Our
Activities
Local Focus is a project aimed at helping people get a better understanding of how local government works -- and how they can play a bigger role in shaping the future of their communities. We've put together a three-part action plan to achieve these goals.
Civic Think Tank
The Civic Think Tank involves in-person public forums that explore the community and city-wide issues that traditional local media used to cover. We live in an era when the Internet and social media make it easy to share information and ideas. But they've also created a digital blizzard of misinformation and distraction that has marginalized the exchanges that are the bedrock of a functioning liberal democracy. Civic Think Tank forums will feature thought leaders engaging in thoughtful, reality-based investigations of local issues in accessible and understandable ways.
Explainer Videos
Vancouver 101 is a ten-part pilot series of 15-minute videos designed to increase people’s understanding of how the city works. That includes Vancouver’s history, geography, economy, and the role that local government plays in our lives. Distributing accessible educational content about civic governance is key to informing people about local issues and how they can help shape the future of our city.
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Vancouver 101 is designed to be a reproducible educational video template that can be used in other B.C. municipalities. These explainer video series will be brief but thorough in chronologically explaining the history and civics of the city. Video production is supported by grants and by donations from the public.
Civic News Network
The decline of local media, including the weekly newspapers that used to cover neighbourhood issues, has left many people without access to reliable information about what's happening in their community. And major media outlets have cut back on City Hall coverage to the point that many important local issues never come to the attention of the people most affected by them.
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The Civic News Network is designed to solve these problems. We will have a City Hall bureau that provides factual, unbiased reports about city policies and decisions, especially those that affect our communities. We will have one person in each neighbourhood who will report on local issues and oversee/edit volunteer contributions for the network. Covering community issues, even if they’re not directly linked to local governance, is a crucial part of keeping people informed and connected as part of a functioning democracy.
