‘Listen up,’ say Kivalliq Trade Show organizers

The Kivalliq Trade Show hasn’t started yet and it’s already breaking records.

With 60 exhibitors and more than 240 delegates, next week’s event is the biggest to date, says Kivalliq Trade Show Society president Robert Connelly.

“And our delegate numbers will keep going up as the event nears,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday.

With ongoing discussions about Arctic sovereignty, resource extraction and developing northern infrastructure, organizers are emphasizing the need to bring Inuit to the table, Connelly said.

“There has to be a lot of listening to make sure that the people of Nunavut and particularly Inuit are strongly engaged,” he said.

That idea is reflected in this year’s theme: Naalagit, the Inuktitut word for “listen.”

The panel discussions were built with that theme in mind. The first is called “Listening to Communities,” the second “Listening to Business” and the third “Listening to Youth.”

Panelists across the three discussions include Christine Tootoo, vice-president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s National Inuit Youth Council; CBC journalist Juanita Taylor; historian Ryan Shackleton; and Albert Netser, with Arctic Fresh Projects.

Canada’s Arctic Ambassador Virginia Mearns is scheduled to give the keynote address on Tuesday morning, with other speakers such as Nunavut Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Gloria Uluqsi expected as well.

An artists market and fashion show that highlights the region’s designers at the Singiittuq Complex will be part of the exhibition.

The 17th annual Kivalliq Trade Show is set to run Monday through Wednesday at Rankin Inlet’s Agnico Eagle Arena.

In-person delegate registration opens at 1 p.m. on Monday.