Possible Canadas — What do we want Canada to be?

GO TO THE POSSIBLE CANADAS WEBSITE

“Are young Canadians actually cynical, self-centred and disengaged, as stereotypes and media narratives often suggest? Or, rather, is the reality that our political system ignores youth — not the other way around? What would Canada be like in 20 years if young people were in charge?” 

– Tari Ajadi, Possible Canadas

The challenge

The October 19, 2015 federal election was a watershed moment in Canadian history. In the months leading up to the election, Canadians wrangled over fundamental issues  ― reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians, the future of our resource-dependent economy and our responsibility to the world’s refugees ― that strike at the heart of the nation’s identity.

Yet, as is often the case, young Canadians were, by and large, left out of these public debates. It’s a familiar scene: politicians’ talking points and stump speeches are aimed at their base in the same way that newspaper coverage is aimed at its subscribers. In other words, public dialogue typically revolves around the generation that buys newspapers and shows up to the polls. The result is that 70 per cent of Canadian Millennials believe that they are being ignored by politicians and 72 per cent do not believe that they can make their voices heard. 

We think young Canadians have a lot to say about the future of this country. And with a brand new government that came on October 19, now more than ever is the time to get young voices on the agenda.

Possible Canadas is our response to this challenge: a collaboration with student journalists from across western Canada to spark a conversation that puts young people’s perspectives on the agenda.

What we did

Connected students across Western Canada in a forward-looking conversation

We recruited 10 exceptional student journalists from B.C. and Alberta and brought them to the Discourse Media office in Vancouver to create their dream journalism project that would probe the possibilities that Canada’s future holds.

Before they arrived, the fellows interviewed hundreds of students in their campus communities to learn what issues most mattered to them. The question they asked their fellow students? In 20 years, what do you want Canada to look like? 

Then, with the help of professional journalist mentors brought together by Discourse Media, they spent two days honing story ideas that emerged from reporting in their campus communities.

The result: ten in-depth, solutions-oriented explorations into how Canada could realize the futures envisioned by their campus communities. These investigations dig into everything from Aboriginal reconciliation to reforming our electoral system and, well, how we can stay the same as we’ve always been (or at least how we’ve always imagined ourselves). The stories will be published throughout November 2015.

Invited Canadians to join the conversation and inform future reporting

Using GroundSource,  a mobile engagement and reporting tool that allows journalists to hold two-way conversations via text message about community issues, we expanded the conversation across the country and asked Canadians: “What do you want Canada to be?”

The responses we received will guide future reporting priorities in the next phases of Possible Canadas. 

Engaged with university decision-makers on creating pathways for youth representation in public discourse

The Possible Canadas fellows also attended SFU Public Square’s 2015 Community Summit’s Campus to City event and facilitated a dialogue on how universities can be a driving force in helping youth voices be a larger part of public discourse on a variety of topics they care about — not just “youth issues.”

This project is produced by Discourse Media and Reos Partners, in collaboration with RECODE and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. Possible Canadas is a platform that will allow all Canadians to shape and drive the national dialogue around our most important issues.

 

Possible Canadas: A solutions journalism project is managed by Discourse Media in collaboration with student journalists and Canadian University Press. Possible Canadas is supported by the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation through the RECODE initiative. Their support does not imply endorsement of views represented in the project.