A significant event focused on fostering Indigenous economic growth is happening soon in Barrie. The “Mamawi – Walking Together to Advance Indigenous Regional Economies” workshop, scheduled for April 23rd at Georgian College, aims to bring together key voices to chart a path toward greater self-determination and economic reconciliation for Indigenous communities. This initiative represents a critical step in addressing persistent systemic challenges and unlocking the vast potential within the Indigenous economy.
The workshop is being organized by the Social Innovation department at Georgian College, recognized as Canada’s first AshokaU Changemaker College. This department actively works towards co-creating flourishing communities and economies through various initiatives. The Mamawi event invites a diverse group of participants, including Indigenous entrepreneurs, business owners and their staff, students from all fields, faculty members specializing in accounting, finance, and business, Indigenous community leaders, and economic development officers. The collaborative nature, reflected in the Algonquin term “Mamawi” meaning “together,” underscores the event’s core principle.
Scheduled for Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025, the full-day session runs from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. This timing is important as the event is happening soon, providing a timely opportunity for engagement. The day includes structured activities like a World Cafe session designed for gathering collective intelligence, open dialogues focusing on barriers within the accounting profession, and discussions centered on the Mamawi project’s desired outcomes and success metrics. An opening and closing involving a Georgian College Elder will frame the day’s conversations.
The event will take place at Georgian College’s Barrie campus, located at 1 Georgian Drive. This setting provides a central and accessible location for participants from across the region to convene and contribute to this vital discussion. The choice of location within a post-secondary institution highlights the role education plays in bridging gaps and fostering opportunities.
The underlying motivation for the Mamawi workshop stems from the need to address significant disparities. While Indigenous peoples represent 5% of Canada’s population and Indigenous-owned businesses contributed substantially (nearly $50 billion in 2020) to the national economy, systemic barriers remain formidable. These include discrimination, restricted access to capital and education, limited business networks, and shortages of skilled employees. A particularly stark gap exists in the finance and accounting sectors, where Indigenous participation lags significantly behind non-Indigenous counterparts (12% versus 23%), hindering economic self-determination. This workshop seeks to directly confront these issues by fostering dialogue and identifying actionable strategies for change, specifically focusing on enhancing business development and encouraging Indigenous youth to pursue finance and accounting careers.
Participants attending the Mamawi workshop will have a unique opportunity to influence the direction of a national strategy supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs and students. It’s a chance to engage in meaningful dialogue, build connections with leaders, educators, and professionals, and actively contribute to strengthening economic reconciliation. The discussions aim to explore improved collaboration methods between post-secondary institutions and Indigenous communities, fostering business success and designing Indigenous-directed funding resources. This collaborative effort is positioned as the first step in a longer journey towards shared economic prosperity.
This gathering promises to be more than just a meeting; it is a dedicated space for collective problem-solving and future-shaping. By bringing together diverse perspectives within the Indigenous community and supportive allies, the Mamawi workshop in Barrie holds the potential to generate tangible ideas and pathways for advancing Indigenous economic empowerment and reconciliation throughout the region and beyond.
