CitizenShift
Updates from the basement, courtesy of the CITIZENShift team.
Archive of November, 2009
Written by
tim
November 30, 2009
Next Sunday, December 6th 2009, will mark 20 years since the Polytechnique massacre, where 14 women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal were killed by a male shooter. Violence against women was a devastating issue before that day in 1989, and it persists; that day, though, has remained etched in the minds of many of we must all fight against through education, awareness and prevention. We’ve held the issue close here at CS: you can find out more in our dossier Feminicide & Violence: Remembering women
Many work tirelessly against all forms of violence against women all year round; this week though, around the world, people will pause a little longer to remember women who have fallen victim to violence. Shortly after the massacre, many vowed to fight even harder against violence towards women. But it is still clearly an issue today. According to Stats Canada:
- 146 women were victims of homicide in Canada in 2008. On average, 178 females were killed every year between 1994 and 2008.
- 45 women were victims of spousal homicide in 2008. Of these, 22 women were killed by their legally married husband, 10 by a common-law partner and 13 by a separated or divorced husband or common-law partner.
Sources and more information here: http://www42.statcan.ca/smr08/smr08_136-eng.htm
Over the coming days, we will be lucky to have several guest bloggers share their thoughts about Dec. 6th and where Canada is today in the struggle to stop violence against women. That will include:
Laura Glowacki will also be speaking with the Fédération des Femmes du Québec about how they are marking Dec. 6th and the 12 days agains violence towards women, and we’ll be posting other information as well. We’ll also be posting about what various groups are doing across Canada, and how you can plug in.
As a last note, we often hear the name of the shooter, but not as often the name of the women. Let’s make sure we do. We remember:
- Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968), civil engineering student
- Hélène Colgan (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
- Nathalie Croteau (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
- Barbara Daigneault (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
- Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968), chemical engineering student
- Maud Haviernick (born 1960), materials engineering student
- Maryse Laganière (born 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique’s finance department
- Maryse Leclair (born 1966), materials engineering student
- Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967), mechanical engineering student
- Sonia Pelletier (born 1961), mechanical engineering student
- Michèle Richard (born 1968), materials engineering student
- Annie St-Arneault (born 1966), mechanical engineering student
- Annie Turcotte (born 1969), materials engineering student
- Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958), nursing student
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Category : Dec 6
Tags: december 6, femicide, polytechnique, violence towards women
November 27th marks the 20th anniversary of yet another Buy Nothing Day (BND) and with it comes a wave of events throughout North America (and internationally the following day). This includes in Montreal, for example, a BND Bash with live music held on Sunday and a ‘Really Really Free Market’ credit-card cut-up and open source manifesto on Monday.
Popularized by Adbusters magazine, BND is a 24-hour protest and abstention from compulsive consumerism that, among other things, tends to provide an impetus for discussing the ways in which media influences our daily behaviors. After all, consumer culture couldn’t function without a supportive advertisement industry, and such an industry wouldn’t survive without a media apparatus to engage a future clientele.
That news outlets typically pass their journalism through an editorial sieve influenced by its advertisers may still remain shocking, but is nothing revelatory to most. Speaking about the New York Times for example, the oft-cited Noam Chomsky once described the news outlet as:
“A corporation [that] sells a product. The product is audiences. They don’t make money when you buy the newspaper. They are happy to put it on the worldwide web for free. They actually lose money when you buy the newspaper. But the audience is the product. … You have to sell a product to a market, and the market is, of course, advertisers (that is, other businesses). Whether it is television or newspapers, or whatever, they are selling audiences. Corporations sell audiences to other corporations.”
Coupled with this stark reality is the ongoing trend of media concentration, prioritizing the flow of revenue over the quality of information flow. Consider the case of News Corp, the second largest media conglomerate, bought out STAR TV in 1993. Owner and media mogul Richard Murdoch, an investor in the Beijing People’s Daily, canceled a controversial program when it received PRC complaints after airing on the BBC. Even in Canada today, the news we receive (or don’t) through mainstream outlets is still subject to the decisions of a narrower few and their economic or political motives.
All this to say, curbing our consumption is one tactic whose success rate is up for debate. ‘Doing it for ourselves’, however, –particularly as it relates to media autonomy- is an approach that’s gaining a lot of ground and momentum in an information-savvy culture such as this..
Check out the CITIZENShift dossier, Autonomous Media, for video (and other) resources on reclaiming channels of communication and reportage. Rather than just opting out of the media behemoth, why not create your own? We’re here to help make it happen.
How’s that for a pitch.
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Category : Blogroll
Tags: Autonomous Media, Buy Nothing Day, independent journalism, media concentration, murdoch
Written by
tim
November 27, 2009
From Afghanistan to climate change, Canada’s role in the world is on everyone’s lips these days. Canada’s World contibues to create spaces for us all to debate, define & propose paths for Canada’s place in the world. This weekend you can join in at Foreign Policy Camp, a series of concurrent conferences across Canada, taking place in Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto. The event is billed as a hybrid conference, with some parts of it consisting of structured activities, such as a series of case studies, as well at open sessions proposed and lead by participants.
You can find out more at http://rethinkforeignpolicy.ca/ and in Canada’s World’s dossier on CITIZENShift.
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Category : events
Tags: Canada's World, foreign policy, unconference
Written by
tim
November 25, 2009
Some of the more dedicated listeners of our podcast may remember Mark Leiren-Young, who contributed several episodes of his Green Chain podcast to our series. Mark’s kept going, and going strong, blogging, writing the 2009 Stephen Leacock Award for Humour award winning Never Shoot a Stampede Queen, forming the ‘world
’s first eco-comedy duo’ Local Anxiety, and producing The Green Chain documentary, which got it all started.
He’s combined all his efforts into a new book, aptly called The Green Chain: Nothing is ever clear-cut, bringing together interviews with John Vaillant, and Severin Cullis Suzuki, among others.
It’s already out in bookstores, but those of you in Vancouver can hit up the book’s launch tonight at Café Montmatre, 4362 Main Street. Fun starts at 7:30pm featuring Local Anxiety, Nancy Bleck, photographer and co-founder with Chief Bill Williams of Utsam-Witness, and Jay Dodge, Vancouver director and co-founder of experimental theatre/performance art group Boca del Lupo, known for site-specific works in the treetops of Stanley Park.
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Category : Where Are They Now?, events
Tags: environmentalism, Green Chain, John Vaillant, Mark Leiren-Young, Severin Cullis-Suzuki
It’s true… communities nowadays are taking control of food by reclaiming the sources of production and the way they think about local menus. This at a time when large grocery chains throughout Canada, such as Loblaws and Metro are reporting record profits. Oftentimes, these trends are contingent on cheap imports at the expense of locally sourced, seasonal food options.
One group that prioritizes eco-consumer consciousness and local food options is Choices Markets of Vancouver, who’s recently released their first cookbook, “A Local Table”, maintaining a focus on local food options. The launch happens this Saturday, November 21st, and is sure to offer lots of free food samples, live food demonstrations, and give-aways. Event details can be found here.
Free local food, yum… it begs the question, how can financially accessible, locally-sourced, sustainably produced food be a mainstay of community culture?
The urban landscape, of course, provides countless opportunities for farming the food that ends up on our table. Backyard beds and community gardens are starting to take deeper root. Another free food event this Saturday, albeit one with a slightly more holistic approach, is the Community Garden Action Planning Day hosted by the Community Garden Network in Toronto.
If you’re involved in similar projects to this one, or would like to be, check out CitizenShift’s new dossier in development, CEMENT ROOTS. It’s a forum to exchange ideas and share media around urban agriculture. Reversing the idiom, it’s ‘thought for food’..and we want to hear what’s on your mind.
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Category : Blogroll, events
Tags: Cement roots, farming, harvest, local food, rooftop garden, urban agriculture
As Tim mentioned, tonight Cinema Political and the doc fest RIDM are premiering the Alberta oil sands documentry H2Oil. The movie starts at 9pm, it’s showing in Hall-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Concordia.
“Ultimately we ask what is more important, oil or water? And what will be our response?”
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Category : Blogroll
Written by
tim
November 11, 2009
Tonight marks the launch of the twelfth edition of the Rencontres Internationales du documentaire de Montréal, Montreal’s premiere documentary film fest. We’ve always been big fans of RIDM at CITIZENShift, and this year we’ll even be co-presenting an event (The Right to Live My City on NOv 16th - more details here).
But even more exciting are the number of people that we’ve had the chance to work with, both here at CS and on our sister site Parole Citoyenne, who have work being featured in this year’s festival. We wanted to say a big congratulations and highlight their work, so in no particular order (click on the film titles for screening details):
Myths For Profit: Canada’s Role in Industries of War and Peace
Directed by Amy Miller, Edited by Boban Chaldovich and produced by Wide Open Exposure
Myths for Profit is an exhaustive and compelling look at how Canada has built up the image of being a global good guy, and strips it away piece by piece. It’s a must see in understanding Canada’s role in the world.
We were lucky to have Amy contribute to our podcast series over the summer with her piece National (In)Security, and we also have a longer version of a hilarious - and scathing - short animation piece done by Eric Hanson for the film as well.
H2Oil
Directed by Shannon Walsh, produced by Loaded Pictures
If you care about the environment and the role Canadian oil development is playing in the climate change, this is a must see film. Focussing on the massive tar sands developments in northern Alberta, Walsh & Loaded Pictures bring us to Fort Chipewyan. Downstream from tar sands developments, the community has faced growing health concerns in tandem with the growth of the largest industrial project on Earth. From there it explores the national and global impact of what is becoming known as the world’s dirtiest oil. You can see Shannon’s piece Fire and Hope on CitizenShift; and we’ve collaborated with Loaded Pictures closely over the years, hosting production dossiers for their films Wal-Town and Roadsworth. You can also wathc the trailer & find out more about the tar sands in our dossier on the topic.
This screening is also a co-presentation with Cinema Politica, who we’ve partnered with over the years and year-round does the most for independent, Canadian political documentary and filmmaking than just about anyone else around.
Read the rest of this entry »
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Category : Where Are They Now?, events
Since the dawn of documentary filmmaking, a discussion has ensued regarding the intent of the form. While some purists believe documentaries, as with journalism, should be strictly informative –notwithstanding whatever facts are editorially included or omitted from the frame- another camp believes the documentary’s objective is to be empowering and inciting. That is, documentaries shouldn’t simply convey a story but, rather, compel an audience to act on the issue.
With the release of an increasing number of contemporary documentaries playing out like a rallying-cry for some particular cause and, in part, a product of those institutions playing financial backers, questions are raised about editorial independence and the role being assumed by the media-makers. In light of this debate, the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival held a session at this year’s event, held this past weekend, entitled ‘Campaigning Documentaries: The Thin Line Between Passion and Propaganda’ where panelists discussed the slippery slope of NGO funding for documentary film-making and the threats of trumping “impartial journalism with propaganda, however benign”.
David Cox of the BBC writes about these ‘committed films’ echoing the concerns raised by panelists who ask the question, “while no-one can deny NGOs the right to make documentaries, are there pitfalls in social action funding partnerships, and the passion for campaigning on film?”. Might films such as these, Cox adds, not “deserve to be called documentaries. They’re propaganda, corporate video or advertising” and not be featured alongside more ‘journalistic’ documentary features?
This is a double-edged sword - documentary filmmakers pursuing what may be regarded as ‘campaign’ style docs, not necessarily committed to the purse-strings of a higher power, are making their mark bringing important debates to the forefront of international festivals. On a related note…
Come January 2010, the Sundance Film Festival will play host to the North American premiere of ‘Shock Doctrine’… you guessed it, a documentary based on the book, subtitled ‘The Rise of Disaster Capitalism’, by acclaimed Canadian journalist and anti-globalization author Naomi Klein. The film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo), has already been screened as a work-in-progress in Germany. In response to the buzz generated by the politically-charged film, Robert Redford, founder of Sundance, has said that it’s screening will direct the festival in a new direction as a venue to “share opinions, discuss the key issues of our day and reflect on the role art plays in social change.”
Here’s a sneak preview of the film:
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Category : Blogroll
Tags: Documentaries, political films, Sheffield, Shock Doctrine, Sundance
After a couple years in the making, the new CitizenShip dossier Cyber Bullying is up on the Internet. You can read/see/listen to it here.
Still interested in this issues? Definitely worth checking out the Digital Respect website made by collaborators on the Cyber Bullying dossier.
Remember you can always contribute to dossiers by becoming a member of CitizenShift. It is free and really easy. Surf the internet for unique and relevant content and upload it. Make your own stories. Report. CitizenShift is yours for the making.
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Category : Blogroll
Tags: bullying, Internet, Youth
For all those fans of Shameless –the independently produced grassroots mag and blog on issues of feminism, food politics, gender, sexuality, and lots in between- here’s your chance to show your support.
If you haven’t had a chance yet to scope out the latest from this Toronto-based collective, than you may not have heard about the ‘Shameless Wire’ project. This grassroots media-education initiative recruits a diverse group of high school teens from all over Toronto and connects them with Shameless writers for a skill-share on pitching, researching and writing articles. Participants get the opportunity to report and publish news stories while meeting other women journalists in a series of workshops.
The program is free to participants but comes with some associated costs (i.e. transportation, food). Organizers hope the broader community can reach out to support young women participants, who might not otherwise be able to join such a program, by helping subsidize these costs.
So, onto the fun part, where you come in… There’s a ‘Shameless Wire’ free event as part of Granny Boots (free weekly queer-friendly entertainment hosted by the Gladstone Hotel and Chelsey Licht-a-Womyn) in Toronto on Wednesday, November 11th. The night is expected to feature a stellar line-up of award-winning writers including Zoe Whittall, Dianah Smith, Karine Silverwoman and Stacey May Fowles with music and door prizes. Phew! Details below:
Granny Boots presents Shameless Wire Fundraiser
The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St. W., Toronto.
November 11th - Doors at 7pm, show 7:30pm.
If you haven’t bookmarked the Shameless blog yet, winner of Best Feminist Blog in Canada at the 2008 Canadian F-Word Blog Awards, well there’s no shame in getting to it now.
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Category : Blogroll, events
Tags: feminist, Queer, Shameless, Shameless wire, Toronto
