2010-2011 Annual Report Blue Metropolis Foundation 2 MESSAGE from the CHAIR of the BOARD of DIRECTORS

bluemetropolis.org November 2011 Annual Report 2010-2011 Blue Metropolis Foundation 2 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Blue Metropolis is much more than a great literary festival. It is a crucial cultural institution in an ever changing cultural and demographic landscape. And so it is with great pleasure and honour that I chair the Board of Directors of this astonishing organization. Since no individual organization or actor has the resources to singlehandedly produce meaningful change in society, Blue Metropolis Foundation has, since its beginning, forged strong partnerships with a variety of stakeholders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and internationally. It has maintained these partnerships in 2010-2011, which has been a transitional year for the Foundation. The Board of Directors is proud of, and has supported, several noteworthy achievements: • a successful new-look festival, with a 50 percent increase in ticket sales and over 22,000 visitors in attendance • the development of new and innovative partnerships for our educational programmes and digital ventures • a significant reduction of our fixed costs, including a restructuring of the staff for even better productivity and to begin repaying the accumulated deficit • a bold fundraising campaign resulting in close to $500,000 from private donors Thank you to William St-Hilaire and her team for a successful transition and a memorable Festival. And special thanks to Linda Leith, the remarkable founder of Blue Metropolis, who resigned at the end of 2010. Cameron Charlebois Chair of the Board of Directors Vice President, Real Estate, Quebec Canada Lands Company 3 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, GENERAL MANAGER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR When I arrived in January, I quickly realized the extent to which the Foundation’s activities are rich and diverse, and that the audiences which benefit from them are extremely varied. From elementary school students to literary veterans, from the general public to a university audience, and from the thriller to the philosophical essay: everyone has their place. I was looking for a way to accurately convey this diversity and I needed a slogan, a motto, that says everything and in few words. Reading The Love Queen of Malabar, the inspiring book by Merrily Weisbord on the life of Kamala Das, enlightened me. I found the inspiration for the future and the present of Blue Metropolis in the words of the Indian poetess: “Ask the books that I read why I changed...” This also inspired me to create the slogan, The power of words. Books and their authors use the power of words to transform the lives of others. And those who write, from the very young to the elderly, from amateurs to professionals, take control of their lives through the power of words. The coming year will give you many – and I hope, eloquent – examples of the power of words conceived by Blue Metropolis. William St-Hilaire President, General Manager and Artistic Director Blue Metropolis Foundation 4 ORGANIZATION Linda Leith, Founder BOARD OF PROGRAMMING FUNDRAISING DIRECTORS CONSULTANTS COMMITTEE Cameron Charlebois, Chair Abigail Anderson Cameron Charlebois, of the Board Ingrid Bejerman Canada Lands Company Vice-President, Real Estate, Lise Bergevin Marcel Côté, Secor Group Quebec, Canada Lands Rupert Bottenberg Peter Daniel, Ilian Consulting Company Issa J. Boullata and Management. Peter Daniel, Vice-Chair of Serge Carrier David Laidley, Deloitte & the Board Ann Charney Touche Principal, Ilian Consulting Frank Escoubes Michel Lamontagne, and Management, Inc. Francis Farley-Chevrier Université de Montréal Suzanne Rancourt, Marie-Louise Gay Frederick Lowy, Concordia Treasurer Mikhail Iossel University Vice President, Internal Naïm Kattan Reford MacDougall Audit, CGI Julie Keith Richard Pound, McGill Isabelle Fontaine, Michele Luchs University Senior Advisor, NATIONAL Émile Martel Deon Ramgoolam, EOCI Public Relations Caroline Morin Pharmacomm Mary Kay Lowy, Birendra Prasada Suzanne Rancourt, CGI Director, Canadian Institute Rama Sifri Rae Turley of Psychoanalysis Lori Schubert Line Maheux, Diane Thérien Director, Government Carolyn Warren Relations, Bell Canada Patterson Webster Pierre-André Themens, Managing Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg s.r.l. Sheila de la Varende, Director of National and International Business Development, Telefilm Canada 5 HONORARY BOARD INTERNATIONAL STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL Abigail Anderson William St-Hilaire, André Bisson, CIRANO Etel Adnan, France President, General Manager, Denise Bombardier, Writer Taiaiake Alfred, Kahnawake and Artistic Director Pierre Bourque, Yassaman Ameri, Montreal Gregory McCormick, Constellation Monde, Inc. Nicole Brossard, Montreal Director of Programming Claude Castonguay, Invited Noëlle Châtelet, France Isabel Brinck, Director Fellow, CIRANO Steven Davis, Academics of Communications and The Hon. Baljit Singh for Higher Education and Development Chadha, Chadha Family Development Florence Allegrini, Foundation Sarah Dawbarn, The British Production Manager Christiane Charette Council (Festival and Educational Ann Charney, Writer Jacques de Decker, Programmes) Hélène Desmarais, Centre Brussels Élisabeth Reyt, d’entreprises et d’innovation Scott Griffin, The Griffin Administrative and de Montréal Trust Government Funding Maurice Forget, Fasken Riccardo Held, Venice Coordinator, and Assistant to Martineau Annie Heminway, New York the President Jean-Claude Germain, Anees Jung, New Delhi Writer Elias Khoury, Beirut Nicholas Hoare, Nicholas Ramona Koval, Melbourne Hoare Books Christina Lembrecht, Berlin Julie Jacobson, United Ping Li, Canada China States Embassy Network Council Naïm Kattan, Writer Yan Liang, Montreal Phyllis Lambert, Canadian Juana Libedinsky, Madrid Centre for Architecture Thomas Lynch, Michigan Judith Mappin Alberto Manguel, France Alex Paterson, McGill Mechtild Manus, Goethe- Institute for the Study of Institut Canada Émile Martel, Centre Johanne Pérusse Québécois du P.E.N. Cecil Rabinovitch international Jack Rabinovitch, The Richard O’Hagan, Toronto Scotiabank Giller Prize Angelo Mazzone, Istituto Richard J. Renaud, TNG Italiano di Cultura Corporation Suhayl Saadi, Glasgow Javier San Juan, L’Oréal Gabriel Safdie, Montreal Canada David Sela, Montreal André Vanasse, Lettres Amela Simic, Toronto québecoises 6 MISSION AND VALUES “We write because no one listens.” George Rochefort BLUE METROPOLIS FOUNDATION: THE POWER OF WORDS Blue Metropolis Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1997 that brings together people from different cultures to share the pleasure of reading and writing. The Foundation produces multilingual literary activities, such as the Blue Met International Literary Festival, the Blue Met Children’s Festival, and education programmes for young people. For 13 years, Blue Metropolis has organized several innovative literary activities for an audience of all ages and backgrounds, including: • The International Literary Festival, held in Montreal in French, English, and several other languages; • The Children’s Festival, presented by TD, for children up to 12 years old, held in libraries and cultural centres across Montreal; • Literary readings and writing workshops before a live audience and online; • Educational programmes across Canada that attempt to reach isolated communities; • Awards, grants and other prizes meant to highlight excellence in the literary world. Blue Metropolis is able to keep its firm commitment to social integration and diversity by organizing top notch literary activities thanks to the support of volunteers, donors, sponsors, and government and corporate partnerships. “Ask the books that I read why I changed…” Kamala Das 7 2011 AT A GLANCE THE YEAR OF CHANGE NEW DIRECTION After 14 years at the helm of Blue Metropolis, founder Linda Leith handed the reins of the Foundation to William St-Hilaire, in office since January 1, 2011. As President, General Manager and Artistic Director, Ms. St-Hilaire has brought a wind of change and renewal to the Blue Metropolis Foundation. BLUE METROPOLIS FESTIVAL The Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival has closed the cover on its 13th edition with a 50 percent increase in ticket sales compared to 2010. Held from April 27 to May 1 at the Holiday Inn Select Montreal Centre-Ville hotel in Chinatown, and at other locations across Montreal, the Festival welcomed over 22,000 festival-goers. One fifth of its events were sold out. For the fourth consecutive year, 5,000 children and their families enjoyed over 75 free activities. The Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival, presented by TD, offered events ranging from exhibitions to meetings with authors in various locations around Montreal. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES In 2011, the Foundation’s educational programmes grew in scope. Five programmes brought together more than 1,200 students from primary and secondary schools across Canada. Three of them culminated at the Blue Metropolis Festival: • Quebec Roots: The Place Where I Live: launch of the book and exhibition produced by students, at the McCord Museum on April 28; • Treats From The Terroir: participants gathered for a gourmet book launch at the Jean-Talon Market; • Student Literary Programme/Programme littéraire étudiant: brought together over 500 students for writing workshops from April 27 to 29. The Breaking Down Barriers / Le pouvoir des mots track now unites the educational and social activities of the Foundation. The action plan was developed to help various groups of at-risk youth through social and literary

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