French-language education in a minority language context in Canada. Today's challenges and tomorrow's issues

Nathalie Bélanger directs theObservatoire sur l’éducation en contexte linguistique minoritaire and is a full professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. From 2005 to 2020, she held the role of Research Chair on Education and the Francophonie affiliated with the Collège des Chaires de recherche sur le monde francophone. Her research interests include la Francophonie, inclusion/exclusion processes in schools, minority studies, public policy in education, the sociology of education and ethnography. 

In addition to being a full professor at the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies of the University of Ottawa, E.-Martin Meunier holds the chair Québec, francophonie canadienne et mutations culturelles and is director of the Collège des chaires de recherches sur le monde francophone (CCRMF). His research interests range from the sociology of Quebec society to the sociology of religion, including the social and historical analysis of French Canada. Author of more than fifty scientific contributions, he has notably published Le pari personnaliste (Fides 2007), with S. Lefebvre and C. Béraud, Catholicisme et cultures. Regards croisés Québec-France (P.U.L. / P.U.R, 2015) and, recently, Le Québec et ses mutations culturelles (P.U.O, 2016). He directs the 21e - Société, histoire et cultures collection at the University of Ottawa Press.

Peter Hominuk can be considered one of those people who, throughout his career and his community involvement, has defended Ontario's Francophone community and worked for its development. His professional career and his volunteer activities bear witness to his attachment to his language, his pride in his Franco-Ontarian origins and his contributions to Francophone community development. He has made an exemplary contribution through his work with community organizations to foster their development. Mr. Hominuk transformed the Francophone community organization La Clé d'la Baie into a dynamic social enterprise that has enlivened the Francophone community in this region by offering French-language services in the arts, culture, community radio, tourism, employment and training, daycare services and summer camps.

Isabelle LeVert-Chiasson is a Programme Officer in Education at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO). Prior to joining the CCUNESCO, she worked in education in Canada and abroad with organizations such as World University Service of Canada (WUSC), Heartwood Centre for Community Youth Development, Katimavik and Canada World Youth. Ms. LeVert-Chiasson holds a Master of Arts in Education and Community Development from St. Francis University (Canada). She has extensive experience in youth engagement, partnership development, monitoring and evaluation and project management in education and related fields. At UNESCO-CC, she is responsible for the national coordination of the UNESCO Schools Network, the participation of Canadians in UNESCO's education programs in Canada and abroad, the provision of advice to various levels of government related to UNESCO's Education Sector, and the support to Canada's permanent delegation to UNESCO.

Alice Fomen was a teacher for ten years in a French language school board in Ontario and is now a doctoral student in educational technology at Université Laval. She Her research interests include the use of ICT in schools and digital inclusion. Ms. Fomen holds a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in Human Rights. In 2017, she founded the Alliance for an Inclusive Educational Community (CIRA), an Ontario-based organization of ethnocultural minority teachers. CIRA develops programs and resources to promote equity and inclusion in schools, as well as resources to ensure effective transition for teachers from recent immigrant backgrounds.  Ms. Fomen has co-authored four books on supporting recent immigrants, equity and inclusion in schools.

Mirela Moldoveanu holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education. Professor Moldoveanu has taught at several Quebec universities and her research focuses on issues related to the management of diversity in education, from an equity and social justice perspective. Professor Moldoveanu's research interests include the support of professional development of teachers from the perspective of the mobilization of research knowledge in teaching practice, and the integration of theoretical and experiential learning.

Phyllis Dalley is a professor and researcher at the University of Ottawa.  Since the beginning of her career, she has worked for the recognition of linguistic variations in French in educational contexts. She is one of the first researchers to have taken an interest in the question of how French-language schools in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada welcome immigrants and refugees from Africa. Among her many publications, she recently co-authored a report for the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) entitled Le décrochage du personnel enseignant au Canada : une revue de  littérature. She is also the founding director of the Action Group Against Black Racism in Education (GaCran). 

Valérie Morand is the Executive Director of the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones (FNCSF) and the Regroupement national des directions générales de l'éducation (RNDGE) since 2018. She sits on the board of directors of the pan-Canadian education network EdCan. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of School Board Administrators (CASBA).  She studied literature and communications at the Université du Québec à Montréal and electronic journalism at Metropolitan Toronto University, formerly Ryerson. A journalist for 20 years at Radio-Canada in the French and English networks of the Société d'État and internationally (RCI), she was a parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa.  In 1995, she founded the Guignolée des medias in the National Capital Region, which over the years has raised more than a million dollars for the underprivileged. 

Brigitte Cyr has nearly 35 years of experience in the field of education.  She works through the Centre for Leadership and Evaluation (CLÉ), and with other organizations, on the continuous improvement of education in Canada.  She has extensive experience not only in education, but also in program evaluation and the use of evidence to inform decision-making.  She holds a Bachelor of Psychology, a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education.