A new series of videos produced by Newfoundland native Nik Sexton highlight speakers and attendees who revelled in the day’s discussions at the Atlantic Business Summit 2009. The three videos were shot on location at the event and include keynote speaker Don Tapscott and moderator Seamus O’Regan.

Atlantic Business Summit keynote speaker John Risley remains optimistic about current challenges facing his business in Nova Scotia. ABS panellist and journalist for the Globe and Mail, Gordon Pitts, spoke with the business titan shortly after his dissertation at this year’s ABS to discuss how he will face the falling dollar, economic collapse and the new NDP government.

One question that every East Coast Connected member asks themselves is, “As someone who has left the region, or with stakes outside of it, how do I participate at a greater level with the Atlantic provinces?” Some people are looking to return to that place, but are unaware of particular opportunities, while others look to strengthen their ties with their region of origin through investments or research. On June 5 at the Atlantic Business Summit, East Coast Connected asked some distinguished thinkers “To what extent should governments support the establishment of expatriate community hubs?”.

On June 5, the Rotman School of Management saw a distinguished panel of speakers from Atlantic Canada come together to bring attention to a changing Atlantic Canadian economy. The 2nd Annual Atlantic Business Summit was host to what Macleans National Editor and moderator Andrew Coyne called a “tag-team” panel discussion, where a speaker from each Atlantic Canadian province brought an “industry guest” of their own. This format gave the conversation great depth, with each representative of the various governments able to provide successful examples of adaptation. The dialogue and questions were wide-ranging, and focused mostly on several topics: tax reform, access to information networks, global market positioning, educational opportunities, adaptability to market changes, transformation of industry, and the need for long-term vision.

The 2009 Atlantic Business Summit closed out the day with a panel discussion entitled “Leadership 2.0 in Atlantic Canada. Moderated by the co-host of CTV’s Canada AM, Newfoundland’s own Seamus O’Regan, the panel featured: Andrew Oland, President of Moosehead Breweries, Pamela Scott Crace, Editor of Progress Magazine, The Honourable David Dingwall P.C. Q.C. Counsel to Sampson McDougall, Tim Coates, Executive Director of 21 Inc, and Ken Pinto, Executive Director of the Atlantic Fringe Festival.

The session “Doing Business on the Global Stage from Atlantic Canada” prompted some active discussion amongst panellists and delegates at ECC’s Atlantic Business Summit held on June the 5th 2009.

Good ideas. At the closing reception, this was the most common response to the question: "What was the one thing you took away from attending this year's Atlantic Business Summit?” If you happened to have caught the panel discussion on bringing Atlantic Canadian businesses to the global stage you would have heard an intelligent conversation regarding major issues affecting Atlantic Canadian businesses and good, perhaps great ideas on how to deal with these issues.

Believe the hype; Atlantic Canada is one of this nation’s strongest regions when it comes to quality of life, economic opportunity and infrastructure. If you’re sceptical about this, have a look at this year’s speakers and panellists at the Atlantic Business Summit, being held this Friday in Toronto, and you’ll quickly realize that this region has spawned some of this country’s best and brightest.

Even with the current state of the economy, Atlantic Canada is living "in interesting times" and should continue to "move ahead". That was the message that Chris Crowell, ECC founder and president delivered to 680 News senior business editor Mike Eppel during a short radio interview Friday morning.

The Atlantic Business Summit will offer a full day of seminars and panel discussions about current business trends and issues facing the Atlantic Canadian provinces. But, one of the most valuable items on the agenda will be the closing reception.