Connecting Greenstone and the World:Greenstone Community Portal Launch Helps Communities Get Online

The Greenstone Community Portal, a community-focused web portal, was officially launched today at www.greenstone.ca. Pioneered by the Municipality of Greenstone and its partners, Geraldton District Hospital and Geraldton Community Forest.

Greenstone, ON (PRWEB) February 17, 2007 -- The Greenstone Community Portal, a community-focused web portal, was officially launched today at www.greenstone.ca. Pioneered by the Municipality of Greenstone and its partners, Geraldton District Hospital and Geraldton Community Forest, the Greenstone Community Portal is strategically designed to connect and build capacity for Greenstone residents, non-profit organizations and businesses online.

Using advanced wireless and web technologies to meet the needs of communities in Northern Ontario, the Greenstone Community Portal provides an interactive experience that will enhance communication, offer access to new economic opportunities, improve professional recruitment and dramatically increase cooperation between individuals, businesses and organizations, both within Greenstone and across the world.

By providing workshops and developing training partnerships within the region, our residents will have the opportunity to learn how to use new technology and most importantly, how to leverage the portal to develop new economic growth initiatives for our region.

The community owned and operated web portal was primarily funded by the McGuinty Liberal government's Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' Rural Economic Development program in the amount of $747,444.

"The Greenstone Community Portal is user-friendly and has been specifically developed to allow the Greenstone communities at large to take full advantage of the Internet," said Michael Power, Mayor of the Municipality of Greenstone. "It will act as an evolving resource for community information and services, event listings, tourism information, directories and e-commerce business solutions. All of the portal content will be created and developed by local residents, organizations and businesses who want to benefit from exposure on the World Wide Web."
In addition to providing a diverse range of content, a key objective of the Greenstone Community

Portal is to increase awareness and usage of web-based technology by local residents to support the emergence of a more diversified economy in Greenstone. During today's Greenstone Community Portal go-live event at the Geraldton Curling Club, it was also announced that a series of training workshops will be held in Greenstone, commencing March 2007. In addition, residents are being offered free access to internet tools such as web hosting and E-commerce shopping capabilities for one year.

"We want to ensure that residents have the skills they need to gain the most benefit from the portal," continued Mayor Michael Power. "By providing workshops and developing training partnerships within the region, our residents will have the opportunity to learn how to use new technology and most importantly, how to leverage the portal to develop new economic growth initiatives for our region."

"This initiative will open new windows of opportunity for the residents of Greenstone and provide an effective gateway for communication between government, the public, industry and business," said Mayor Michael Power. "This entire Greenstone Community Portal project culminates in the realization of our aims to build a global communications channel to connect Greenstone residents with the world through www.greenstone.ca,"; concluded Mayor Michael Power.

For more information visit: www.greenstone.ca

Disponible en français

For further information: Contact: Stephanie Ash, Firedog Communications

Tel: (807) 767-4443; Cell: (807) 472-5276

Lisa Kokanie, Public Relations Officer
Firedog Communications
Suite 3, 4 S. Court Street
Thunder Bay, ON P7B 2W4
Tel: 807 767-4443
Fax: 807-767-4479

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