Province announces funding support for several Francophone projects

The provincial government announced on Sept. 21 that is providing funding support for 50 new projects, representing an overall investment of $2 million, under the 2022-2023 edition of the Francophone Community Grants Program.

“The Ministry of Francophone Affairs received very high-quality projects from both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations this year,” said Minister of Francophone Affairs Caroline Mulroney. “With the funds allocated today, the government reaffirms its commitment to the Francophone community by supporting its cultural, community and entrepreneurial development.”

Projects include initiatives that will help to recruit and train Francophone and bilingual workers, develop French-language services for women, youth, seniors and newcomers, and support exhibitions, festivals and cultural events that showcase Francophone heritage.

The application period for the 2022-23 Francophone Community Grants Program was launched on March 16, 2022 and 40 per cent of the projects selected are located in eastern Ontario, 28 per cent in central Ontario, 18 per cent in western Ontario and 14 per cent in northern Ontario. 

In Ottawa, the province is providing support for the following organizations and projects: 

• The Centre d'appui et de prévention (CAP) is receiving $50,000 for a French-language rollout of the SMART Recovery success model, with the goal of training a group of facilitators and professionals to meet the needs of Francophone people facing addiction-related challenges. 
• The Coalition Ontarienne de Formation des Adultes (COFA) is receiving $50,000 for providing literacy and basic skills, and along with three partners (Centre de formation Cochrane-Iroquois Falls, Carrefour de formation des adultes inc. and Centre Moi J'apprends) propose promotional activities to engage employers and other stakeholders by demonstrating the role and added value of literacy and basic skills training in economic recovery.
• Cooperation Council of Ontario is receiving $10,054 for is 'Accelerator F' project which is intended for Francophone entrepreneurs and businesses targeting the Francophone market. It offers a dynamic platform that will serve as an entry point for the international Francophonie to access the North American Francophone market.
• Coopérative Enseignants Pas à Pas (CEPAP) is receiving $50,000 for its 'Storytellers of Diversified Francophone Communities' project which helps the CEPAP produce a toolkit of stories from Haiti, Africa and Lebanon, and to train volunteers. This toolkit will include a collection of stories, a facilitator’s guide, activity books and evaluation files. These stories will be presented to students at four major events in Ottawa, Rockland and Cornwall by trained volunteers.
• The Fédération de la Jeunesse Franco-Ontarienne is receiving $50,000 for a vocational co-development program for young Franco-Ontarians that offers a series of virtual training activities in vocational co-development in partnership with school boards.
• The Information and Communication Technology Council (ICTC) is receiving $49,707 and  ffers workshops, competitions and lectures on cyber defence. The CyberTitans pilot project will help students develop skills that are transferable to many sectors of the digital economy and help them pursue post-secondary education and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.
• Le Réveil is receiving $50,000 for its Amphithéâtre du Réveil, which aims to create a site that will give teachers access to rich digital content. Each month, new Francophone productions will be uploaded, including concerts, programs, conferences, inter-school activities and discussion forums, complemented by pedagogical resources and a schedule of workshops and live activities.
• The Metis Nation of Ontario is receiving $7,568 for a project that will provide interactive French-language learning sessions for Francophone Métis. Four sessions will be offered across the province to enhance existing events and provide an opportunity to celebrate and promote understanding of the Francophone aspects of Métis heritage.
• The Multi-Cultural Arts for Schools and Communities is receiving $50,000 for an artistic school tour that provides an artistic experience led by professional artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to students of French language schools across Ontario to celebrate Ontario's Francophonie and participate in French-language cultural life. 
• The Parents partenaires en éducation (PPE) is receiving $50,000 to promote the inclusion of families of diverse backgrounds into Ontario school communities In order to build an inclusive and diverse organizational culture within Parents Partenaires en Education and thus adequately meet the needs of all parents, the project aims to train PPE employees on diversity and inclusion. PPE will then work with Francophone school boards so that the newly trained employees on diversity and inclusion can in turn offer a series of workshops and/or training to parents and in school in Ontario.
• The Radio de la communauté francophone d'Ottawa is receiving $39,390 for a radio project where students from French-language high schools in Ottawa and eastern Ontario to benefit from professional coaching to produce programs on 94.5 Unique FM, Ottawa’s Francophone community radio station. The initiative is part of Unique FM's mandate to train the next generation of Franco-Ontarians in media. This project will help to hire a host, recruit participating teams and provide them with training workshops, resources and professional coaching to support them in preparing radio programs.
• The Théâtre Action Inc. is receiving $27,040 for a project that presents eight novel professional theatrical works in podcast format to the general public and to young Francophones in Ontario. Théâtre Action will collaborate with four professional Franco-Ontarian companies: Théâtre Catapulte in Ottawa, Théâtre français de Toronto, Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario in Sudbury and Théâtre de la Vieille 17 in Ottawa.

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