Our CEO, and CIRA Nomination Committee Candidate Lee Dale says CIRA’s next step should be to effectively support small and medium businesses.

“Small and mid-size businesses are the underpinning of the Canadian economy. There’s a necessity for CIRA as an organization that shapes the internet in Canada for citizens, to make sure that businesses are part of this mandate.”

CIRA already advocates for a better online Canada through a variety of initiatives that help with access, security, privacy, and safety. CIRA has done a good job of highlighting the value of a .CA—it means a Canadian operation, and the site is for Canadians.

Continuing infrastructure efforts around these initiatives will drive this value home to increase the likelihood of locally operating business wanting to identify as a Canadian operation and benefiting from Canadians who identify with these values.

“CIRA is in a unique position to drive innovation, growth, and community initiatives across Canada with a product and service mix that provide the underpinnings of Canada’s digital footprint,” says Lee.

As the traditional provider of the .CA domain name, CIRA has become an important driver of Canada’s digital infrastructure. In effort to expedite growth as an organization over the years, they’ve looked at diversifying ways to drive partnerships on a global scale. However, CIRA’s efforts have not been viable for the majority of Canadian business, but strictly enterprise.

Working with organizations of all sizes while honing his CEO position at Say Yeah has taught Lee how to bring value to both the businesses and enterprises he serves as clients, as well as the customers of those businesses.

“We know where digital is today and where it’s going. It’s important to bring this expertise to the Board because it could provide new insight around how CIRA can help drive the Canadian economy.”

Lee says he values the power of the internet as a means to benefit Canadians and form unity and prosperity across the nation.

“Our vision of the internet is a voice to those who use it in Canada. I want to help CIRA be proactive in shaping the internet and providing access for Canadians,” says Lee, “If we can show our growth as a nation digitally, we serve as a beacon to other nations around the world.”

Lee stresses the importance of being involved in CIRA’s efforts to transform the internet as Canadian citizens and CIRA members.

“As a member, you have the opportunity to stay informed and participate in the upcoming vote for the Board of Directors. We live in a digital-driven age, with CIRA as one of the most important drivers of this new opportunity to connect Canadians and grow the economy in Canada. Don’t miss out on being a part of this!”

The board of directors’ election vote runs from September 22 until September 29 and you can tune in to CIRA’s Canadians Connected event the afternoon of September 22. 

The post CIRA Board of Directors Candidate Lee Dale wants to help CIRA support Canadian businesses appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Lots of exciting events this week that run the gamut from networking to development to fundraising, including a very busy Wednesday for entrepreneurs. Here are just two of the events from Wednesday’s packed day:

Wednesday, October 20
Canadian Business Leadership Forum at the Carlu, 8:00a to 6:00p
Learn from top business leaders from a variety of industries including Amber Mac, Bonnie Brooks, Paul Kedrosky, Michael Lee-Chin and Adam Penenberg. Discounted tickets are available from NewPath for just $110.

Sprout Up Toronto at the Courthouse, 6:00p to 9:00p
Daniel Debow, cofounder of Rypple, will be sharing his insight while Story Guitars, NoteWagon and TinyHippos demo their wares.

Thursday, October 21
Facebook Developer Garage at MarsDD, 6:30p to 9:30p
A free event and post-event drinks with speakers, demos and more on the Open Graph, Facebook analytics and apps.

Saturday, October 23
Design Exchange Gala fundraiser and Bruce Mau exhibit opening, 8:00p to 2:00a
Help the Design Exchange support Canadian design with Bruce Mau. Tickets start at $125.

Lots more on the go
As always, there’s more to see on the full calendar. Be sure to check out all the events on Yeah Social’s TO Events Calendar. And feel free to add your choice events to the TO Events Calendar or reach out to us with some suggestions so we can keep everyone up to date.

The post Events for the week of October 18 to 24. appeared first on Say Yeah!.

Exciting events for this week include:

Tuesday, August 10
Top of Toronto: Summer Breakfast Series, 7:30a to 9:00a
The Toronto Board of Trade welcomes business professionals from all communities and business sectors to attend a casual networking breakfast session.

Meet the CEOs, 6:00p to 9:00p
Meet the CEOs is a forum to engage with CEOs and discover the zeitgeist of the executive suite and what dominates the agenda, plans and minds of today’s CEOs.

Wednesday, August 11
Design with Dialogue, 6:00p to 9:00p
August’s session will be hosted by Kaleem Khan and Peter Jones based on the design-friendly practices of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and World Café.
To address the concern for “What should we do now?”, we’ll use AI to create a positive framework for working together and then gather in a World Café to generate new possibilities for action.

And for the beep boop music lovers…
Saturday, August 14
HARD Tour with Crystal Castles, Rusko, Sinden and Destructo, 8:00p to 3:00a
$30 admission

Sunday, August 15
Intro to Chiptunes: Making music with Game Boys, 1:00p to 5:00p
Co-taught at Site 3 coLaboratory by local chiptunes musician Jeff “jefftheworld” Alyanak and Site 3 member Jonathan Guberman, this introductory workshop will focus on the most popular synthesizer program for Game Boy, Little Sound DJ (LSDJ).

Find more events this week on the TO Events Calendar
Be sure to follow the Yeah Social TO Events Calendar for the latest events. There’s always more to see there. And be sure to let us know what’s on your radar via Twitter or add your recommended events to the calendar.

The post Events for the week of August 9 to August 15. appeared first on Say Yeah!.