Okanagan College teams up with Westbank First Nation | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Okanagan College teams up with Westbank First Nation

Okanagan College president Jim Hamilton, left, and Westbank First Nation chief Robert Louie.
Image Credit: Contributed

KELOWNA – Okanagan College and the Westbank First Nation have formally committed to work together to increase access to education for WFN students.

The Memorandum of Understanding represents a commitment by both organizations to work together on projects and programs that will increase access to post secondary education and build professional capacity.

Okanagan College has one of the fastest growing rates of Aboriginal student participation in the area, according to a media release. In 2015 roughly 1,500 Aboriginal students studied at the college.

Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton says the timing was right to make the collaboration official.

“Okanagan College and Westbank First Nation have been working together for decades,” Hamilton says in the release. “Both of our organizations signed the Colleges and Institutes Canada national Indigenous Education Protocol earlier this fall and it seemed like the time was right to embrace the spirit of that document and commit more formally to developing opportunities for a deeper collaboration with this very important partner.”

Chief Robert Louie says the agreement will only strengthen the link between them.

“This (memorandum of understanding) builds upon the strong relationship we currently have with Okanagan College. It will further enhance First Nation cultural influences and assist us in building future capacity as a self-governing Natio," Louie says in the release. "We look forward to the opportunities it will bring both Westbank First Nation and Okanagan College.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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