Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell speaking at the Capitol Theatre in Chatham. November 1, 2016. (Photo by Natalia Vega)Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell speaking at the Capitol Theatre in Chatham. November 1, 2016. (Photo by Natalia Vega)
Chatham

Lieutenant Governor Wraps Up With A Challenge

The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario has wrapped up her visit in Chatham-Kent, ending with a reception at the Capitol Theatre.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell made a brief speech at the Mainstreet Lounge just above the Theatre Tuesday evening. She spoke to various topics involving agriculture and innovation.

"What I heard throughout the course of the day was that people really love this community," says Dowdeswell. "They're very proud of it and they want to ensure that it remains resilient."

Her time in the municipality started with a visit to Truly Green Farms where she took part in a round table discussion.

"It's such a wonderful privilege to meet Ontarians," says Dowdeswell. "To find out what they're proud of, what they're working on, what they're challenged by, and what they want to celebrate."

Dowdeswell says she hopes to visit Chatham-Kent again in the future and see more of what the community has to offer.

During her speech Her Honour announced, in celebration of Canada's 150 years of confederacy they will challenge creative minds to participate in the Lieutenant Governor's Visionaries Prize.

"The Visionaries prize is an opportunity for people to think creatively and about innovative ideas for working on some of the issues that we're going to have for the next 50 years," says Dowdeswell.

The challenge is open to Ontarians 18 years old and over to create a short essay or video, presenting a solution to various issues ranging from environmental challenges to governance.

Thirty-six finalists will be chosen for each of the six categories to speak at a public event. Of those 36, only six people will be named winners and receive the Lieutenant Governor's Visionaries Prize in October 2017.

The deadline for submission will be in March 2017.

More on the challenge can be found here.

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