First Meeting On National Inuit Communications Held

The first meeting on Inuit communications at the national level, attended by representatives from the Inuit Broadcasting Corp (IBC), Taqramiut Nipingat Inc. (TNI), C.O.P.E., The Inuit Committee on National Issues (ICNI), Makivik Corporation, and the NWT Territorial Council was held in Baker Lake, Nunavut [then Northwest Territories], July 24 and 25th, 1981.

Travel difficulties prevented representatives from Labrador and Nunatsiaqmiut from attending the meeting.

The primary purpose of the meeting was to initiate discussions on the future of Inuit communications on the national level, with the goal of greater unity and co-ordination in the development of Inuit communication systems.

The participants reviewed the Nunavut Land Claims position on communications and examined its potential effects on the other regions. The group also reviewed a proposal to establish the "National Inuit Communication Council" (NICC), a body that would be tasked with assisting in the co-ordination the development of Inuit communications throughout the different regions.

In addition to the technical aspects of communications participants discussed such items as "technical values versus cultural values", and the need for the training of more Inuit journalists so that the communications system being put in place at the time could be better utilized. It was suggested that the establishment of an Inuit newspaper might provide the training ground for such journalists.