Project Gwaii disrupts the myth of what it means to be from Canada’s North.

Project Gwaii challenges us to think differently about what it means to live and create value in the North. Among the trees and salmon, young people are the North’s most precious resources.

Problem

Haida Gwaii is an archipelago. A paradise in the northwest. The land of the Haida and the home of many. Haida Gwaii is a lifestyle, a way of existing. It’s our identity. Young people growing up on Haida Gwaii are taught to work as a team, be resourceful, and never give up! We’ve hunted for food, survived 150 kilometer winds and lived without Walmart. We are also curious, often journeying off the islands to search for new experiences and opportunities. But the relocation of hundreds of young people has led to population and economic decline at home. Why do young people leave? Who has returned? And what would happen if we began to re-engage and reconnect Haida Gwaii young people from around the world? How would they interact with one another? How would they interact with the islands?

Solution

The name of this social experiment is Project Gwaii. It is an initiative that two youth from Haida Gwaii want to start. Their names are Patrick and April. Patrick and April want people to think differently about what it means to live and create value in the North. Among the trees and salmon, young people are the North’s most precious resources. The journey of this idea is really simple and wants to do three things: • Showcase the talent of youth from Haida Gwaii • Reconnect young people to Haida Gwaii and one another • And introduce northern ventures to the value of northern youth By doing so, Project Gwaii will foster social and economic incentives for young Haida Gwaii professionals to invest in their homeland.

Example

To reconnect and rediscover our young people, Project Gwaii will create an open space for this journey to begin. To start, Project Gwaii will build the first ever online community for and by Haida Gwaii youth.

Marketplace

To the best of our knowledge, Project Gwaii is the first model which uses multi-media and social reconnection to foster social and economic development in northern British Columbia.