| Location | Saint John, New Brunswick
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| Organization | Greater Saint John Community Economic Development Agency
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| Description | Formed as a result of a partnership between the Saint John Board of Trade, Enterprise Saint John, and the Association Régionale de la Communauté francophone de Saint-Jean,Avantage Saint John Advantage is dedicated to promoting and supporting business and cultural advantages of bilingualism in Saint John through linguistic and economic cooperation.
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| Objectives | • Contribute to the growth of the City of Saint John • Support training, recruitment and retention of a bilingual workforce • Communicate the benefits of bilingualism through awareness campaigns • Increase the number of businesses that offer French‑language services
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| Activities | | • | Development and distribution of information kits to more than 500 merchants in the city | | • | Offer the Parfum de la francophonie program in cooperation with the Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick to support bilingual services in the Greater Saint-Jean area | | • | Creation of an e‑mail list of interested business owners to be used to advertise opportunities to practice French, such as French‑language lunches, cocktail hours, and cultural events at the Francophone cultural centre | | • | Development and provision of workshops: professional etiquette with regard to bilingualism, cultural awareness and sharing of best practices | | • | Conduct a survey on the supply and demand for a bilingual workforce | | • | Encourage students to pursue their studies in French through the Connections program by: | | | ► | Distributing information kits | | | ► | Having young professionals for whom bilingualism is both personally and professionally important deliver presentations in schools | | • | Creation of a directory Lebottin.org of bilingual services and products available in the Saint John region | |
| Partners | • Association Régionale de la Communauté francophone de Saint-Jean
• Enterprise Saint John (economic development)
• Saint John Board of Trade
• Société des Acadiens et Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick
• Canadian Parents for French
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| Funding | • Province of New Brunswick
• Canadian Heritage
• Human Resources and Social Development Canada
• Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
• In‑kind contributions from partners
• Event sponsorships by businesses
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| Results | | • | Improved availability of French‑language services | | • | Young students gain a better understanding of the benefits of being bilingual | | • | Despite registration fees, there is a high demand for the workshops. The number of spaces is inadequate; there is a waiting list | |
Ingredients
for success | | • | Based on the principle of cultural and economic cooperation | | • | The objective is economic development, not to promote language rights | | • | Uses the economic benefits for retailers as a selling point: studies have shown that Saint John's Francophone residents shop elsewhere (Moncton or Dieppe) in order to be served in French | | • | The initiative's team of professionals includes people from the business community, the education sector (both Anglophone and Francophone), and the health and community development sectors | | • | Hiring a bilingual Anglophone coordinator who believes in the value and importance of providing bilingual services
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| Challenges | • Sustainable funding
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| For additional information | http://www.lebottin.org/about/mission.asp#english
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