New Opportunities for All
Have you ever seen a live sports event, like a game of soccer or hockey? Well, the Olympics are the biggest sports event in the world! Thousands of people come to the cities that host the Olympics. Hundreds of extra jobs need to be done. The economic effects of the Olympics are huge.
How do the Olympics affect economies? The Olympic Games bring producers and consumers together. Producers provide goods or services. Consumers buy goods or services. Olympic visitors are consumers. They buy goods like shirts, cameras, and souvenirs. They also need places to sleep and eat. Stores, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses provide these goods and services.
These Inuit women are weaving a large, decorative cloth for display in a building. This cloth is one of many goods made for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
In February 2010, the Olympics will be held in Canada. The people of Canada’s Aboriginal, or native, communities have a special chance to benefit. Planners worked hard to make sure native communities can share in the opportunities created by the Olympics. People from Canada’s Aboriginal communities created a special group to help with this. This group has many goals. One goal is to pair Olympic jobs to people from Aboriginal communities. As a result, Aboriginal producers will reach more consumers than ever before!
The economic affects for Aboriginal communities that participate will be large.
Aboriginal business owners will sell goods and services. Aboriginal workers will have new job opportunities. Traditional artists and performers will be paid to share their art. Some Aboriginal artists will make goods with designs from their cultures. Money from the sale of these goods will fund programs for Aboriginal youth. As a result of all this, the businesses that participate will grow, and workers will learn new skills. Consumers will remember the business owners that they met, too.
This post at an Olympic park has carvings that are from the artist’s Squamish heritage. The Squamish people are one of Canada’s Aboriginal communities.
Canada’s Olympic planners and its Aboriginal communities are full partners. This means that they are working together. They want to make sure that anyone who wants to can take part. They hope many of Canada’s communities will benefit from the opportunities of the 2010 Winter Olympics. They also hope that economic growth from the Olympics will last long after the games are over.
Learn more about Canada’s Aboriginal communities and the 2010 Winter Olympics by visiting these websites:
www.vancouver2010.com/aboriginal-participation
TLX News Journal – Economics Activity:
Think of a time when you took part in an economics activity in your community such as a yard sale or lemonade stand. Describe the activity and what you did to help.
