About a month ago, Maureen Riley, the Vice President of Destination Canada was in Newfoundland to present at an aviation conference.
At a reception on the first evening, while standing near the bar, the bartender started chatting to her.
“She got very excited because, as she put it, ‘I’ve never spoken to anybody from away* before’,” Maureen said at a Destination Canada event in Sydney. *Native Newfoundlanders refer to those not born on the island as having come from away (hence the name of the award-winning musical set in Newfoundland).
“After about a two- or three-minute conversation, the bartender said, ‘Why don’t you come to my house for dinner tonight?’”
Being “naive Canadians”, Maureen and her colleague agreed and showed up at a complete stranger’s house that night for dinner.
“She was there, her family was there, and about a dozen of her neighbours were there. Because they all wanted to meet a person from away. And we spent an incredible night of eating storytelling, and singing (because you can’t have a dinner party at a Newfoundlander’s house that doesn’t turn into a party with music and good times).”
But according to Maureen, what was really interesting was the next day back at the conference, when chatting with a gentleman who was also from away, she found out that he had an almost identical experience to her.
“And what this speaks to is that idea of openness. Canadians are open, Canadians are welcoming.”
Open if you are
It is this openness that distinguishes Canada from its rivals, says Maureen.
And this openness is not just about space. It encompasses open minds and open hearts.
Destination Canada turned to TED to initiate a global conversation about openness. Through stories told by remarkable Canadians, they are encouraging new conversations about Canada.
“TED’s mission of Ideas Worth Spreading is perfectly aligned with Destination Canada’s theme of Openness – we are thrilled to offer the TED stage as a place for extraordinary Canadians to share their ideas with the world,” Lindsay Levin TED’s Head of Partnerships + Impact said.
Stay tuned to Karryon to hear from Alysa McCall from Polar Bears International who was part of this series.
