Accomplishments

In 2009, Dialogue New Brunswick coordinated a series of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of New Brunswick's Official Languages Act. Activities included a youth forum and travelling art exhibit titled Communication Through Arts, a forum on journalism and official languages titled Two Languages, One Story, a study on the socio-economic advantages of bilingualism titled 40 Years of Official Bilingualism in New Brunswick: Looking at the Social and Economic Impact of the Official Languages Act, a Research Rally for students titled Two languages, one province: 40 years of official bilingualism, an outdoor summer theatre titled Parlez Games as well as a documentary regarding the making of Parlez Games.

The first Dialogue New Brunswick Ambassador Program took place in June of 2007. During the 2007 exchange between Saint John and the Acadian Peninsula, the first 65 Ambassadors were recruited. The 2009 installment of the Ambassador program was between the Charlotte County region and the greater Edmundston region where 60 new Ambassadors were installed.  The Ambassador Program aims to create a greater understanding, increased respect and new appreciation between English-speaking and French-speaking New Brunswickers.

In 2007, Dialogue produced a series of Success Stories of champions of linguistic and cultural harmony/collaboration in the Province of New Brunswick.

In March of 2006, 28 youth from the Grand Falls area met at the Dialogue Regional Youth Conference titled Cultivating Relationships. These participants, ages 14 to 18, had an opportunity to interact and collaborate on language issues.

In 2003, Dialogue New Brunswick created the Lieutenant-Governor's Dialogue Award.  This prestigious award is presented annually in partnership with the office of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Brunswick.

During the 2003 Bathurst-Campbellton Canada Winter Games, Dialogue organized an art exhibit themed New Brunswick Spirit which showcased works of our young artists. Selected pieces were then awarded to athletes in each province and territory.

To mark Dialogue's 10th anniversary, we organized a travelling art exhibit in cooperation with the New Brunswick Museum. This exhibit travelled from 1999 to 2001 and over 8,000 people came to visit this exhibit. We also had a provincial conference in Bathurst and organized a special gala with French, English and First Nation artists.

In 1999, Dialogue, NBTel and the Centre communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain co-sponsored a conference for business leaders in Saint John.

In 1995, we participated in the translation of L’Acadie des maritimes along with the Centre d’études acadiennes at the Université de Moncton. That same year, we partnered with the Atlantic Human Rights Center to organize a provincial conference in recognition of the United Nations Year of tolerance. Participated with the provincial government in the conception of the Virtual Museum.

From 1998 to 2002, Dialogue New Brunswick coordinated an interprovincial student exchange program consisting of reciprocal exchanges between French- and English-speaking classes. Approximately 500 students participated in this program.

Since 1993, Dialogue New Brunswick sponsors a pen-pal program called My Friend-Mon ami(e) for students from grade one to nine. The program matches classes from the Anglophone and Francophone sectors with one another.  Dialogue New Brunswick organizes the twinning of classes and provides the necessary paper, envelopes and stamps. Students exchange letters, drawings or other and participate in an end-of-year class project regarding their school and their community. Approximately 94,000 twinning have been created since the launch of this annual program.

Classes participating in My Friend-Mon ami(e) can apply for Friends Meeting Friends! This component of the pen-pal program provides an opportunity for students to have an educational, motivating, memorable and interactive experience with their My Friend - Mon ami(e) pen-pals in the form of an exchange outside of the classroom. Linguistic and cultural activities are presented in English and French in order to promote both official languages.

Two provincial conferences and three regional conferences on language and culture were held in Bathurst, Fredericton, Campbellton, Moncton and Grand Falls respectively. These conferences allowed participants to exchange ideas, exchange points of view and examine the possibility of creating partnerships among different cultural and linguistic communities.

In 1992, a provincial multi-media campaign promoting harmony, mutual respect and understanding was launched under the theme “New Brunswick, Now You’re Talking”. It focused on the positive attitudes of ordinary citizens.

In 1994, a first television campaign promoting respect and understanding between the province’s two linguistic communities was launched. The theme of this campaign was “Dialogue New Brunswick, So Much to Share” and featured the ad Bus Depot produced by David Peterson. Three more ads were presented: the Grandfather ad, the Team Sport ad, and the Limpert/Gauvin ad. The Limpert ad featuring Olympic medalist Marianne Limpert was used during the Sydney Olympic Games.

Youth Forums on language and culture were presented annually from 1991 to 2004. They brought together over a thousand New Brunswick youth from different cultural and linguistic communities.

In 1992, the results of an essay contest under the theme “Two languages, une province... for me, formidable” were published in newspaper supplements by two provincial dailies: the Telegraph Journal and l’Acadie Nouvelle.

In 1991, Dialogue launched its’ first contest to find the organizations’ logo. Over 380 people participated in this contest.