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South Island Prosperity Partnership wins 3 global awards for COVID economic response

Conglomerate’s 2 gold, 1 silver won for innovation, special events, education partnerships
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Downtown Victoria streets have been emptier with less tourists in town since the pandemic started, but the South Island Prosperity Partnership has been working hard to get the economy bouncing back. It earned three international awards for its efforts. (Black Press Media file photo)

A south Vancouver Island conglomerate dedicated to the region’s social and economic prosperity has been recognized internationally for its pandemic recovery efforts in 2020.

Chosen from 500 global entries, the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) won two gold and one silver in the 2021 Excellence in Economic Development awards presented by the International Economic Development Council.

The first, a gold award for Innovation Programs and Initiatives, recognized the partnership’s quick work convening more than 120 of the region’s leaders a month into the pandemic to develop recovery strategies. The resulting work was a plan called Reboot: Greater Victoria’s Economic Recovery Plan, which has helped guide the region since 2020.

The partnership’s second gold award was for Special Events, for launching its first Rising Economy Week in November 2020. The virtual conference featured local and international speakers and attracted 1,100 participants, all rallying around economic recovery.

Finally, the partnership won silver in the category of Partnerships with Education, for its work with the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University. Together, the three created MicroStartBC, a website and marketing campaign that offers micro-credentials to people in rapidly evolving sectors, such as health care. It allows people to increase their skills while working full time.

READ ALSO: Royal Roads University introduces free ‘micro-credential’ programs

“Receiving these IEDC awards isn’t just a win for SIPP – the awards are a recognition of our entire region’s innovative, collaborative response to the pandemic,” partnership CEO Emilie de Rosenroll said in a release. “The awards demonstrate how an economy based on resilience, innovation, sustainability and equity resonates across sectors and communities.”

The South Island Prosperity Partnership launched in April 2016 and is a conglomerate of 10 municipalities, nine First Nations, five chambers of commerce, three post-secondary institutions and many other non-profits and major employers.

A list of all the 2021 winners can be found at iedconline.org.

READ ALSO: Greater Victoria economic ‘reboot’ plan tackles impacts of COVID-19


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