The Canadian Cultural Research Network (CCRN) was pleased to present, in partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage and the University of Ottawa, the colloquium to which the chapters published here contributed. Accounting for Culture: Examining the Building Blocks of Cultural Citizenship, held in Gatineau, Quebec, on November 13-15, 2003, marked the fifth anniversary of the CCRN and the tenth anniversary of Canadian Heritage.
Accounting for Culture was the fourth colloquium convened by CCRN since its founding in 1998. The theme of the inaugural colloquium was Cultural Policies and Cultural Practices: Exploring the Links Between Culture and Social Change. The second colloquium was held in Edmonton in 2000 in conjunction with the CIRCLE/CCRN Round Table on Culture, Connectedness, and Social Cohesion. Cultural Development in Canada’s Cities: Linking Research, Planning, and Practice was the focus of the 2002 colloquium held in Toronto.
Beginning in 2002, the CCRN came to understand itself as a network concerned with knowledge mobilization. At our colloquium that year, we invited leading proponents of knowledge transfer and exchange to present the state of research and practice pertaining to knowledge mobilization strategies in their sectors. The following year, we offered a one-day workshop on knowledge transfer and exchange in the cultural sector. Putting into practice principles of knowledge mobilization, Dr. Greg Baeker conducted an extensive consultation on the themes of the colloquium, then arranged Web- and telephone-based seminars in the weeks leading up to the event.
CCRN is a bilingual network of Canadian cultural researchers which promotes the sharing of information and research on trends, challenges, and opportunities in the cultural sector from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. It encourages co-operation and collaboration among Canadian cultural researchers and provides a point of contact for international cultural research networks. Membership is open to both users and producers of cultural research: government policy-makers and researchers, private-sector consultants, and researchers and decision-makers in industry associations and producing organizations. Practical research support and networking services available to members include an on-line directory of members, notice of publications and events of interest, access to a listserv of members and to on-line dialogues, member discounts on colloquium registrations and publications, and a customized Web-based information retrieval tool. In 2002, CCRN established an award recognizing excellence in cultural research and named it in honour of John Meisel. The Meisel Award for Excellence in Cultural Research was presented in its inaugural year to Dr. Meisel and in its second year to André Fortier.
As you prepare to delve into the debates that enriched the 2003 colloquium, I would like to recognize the intellectual leadership of Caroline Andrew, Greg Baeker, Sharon Jeannotte, Monica Gattinger, and Will Straw in focusing the colloquium topic and convening an outstanding group of presenters to lead the dialogue.
DONNA CARDINAL
President (2001 - 2003)
Canadian Cultural Research Network