Vancouver
The Pacific Northwest launch of Images and Voices of Hope took place on
June 29 '02 at the beautiful Cole Harbor Community Center in Vancouver, BC,
Canada. The launch events actually started on Thursday night in downtown
Vancouver at the Crown Plaza Hotel.
At the Thursday night event some sixty people from the Canadian media
community gathered to hear about IV of Hope and to consider the broader ideas
of what it means for media to be an agent of benefit. Marie Wilson, career
journalist and wife of the premier of the Northwest Territory had arrived
from Yellow Knife to speak to the group about the ways that media can shine a
light on those people and issues that are sometimes overlooked. She spoke
about the recent celebration of the history of the Northwest Territory, "The
True North, Strong and Free" which brought together key figures in the
history of the Northwest Territory with the indigenous peoples for a week of
ritual and reflection on how the history should influence the future. It
culminated in "Oh Canada" being sung in 11 indigenous languages. She closed
by saying, "my wish is that hope becomes intentional and conscious."
Also speaking on Thursday evening was documentary filmmaker PJ Reece who
showed a segment of a film on a man in Detroit, Michigan, who is changing
inner city neighborhoods with street art. He observed, "I don't consider my
job as a documentary filmmaker to change the world, but rather to document
the world that is changing."
Judy Rodgers, director of Images and Voices of Hope, provided some history
and context for the initiative.
Sister Mohini, Regional Director for the Western Hemisphere for the Brahma
Kumaris closed the evening by inviting those present to be an image of
courage and of hope.
On Saturday a smaller group of about 25 came together for a full day of
dialogue at Cole Harbor. There were journalists from CBC, screenplay writers,
artists, authors, and publicists. The sense was of a room of cultural
revolutionaries. What became clear by the end of the day was that there is
already a great deal underway in the Vancouver area - imaginative and
transformational projects that are being carried out by individuals and small
groups of people committed to positive social change.
At the end of the day the group expressed a desire to meet again in two
weeks to hear about one another's projects and to begin to consider what they
might do together in the Pacific Northwest.
|
