| Approximately 100 people, concerned with the development of Alaska and their community, gathered in the Westmark Gold Room the morning of May16th for the inaugural meeting of the Interior Issues Council.
The variety of issues discussed at the meeting showed that the broader Fairbanks community is concerned with not only economic development, but environmental and social issues as well. Twenty-four topics were discussed in 30-minute group sessions and voting was conducted on prioritizing the discussed issues, using new wireless technology provided by Information Insights. The top three topics selected by the participants were: 1) The Community Vision for the Future, 2) Cost of Energy and 3) Workforce Development. Other issues discussed include Community Design and Planning, Climate Change, International Polar Year, Preparing for an Economic Boom, Fairbanks as a Regional Hub, Deficiency of Medical Professionals, Hunger, Racism, Societal Parity and many others.
The concept of a group that would research, publish, and educate the public on issues concerning Interior Alaskan's and Alaska's future, was brought to FEDC's attention by several local leaders of the Fairbanks community. FEDC recognized the need and formed the steering committee of the Interior Issues Council. To see if there was community support of the idea of the Council, this committee organized the first inaugural meeting of the Council. This meeting showed that the community of Interior Alaska wants to have a communication platform to address the major issues of its development. It was decided by the participants of the meeting that FEDC would coordinate the Interior Issues Council as its subcommittee and organize task forces to discuss prioritized topics and follow through with action plans.
If you are interested in being involved in the future meetings of the Council, please sign up to our Think Tank email list here to be informed. |
