Quebec new media groups merge to create a united voice for industry

Quebec could soon have the strongest lobby voice for multimedia in the country following a Dec. 7 vote supporting the merger of three new media associations into a single organization. The new entity, called Alliance Numérique (‘Digital Alliance’), hopes to secure $9.8 million in program funding over three years from the federal and Quebec governments, as well as from the private sector, to tackle such industry issues as funding, human resources/training, and business development. Members of the L’Association des producteurs en multimédia du Québec (APMQ), le Consortium multimédia CESAM and the Forum des inforoutes et du multimédia (FIM) collectively represent 275 members, all of whom will automatically become members in the new association. In addition to multimedia producers, the Alliance Numérique includes representation from the telecommunications, broadcasting, arts, computing, research, financial, and educational sectors. Part of the APMQ’s responsibilities will fall under the auspices of another new group, the Bureau des producters en contenu interactif (BPCI), which will be responsible for negotiating collective agreements between multimedia producers and artists’ unions. Daniel Boismenu, the Alliance Numérique’s founding executive director, says the formation of the new group was precipitated by a need to create a stronger lobby voice for Quebec’s new media industry, both within Canada and abroad, and to bring the related activities of each organization under a single administration. He describes APMQ as an activist lobby group, with a focus on business development issues. It has also been the most active of all the provincial new media associations. The other founding partner, CESAM, was incorporated in 1995 as part of the Centre de recherche informatique Montreal (CRIM). CESAM has been active in promoting the development of new applications, especially in the small-and medium business market. Its members included such corporate heavyweights as Bell Canada, Vidéotron, Teleglobe, Silicon Graphics and the CBC, as well as strong representation from public and private schools, including Concordia and Université de Montréal. "It was a mixed membership and it was there to promote the development of new applications in multimedia and to support the development of small business," says Boismenu. The third group, FIM, was formed about the same time as CESAM, and has focused on creating networking opportunities for the industry such as at major multimedia conferences. Strength in numbers While the three groups collaborated on a frequent basis, Boismenu says as one organization with board representatives from all sectors, Alliance Numérique can take a more coordinated and effective approach to dealing with industry issues. "It was difficult to explain when we have to deal with governments, or big companies or foreigners why you have three organizations," he explains. "It can be tough for somebody outside the industry to understand exactly what we do. We think that together we can have more impact." One of the biggest priorities for the new organization will be to secure more funding for Quebec-based multimedia companies. Boismenu says the merged organization will be more effective in securing funding from various levels of government. Education a priority Another priority is ensuring there is enough skilled labour for a growing multimedia industry. Part of that strategy, he says, is to encourage schools to have multimedia taught as a fundamental skill to all students. "We need to implement multimedia in every field of education to make sure that the new generation will be able to deal with those kinds of tools because it will be necessary to have them – not just in multimedia, but in every field of society in the future. (That’s) the reason why we’re pushing utilization of multimedia just as we use books." He adds that preliminary discussions have already taken place with senior ministry officials. Providing its members with information on business and human resource issues, as well as legal and technology developments, will also be another goal for the new group. "We want to … develop a strategy for the whole sector and to help government to adapt their views to the needs of our sector." The new body will take Quebec’s seat on the Interactive Multimedia Producers Association of Canada (IMPAC) board.

Quebec new media groups merge to create a united voice for industry

News | 12/14/2000 5:00 am EST

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