Victoria – Seattle
Roundtable
Semi-annual
event
12:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Westin Hotel, Seattle
History
We were catalysts for
initiating, planning and organizing the highly successful Victoria-Seattle
Roundtable held in Seattle in October of 2002.
During several trips to Seattle on behalf of the Chamber we met with the
Seattle Chamber, the International Trade Alliance, the Canadian Consulate, and
a Venture Allstars group of venture capitalists and CEOs. Acting as and advocate for the Greater
Victoria Chamber of Commerce we were able to sell the idea to the Consulate,
determine the format of the day and what would bring people out from Seattle,
and contact over 90 people in Victoria and Seattle to invite them personally to
this great event.
In spite of a few problems
with logistics the event was a smashing success! The turnout was over 40 people (20 from Victoria, 20 from
Seattle). The focus for the day was
what we could do collectively in the Pacific Northwest Region to remove
barriers to doing cross-border business and how we can better market the
region. Representatives from both the
US and Canadian consulates were there, along with MLAs, the mayor of Victoria
and a representative from the City of Seattle, CEOs of both Chambers, President
of Tourism Victoria, and CEOs from Tourism, Transportation, and Technology
sectors.
The Concept
The
Roundtable will be a full or half-day semi-annual event hosted alternatively by
Seattle and Victoria. This Roundtable
is an opportunity for BC and Greater Victoria based companies to bring together
like-minded businesses from the Seattle area to focus on developing future
cross-border partnership opportunities.
There is a general consensus that we need to learn more about what our
respective needs are in order to better help each other. The focus for the day will be what we could
do collectively in the Pacific Northwest Region to remove barriers to doing
cross-border business and how we can better market the region. The roundtable will focus on the following
sectors:
q Technology
o Tourism
§ Transportation
While the Roundtable is a
forum for discussion the primary goal is that of action! To this end a special task force for each
sector will be created. Specific
barriers that need to be removed and key issues will be identified by the
sector task force. Priorities will be
established. The sector task force will
select 1 issue or barrier to remove as a focus for the 6 months following each
Roundtable. An action plan will be
developed and individual task force members will be assigned specific tasks and
responsibilities to carry out during these 6 months. At the next Roundtable each sector task force will be able to
report on progress to-date, outstanding issues, and plan the next 6 months.
The Format
After much consultation,
polling, and discussion with the various stakeholders and potential
participants a suggested format has been developed. This format has been suggested by the Canadian Consulate and the
International Trade Alliance and would be most likely to draw Seattle
businesses out to this event.
Additionally, the Consulate in Seattle can arrange prominent keynote speakers
from each of the sectors.
All of the stakeholders
are willing to promote the Roundtable throughout their memberships, websites,
etc… Last year we had insufficient
lead-time and there was a lengthy delay in producing an invitation/flyer for the
event, which prevented our stakeholders from promoting this event for us. At least 3 months lead-time is necessary
with the type of individuals we are trying to draw out to this event.
Not
everyone can take a half-day away from his or her business. Nor will many people be interested in a
general discussion forum unless it relates to their business or area of
interest. By being sector focused with
breakout sessions, topics, and prominent keynote speakers a CEO will be more
likely to be interested in attending and can choose to take a few hours rather
than half a day out of his busy schedule.
The
purpose of the roundtable needs to be clearly defined and communicated. Is this a mini trade mission? Is this a networking session? Is this a Multi-Sector Task Force? Each of these 3 functions requires a
different format. Based on my numerous
consultations the consensus was that a Multi-Sector Task Force is the purpose
and intent that best met the needs of all participants and stakeholders.
We are all committed to
action! As the saying goes “Faith
without works is dead”.
Or one I like even better:
“Intellectual knowledge
until converted through action into wisdom is a milestone around our
necks. In other words … the more we
know and the less we do the more we suffer.”
The timing and length of
individual portions of the day can be altered but generally the format is this:
Introductory
Remarks
Seattle
and Victoria - 2 perspectives
A
prominent keynote speaker from each region will give the
broad picture including:
q
Economic, Social,
Environmental, and Political climate
q
Benefits and
Constraints within the region
q
Trends and Future
predictions
Breakout
Sessions
Relevant
Topics, Discussion Panel (with prominent speakers), or a Task Force action
planning session for each of the following sectors:
q
Technology
q
Tourism
q
Transportation
Report
back from Breakout Sessions
A
Chair of each Task force will give a short summary of the discussions along
with the one issue or barrier they have selected to collective work on during
the next 6 months.
Closing
Remarks
Reception
A lunch may be part of the
day, however, timing of this can be tricky.
We want to avoid having people just showing up for the lunch and
leaving.
Finish the day off by attending …
"THE
CANADA GALA"
Westin Hotel Grand Ballroom, Seattle
Six
o'clock pm to One o'clock am
A special evening of entertainment, dining,
dancing, door prizes and auction to commemorate Canadian Thanksgiving and the
special relationship shared by Canada and the U.S.