Iqaluit, Nunavut ‐ An Inuktitut and English children’s book: Uumajut funded by QIA under its Community Initiatives Program has been nominated for theprestigious Silver Birch Express Award.

The Silver Birch Express Award is part of the Forest of Reading Program, an awards program that is part of the curriculum of hundreds of classrooms across Ontario. Nominated titles are selected by a committee of educators and librarians from across the province. This committee assesses titles based on their literary merit and their contribution to the enrichment of Ontario students. Nominees are then distributed to every participating classroom.

“We are proud to have partnered with the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society by funding Uumajut in our effort to promote and advance Inuktitut literature. Our Community Initiatives Program is making a positive difference for our region and the territory,” said QIA President Okalik Eegeesiak.

The Silver Birch nomination means that Uumajut will be read by more than two thousand grade three students across Ontario. This project will introduce southern students to Inuit conservation values, traditional practices, and the Inuktitut language.

“Without the combined efforts of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, the Nunavut Bilingual Education Society, Inhabit Media Inc., and the GN Department of the Environment, this book could not have been such as success. This project involved working together with Inuit and non‐Inuit to ensure that northern perspectives are represented in Canadian literature,” said NBES Vice President Louise Flaherty.

Uumajut was distributed free of charge to Nunavut schools.

-30-

For further information, please contact:

David Joanasie
Media Advisor
Qikiqtani Inuit Association
Tel: (867)‐975‐8414
Fax: (867)‐979‐3238
e‐mail: media@qia.ca

Neil Christopher
Nunavut Bilingual Education Society
President
Tel: (647)‐454‐01494

Nchristopher72@hotmail.com