We have made unprecedented investments in our arts and culture. And we will continue to invest in Canadian arts and culture as we implement Phase 2 of our Government’s Economic Action Plan.

Our investment of more than $381,000 to the Galileo Educational Network will help to express, through digital media, the deep understanding that our Elders have of wild horses, their Southern Alberta habitat and our common   attachment to the land.

Preserving this knowledge also serves to confirm the iconic role wild horses play in Canada’s frontier history.  This interactive website will be an attractive source of information in youth-friendly formats like video and computer animation. 

This investment is another initiative that demonstrates our Government’s commitment to harnessing the power of the Internet and to bringing Canada’s rich and diverse heritage into our homes, schools and places of work.

Thank you and good luck.”


Backgrounder

• Galileo Educational Network (Galileo) is an educational not-for-profit organization based in Calgary, Alberta.
• Galileo creates, promotes and disseminates innovative teaching and learning practices through research, professional learning and fostering external cooperations. The organization works with students, teachers and policy makers across Canada both onsite and online.
• On February 10, Galileo launched its Website entitled Wild and Free/Sauvage et Libre at the Blue Room on Stampede Park in Calgary.

Considerations

• The Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch provided funding through the Partnerships Fund. The Partnerships Fund, which will end on March 31, 2010, was designed to assist partnership initiatives between not-for-profit, public and private organizations and institutions to connect all Canadians with the riches of Canada's heritage by making cultural collections held by provincial, municipal and local cultural organizations available on the Internet, in both official languages.
• In 2009, Canadian Heritage approved a contribution of $381 626 to Galileo for its project entitled Wild and Free/Sauvage et Libre.  The project is an educational Web site about Southern Alberta’s wild horses.
• The Wild and Free Web site presents a captivating story that features never-before-seen video footage of Alberta’s wild horses.  The Web site brings alive the traditional knowledge of Stoney First Nation.  The Web site also offers educational material created by students working with elders, community members and educators.
• Galileo and its Aboriginal participants have worked on the project with numerous partners, including the Stoney Education Authority, Foothills School Division, the Maureen Enns Studio Ltd., Axon Learn, the Calgary Stampede School, and Shaw Communications Inc.

Financial aspects
Galileo received past funding in 2007-2008 of $429 743 and $319 176 in 2004-2005 for a total amount of $1 130 545 from the Partnerships Fund.