Premier Ralph Klein and Canadian music icon Farley Flex speaking at high school completion symposium

Edmonton... Premier Ralph Klein and Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex will speak to delegates at the province’s first-ever symposium on high school completion. The symposium – part of the Your Future Starts Here consultation to explore ways to increase Alberta’s high school completion rates – is being held at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton on September 24-25.

“With the increased demand by employers for highly skilled and well-educated workers, it is imperative to better understand why some Alberta students have difficulty completing high school and how students, educators, community members, and government can increase our efforts to collectively address this societal issue,” said Premier Klein. “We must work together and even harder to help our students realize that completing high school is necessary to succeed in today’s world.”

“The symposium is about listening, sharing ideas and finding new ways to help Alberta students understand the importance of completing high school and to assist them in achieving that goal,” said Education Minister Gene Zwozdesky. “Premier Klein and Farley Flex will express interesting and very personal perspectives on this topic for all symposium participants to think about.”

Minister Zwozdesky began this initiative as one of his priorities early in 2005 by appointing an internal High School completion Task Force.

A province-wide consultation on increasing high school completion rates followed in spring 2006, with youth across Alberta participating in a series of roundtable discussions. Albertans were also invited to complete an online survey about this issue. The process will culminate with this provincial symposium, which will bring together youth, parents, educators, business leaders and community organizations to discuss barriers to high school completion and develop community-based solutions. Strategies will be developed and implemented based on the feedback collected to help increase Alberta’s high school completion rates.

Farley Flex is recognized as one of the most influential and successful figures on the Canadian music scene, and was chosen from among hundreds to be a judge on Canadian Idol. As a motivational speaker, he presents to diverse audiences about talent, and finding fulfillment and happiness by recognizing and nurturing our own talents, and the talents of others. Flex is a board member of VideoFACT, which funds the production of music videos for independent Canadian artists, and is the recent recipient of the Bob Marley Community Role Model Award (for his commitment to community development – especially as it pertains to youth).

More information about Your Future Starts Here, including online media registration, is available at www.education.gov.ab.ca/highschool.