Advancing Island Connections 2017
from Thursday, November 30, 2017 6:00AM to Thursday, November 30, 2017 12:00PM
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ADVANCING ISLAND CONNECTIONS Prince Edward Island's premier networking event facilitates connections between the local and immigrant business communities, to explore opportunities for purchase, investment and growth. At AIC you will... Learn about businesses for sale or looking for investors Access connections to international buyers and suppliers Network with the local and immigrant business communities AGENDA 8:00 am Registration, Coffee 8:30 am Opening remarks – Premier Wade MacLauchlan 9:00 am Keynote Speaker: Tareq Hadhad, Peace by Chocolate 9:50 am Video premiere: Immigrant Entrepreneur Success 9:55 am Closing remarks - Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee 10:00 am Networking: Business Opportunities Marketplace 2:00 pm Conclusion of Advancing Island Connections 2017 KEYNOTE SPEAKER Tareq Hadhad, Founder of Peace by Chocolate Tareq Hadhad is telling his story. He was a Syrian refugee, longtime peacekeeping advocate and now living his new life with his entrepreneurial family in Canada’s east coast. Tareq is the founder of Peace by Chocolate, a medical researcher and is passionate about peace and entrepreneurship. In 2012 the Hadhads home and factory that housed the family chocolate-making business were destroyed which forced them to seek safety in other countries. A former medical student at Damascus University, Tareq joined medial relief efforts after arriving in Lebanon. Tareq and his family were welcomed to Canada on a community-based sponsorship in December 2015. His family relaunched the family business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East. Tareq’s father explains: “I felt like I had come back to life.” Peace by Chocolate started with a humble beginning, turning out chocolates from the family’s new kitchen. Today they are making about 100,000 pieces of chocolate a month with plans to triple the production in their new factory after their story has turned to an international inspirational phenomenon. Tareq and his family are now focused on job creation. They utilize a network of Syrian refugees from across Nova Scotia to help with distribution and support the local economy. The plan is to expand across Canada, offering other newcomers job opportunities. In September 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened his speech to the United Nations Leaders’ Summit on Refugees detailing the family’s success story. This is just one side of the story. As Tareq says, “There are thousands of successes around the country. The responsibility that we have now is to share the positive things that Syrians are doing.” “This is the message . . . if you offer the newcomers a welcoming arm, kindness and support, they can succeed faster.” Tareq has spoken at the Amnesty International’s Human Rights Conference in Calgary, Halifax Chamber of Commerce Annual Spring Dinner, a remarkable TEDx talk at Dalhousie University and to several corporate and government organizations. He has done over 200 interviews with different news teams across North America. Tareq speaks on the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of the Syrian refugees and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Presented by: Island Advance, Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce and PEI Connectors. Title Sponsor: Sunrise Group Venue Sponsor: Delta Prince Edward Media Sponsor: The Guardian, Ocean 100 and Hot 105.5 Funding Partners: Government of Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency, Innovation PEI and Prince Edward Island Office of Immigration.
Delta Hotels by Marriott Prince Edward
18 Queen Street Charlottetown PE CAhttps://www.eventbrite.ca/e/advancing-island-connections-2017-tickets-39665001086?aff=ebapi
Type: Eventbrite