As one of the youngest and fastest growing segments in North America, Aboriginal businesses and entrepreneurs are poised to play a crucial role in international economic growth over the next decade. Today more than ever, forging resource development agreements that reflect Aboriginal interests is a business imperative – not just an option.
In a dynamic new theme aimed at expanding partnerships between Aboriginal businesses and entrepreneurs, and companies, GLOBE 2014 will offer insights and strategies for harnessing the mutually inclusive ‘Aboriginal Advantage’.
Hundreds of billions of dollars of commercial land-based and resource development projects have already been identified in close proximity to Aboriginal communities. But securing the social license to operate in areas where Aboriginal interests exist necessitates going far beyond regulatory and legal requirements. It not only requires a totally different engagement approach, but a fundamental rethink about doing business with Aboriginals.
At the forefront of these sessions will be a discussion of the nation-building opportunities inherent in recognizing Aboriginal Power, both as it relates to energy generation opportunities on Aboriginal lands, as well as in so far as it relates to the growing power of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit leaders in corporate boardrooms. These sessions focus on Aboriginal-Business Accords that are community-centered, environmentally-sensitive, and economically value-additive for major resource development opportunities. Sessions include:
- Interactive Keynote & Community Hall Session
- Aboriginal Power: A Nation-Building Opportunity
- Commodities & Corridors: Integrating Aboriginal Interests