The 1st Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Symphony, will be held in parralel to the annual general meeting of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative in June 2012.

The 1st Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Symphony is a people-led initiative that aims to raise public awareness on the importance of living in the hydrographical basin of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, to protect this wealth and, in particular, to build ties among people across borders. From Thunder Bay to St. John in Newfoundland, via Chicago, Toronto, Buffalo, Montreal, Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam, Gaspé, Halifax, Shippagan and many others, people are invited to participate in a process to create a vision for the future of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River basin and the living conditions they would like to enjoy in 2035.

Local events will be carried out from autumn 2011 until summer 2012. From these, a shared vision will begin to emerge, that around fifty stakeholders will refine in June 2012 in Quebec at the 1st Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Symphony. This will also include cultural and artistic events open to the general public. Like all visions, that of June 2012 will evolve, the process that will be begun at the 1st Symphony is one that will build solidarity and encourage the sharing of viewpoints and knowledge.

To date, many people and institutions have expressed their interest in participating in the process, including the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute (FNQLSDI), Stratégies Saint-Laurent, the Quebec River Basin Organisations Group (ROBVQ), Great Lakes United, the Réseau Environnement, Wayne State University, Lake Superior State University, the UNiversity of Quebec in Rimouski (UQAR), the University of Moncton-Shipaggan campus, the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence Coalition on Sustainability (Coalition SGSL),  the North American Network of Basin Organisations (NANBO), the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO), Les Amis de la vallée du Saint-Laurent, Jean Burton, Constance Herrera and others.

Furthermore, the International Secretariat for Water (ISW) is launching the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River edition of the “VidéEau” Competition, open to young people aged 17 to 30 with the theme “My water is our water!” The winning film clips from this regional competition will be entered in the official selection of films for the 3rd edition of the International “Water and Film” Events (IWFE) which will be held in Marseille in the context of the 6th World Water Forum. For more information please visit the website, please click here.

This initiative is coordinated by the International Secretariat for Water.

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