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Province's mayors descend on U of R for leadership camp

Province's mayors descend on U of R for leadership camp

Dozens of mayors and deputy mayors from municipalities across Saskatchewan are at the University of Regina this week for an exercise in leadership and skill building.

The three-day Mayors' Summer School, which began Sunday, was organized by the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association.

"We expect them to go home with new tools in the toolbox," camp organizer Laurent Mougeot, executive director of SUMA, told CBC News.

Mougeot said the camp, which is bringing together mayors and deputy mayors from 44 municipalities, was inspired by work he did with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and a recent trip to Ukraine.

Leaders there had been doing something similar and Mougeot says he thought it would be a good idea to bring the idea to Saskatchewan.

Mougeot said he hopes the camp will build skills and provide the opportunity for networking.

"As a leader in your community, you're expected to provide some vision for your community," he said. "And bringing mayors together is a good opportunity to create a network outside of your community."

Many of the attendees are first-time mayors, Mougeot said. Among the first-time mayors, some are even first-time elected officials.

The camp runs through Tuesday.