Médias

Recently I took part in a charitable initiative with the "Princes Trust" - in order to raise funding and awareness I decided to create a rap song in tribute along with a video. My offer to potential sponsors was that if they gave me £15 or more, I would include their name in the scrolling tickertape along the bottom of the video. Everyone I spoke to/heard about it were genuinely very interested in this due to its originality. I worked with my network of designers and producers to create a song, write the lyrics and record/edit the footage. I then worked with Accenture's executive, communications and corporate citizenship team to gain formal sign off on the content. The content got superb endorsement and the song is being released to the entire UK/I workforce (~12k) with the aim of helping achieve a £40k sponsorship rate for the cause. Furthermore I am working with the Princes Trust directly to use the song to promote the great work the Trust is doing and our contribution. There are discussions about monetizing the song further via iTunes and radio with proceeds going to the cause. Ultimately the value lies in reaching the relevant target audiences and making an emotional connection to communicate key messages in a memorable way.

Social Cops makes the solution to Social issues really simple. Imagine you walk out of your house and see an uncleared garbage dump. Previously, while the sight may have distressed you - a common citizen would just walk by- as the process of getting the issue solved is highly cumbersome & unrewarding. But with Social Cops', all you need to do is click a picture of the problem with your smartphone. Your problem statement & photo of the problem along with the location will automatically be posted to the platform. It will then be forwarded to the relevant authorities and you will be assigned a complaint number. In the case of uncleared garbage, it will be the municipal corporation's responsibility to update you on the status of your complaint. Your complaint will be monitored, tracked and reviewed thus bringing the much needed accountability into the system. Social cops will also be publishing monthly social analytics to bring transparency- which localities authorities are slowest to respond, where are the maximum reported problems from, etc.

We want to upgrade our website to include a story gathering and events feature allowing us to re-engage the community involved in Witness over the decade that it was active, as well as to new people. We will combine this with active networking and co-linking with all the many projects Witness inspired so that the website, and social media offshoots become a dialogue hub over these important issues.

All this will be part of the build up to the launch of our book launch in June, when ‘Picturing Transformation Nexw-áyantsut - Uts’am Witness Stories’ - a gorgeous art-quality coffee table book that tells the photographic story of 10,000 citizens working together over 10 years in love, creativity and activism to save a beloved part of the Squamish Nation traditional Territory (Nexw-áyantsut) from logging, is published by Douglas & McIntyre.

In tandem with this, we will be exhibiting both the photographic artwork, and the final carving by Aaron Nelson-Moody in his "Cedar Woman' series. The previous three are placed on the land, this one will be gifted to the Vancouver area.

As the original project proved, the concept travels well, and has the potential to expand beyond even our current modest vision, if it captures the hearts and imagination of people in the lower mainland.

There will be public Witness Ceremonies marking key moments in this new phase, and the carving of this final 'house post' style carving will take place where it can be viewed publicly, contributing to more opportunities for dialogue.

For the past few years we have broadcast a number of provincial, national and international events hosted in BC and have established a large viewership audience. Some of the largest sports organizations in Canada now have "channels" on our network where all their previous broadcasts have been archived.

Our live internet broadcasts provide families, friends and fans the opportunity to watch our Canadian amateur athletes compete regardless of where the event is taking place in Canada. For example, many student athletes leave home to compete in college and university athletics and now their parents can still watch every game.

The archives of these broadcasts are also routinely used for athlete, coach and official development as well.

We have covered of a number of national and international wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball events, and have heard back that these broadcasts provided exposure for these sports and have inspired other athletes with disabilities to participate in them.

The Tsay Keh Dene first asked for an application like landsongs to be built. They asked this so they could fully understand the history of a specific place in response to industrial interest. This application has allowed them to compare modern environmental monitoring data with their own histories to better understand how the land is reacting to various activities.

This application is now housing many of the Tsay Keh's stories and their database grows as the elders remember more. One story will lead to another and soon the map fills up with tales of history, facts about hunting areas and journeys people have taken across the landscape. The act of recording the stories means that community members can return to the application and learn more about their own culture.

This application is actively used in land management decisions as well as supporting the treaty process. It is hoped that it might be used in the community school in the future.

These experiences teach the individuals involved to remember, but they also remind the rest of us that there is more to our culture than Hollywood, and more to our histories than is presently written down.

The digital divide is deepened by a lack of reliable information about technological accessibility for different demographic groups. We will collaborate with academic partners to research the prevalence and reliability of digital and media production resources in each locality, and gather information about the practical, social and attitudinal barriers that women face in accessing computers, software, modems, smart phones, mobile and telephone lines, and recording equipment.
Many of these existing resources will be owned by government depts, NGOs, health and education institutions, private businesses and media outlets and used by a small group during working hours. We will partner with businesses and institutions to open access to these resources for our trainees.
We will then offer ambitious but feasible media training that will demystify citizen journalism and help trainees harness the tools around them. At the end of the training 60 women and girls will understand how to source reliable information and manage quotes, understand the legal and practical considerations in whistle-blowing and criticism, show a basic grasp of a range of media and production tools including micro-blogging via SMS, posting photos, video and audio clips, collecting data, online mapping and social networking. We will also offer guidance on reporting on crisis, health, elections and climate change.
Trainees will be introduced to mentors and editors who can work with them to produce quality media for international media platforms, amplifying voices that would otherwise remain below the radar.

With this in mind, in May 2009 La Poderosa Media Project launched a Community-Based Arts Education Program in Ecuador. 2013 will be the fifth consecutive summer that a group consisting of professionals and students spends six weeks in Bahía de Caráquez collaborating and fostering promotive interaction between different demographic groups through the production of short films. Thus, La Poderosa Media Project utilizes a visual arts education program to develop in our young female participants a sense of civic responsibility, social justice, and community engagement through a “doing with” rather than a “doing for” approach.
Our Filmmaking classes are geared toward female Latin American students (high school age) and provides them with the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to produce short films and documentaries. Through intensive multimedia workshops taught by professional filmmakers and media specialists, we instruct both theory and practice, focusing on the three stages of filmmaking: pre-production, production, and post-production.
Students learn about script writing, acting, filming, sound recording, editing, among other elements related to the production of short films. By the end of each workshop the students will have learned how to create, film, and distribute their own stories.

The videos are a part of the activities of the BC Women in Energy Network. The Network's goal is to increase the role that women play in the BC energy sector and to primarily support women in achieving their own defined level of success. We want women to feel that they are achieving their own professional goals, being valued in the workplace and balancing their person and work life. Part of this becomes building a community of people and support where individuals can share information, learn of opportunities, and create change. Young women will have an opportunity to see this, to see women making a difference and feel that they can achieve the same success and be a part of the industry and community.

Our solution makes a difference because women who have viewed the documentary, and utilized the SMS text messaging services, ultimately sought help and left their violent situations.
We previously held screenings of the documentary, Justice for my Sister, and subsequently conducted workshops, co-hosted by non-profit organizations that had a sound rapport within the community. We then collected phone numbers at our community screenings, added them to our listserv, and continually sent blast text messages to all our viewers.
This allows us to continue providing advice, references and resources as reminders that the community is committed to protecting all women. The goal with the text-message based hotline is not only to encourage women to report violence, but also to provoke a sense of communal responsibility.
What happens to one woman sets the tone in the community and fosters a sense of empowerment. Our main resource has been the Oficina Municipal de la Mujer, or the Municipal Women’s Office. We direct our audience members to them if they are located nearby. We have also held meetings and trainings with the police, public prosecutors, and human rights attorneys so that they are aware of our system.

An example not mentioned in the Solution section above are the “Hearing Voices That Are Distressing” workshops that we offer regularly in Victoria and Nanaimo, and even in Vancouver. These four-hour workshops provide a simulated experience of the voice hearing experience and allow the participant to appreciate concretely the challenges presented by carrying out everyday tasks while experiencing this common phenomenon. Participants wear headphones that reproduce a recording of voices spoken by the authors of the workshop, all of whom are voice hearers themselves. City bus drivers, bank tellers, librarians, corrections officers, family members as well as nursing, criminology, and social work students, among others, populate these sessions.
The workshops are offered for a suggested $25 donation per participant; however, the donation is waived when requested. Two staff persons and two volunteers deliver each session. The outcomes achieved by these workshops are 1) a demystification of hearing voices, and 2) enhanced motivation and skills to engage productively with active voice hearers, and 3) intersectoral networking. Participants are invited to take advantage of other Columbian Centre public education offerings.

The “EQUIlibrary platform”, or EGALITHEQUE (in French), will display all the information, tools, media, and literature that has been collected and produced on gender equality and women’s rights in Haiti in addition to providing links to other useful international resources.

- The platform will appear on the Center’s 12 computer homepages and will link visitors to our services in an interactive way - they can comment, evaluate, and subscribe to our popular feminist debates, library and book clubs, individual project support services, and training courses in computers, social media, and project design.
- In cities such as Ti Goave or Jacmel, where no specialized library exists, members of our sister organizations will be able to access the platform. Our training modules and essential documents will be available for download to assist in making cases on women’s rights and monitoring gender inequities. Members can also read the latest news and chat with sisters in the forum.
- NGOs in Leogane will be able to download useful documents on how to run gender analyses prior to implementing a project and learn about gender inequities within a specific region.
- Whether a politician or an activist, a donor or a consultant, the platform will provide awareness of the resources, expertise, and services available. Anybody interested in supporting us will be able to request our expertise, upload their own useful references and tools, connect with our network, and chat with us about equality!

We have a few of our resource on line here : http://weleadhaiti.tumblr.com/