French-language magazine promotes Nunavut to francophones

MONTREAL — Nunavut’s francophone association is promoting the territory with a new French-language magazine released this month.

Called Le Toit du Monde, which translates as “rooftop of the world,” the magazine targets local francophones, as well as the potential tourism market of francophones who live outside Nunavut and are curious about the territory. Its stories are meant to entice them to visit Nunavut — or even come to live.

“Because we’re new, Nunavut is seen as the last frontier,” said Jean-Sébastien Charron, editor of Le Toit du Monde.

About 6,000 copies of the Winter 2002 issue have been produced. Of those, 2,000 are being distributed throughout the North, while 4,000 will go to Quebec and to French-speaking countries around the world.

“We wanted to make Nunavut more well-known outside the territory,” Charron said.

While it is mainly about Nunavut, the magazine will also carry stories about other places.

“We’re putting it together here,” Charron said. “So, we want the content to emphasize Nunavut. But we’re interested in the circumpolar world in general.”

The Winter 2002 issue includes stories on the filming of Zacharias Kunuk’s Inuktitut feature film, Atanarjuat, ice roads in the Yukon, Finnish spirituality, as well as a historical look at a Christmas celebration aboard the CGS Arctic during the early 1900s.

The magazine has been published twice before, but not on a regular schedule. One issue was produced in 1999, and another in the spring of 2001. Charron said the association plans to produce three issues a year, to coincide with winter, spring and summer.

The magazine is also a way to discuss social and economic life in the North — current and historical, he said.

“We don’t plan on limiting ourselves to travel articles. We want to touch on a large variety of subjects,” Charron said.

Money from Heritage Canada covers basic expenses, although advertising is expected to pay for production costs as Le Toit du monde becomes better known.

Charron, who is employed by the Association des francophones de Nunavut, works part-time on the magazine’s production. Iqaluit is home to about 450 French-speakers, and many of them are longtime residents. Following the creation of Nunavut in 1999, the Iqaluit’s association for francophones became Nunavut’s association for francophones.

To receive a copy of Le Toit du monde, e-mail tdm@nunafranc.ca or call (867) 979-4606.