Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010 Details Announced

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010 Details Announced
For the ninth year running, Media Democracy Day (MDD) will spark vibrant, critical, interactive dialogue around the Canadian media system.


VANCOUVER, B.C.- June 18, 2010- The School of Communication at Simon Fraser University, co-sponsor Vancouver Public Library (VPL), and coordinating partners OpenMedia.ca are excited to announce the official date of Media Democracy Day (MDD) Vancouver 2010. This year’s event will take place November 6 at the Vancouver Public Library, Central Library.

Since 2001, Media Democracy Day has united and engaged Vancouver-based citizens, cultural producers, the media, academics, activists, students, and community leaders in a dynamic discussion of the state of our Canadian media system.

“To assume that we are passive receivers of media messages vastly underestimates audiences and citizens” said this year’s coordinator Tyler Morgenstern. “Media Democracy Day seeks to involve us all in the discussion of how media is shaping and influencing the way we see the world,” he added.

MDD Vancouver 2010 will feature keynote speakers, interactive panels, and hands-on workshops focused on critical analysis of media policy, citizen and alternative media production, and the transformation of the media system to make it more diverse and representative of audiences and communities.

For Morgenstern, these discussions are becoming more urgent: “In the past year, we’ve seen how media from the margins can change the way we see major world events- think about the Iranian election or the BP oil disaster. MDD celebrates how alternative and dissenting voices are creating a richer, deeper view of such events for all of us.”

This year, MDD Vancouver follows on the heels of National Media Education Week, a Canadawide initiative to promote media literacy as a key component in the education of young people by encouraging the practice of media education in Canadian homes, schools and communities. “Media education is particularly important for young people”, said Dr. Stuart Poyntz, MDD organizing committee member and assistant professor of Communication at Simon Fraser University. “Media messages show up in every part of our daily lives. MDD looks at the issues of power and politics behind all these images, so it’s a great way to show people the back rooms of a world we take for granted.”

Morgenstern is also excited to revive the long-running partnership between the VPL and the media democracy community. “MDD is about bringing citizens together in lively conversation that celebrates learning and transformation, so to have the VPL on board as a co-sponsor is perfect for this kind of event. We’re very grateful to their programming and management team.”


About Media Democracy Day:
Launched simultaneously in Vancouver and Toronto in 2001, MDD responded to a growing global media democratization movement. This movement seeks to create a more participatory media system by supporting independent and public service media production, celebrating innovation, and creating dialogue around the politics and biases linked to our increasingly corporate and concentrated media. To learn more, visit http://www.mediademocracyday.org.


About the School of Communication:
For more than 35 years, the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University has fostered the development of critical, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of media and technology with a commitment to social theory and political economy. Led by an award-winning team of educators and buoyed by approximately 1200 declared majors, minors, and joint majors, the School of Communication is at the leading edge of media policy research, technological innovation, and cultural transformation on a global scale. For more information, visit http://cmns.sfu.ca


About Vancouver Public Library:
Founded in 1887, Vancouver Public Library is one of Canada's largest library systems dedicated to meeting the lifelong learning, reading, recreation and information needs of the people of Vancouver. Each year, the Library’s 22 branches serve over six million visitors and offer over 2.5 million items, including books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and countless online resources. For more information, visit http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/