Opening Minds and Opening Doors

Recent Innoversity Summit explores cultural diversity in the media arts and sciences

Last week, the third annual Innoversity Creative Summit kicked off as about 1,000 people flocked to the Metro Convention Centre to celebrate and raise awareness of the media industry's increasing cultural diversity. Through two days of workshops, panel discussions, guest speakers and case studies, industry members investigated ways in which the media can better reflect the Canada of today - with fair representation of visible minorities, including the disabled.
Thirty years ago, it was the role of women that was under scrutiny, and an increased social awareness led to a revolution as women moved from the lower ranks and the "women's section" into the managerial and executive level of the industry. Some would argue that there is still work to be done, but there is no question that the development of women's role in media over the last few decades has had a profound effect. Working as directors, producers, writers and editors, women have made their voices heard, opening minds and creating both new opportunities and new markets.
Today, Canada's visible minorities are poised on the brink of a similar breakthrough, and the founders of Innoversity are determined to pave the way. In 2002 Cynthia Reyes and Hamlin Grange co-founded this not-for-profit initiative with a view to bridging the gap between the mainstream media and the multicultural population.
More than just a strategic planning session, Innoversity aims to provide useful networking opportunities for emerging creators, and for decision-makers in search of new talent. Finalists in the Open Door Pitch broadcast contest vied for development awards in eight different categories, while the Director's Guild held screenings of a wide variety of short films and videos. Meanwhile, in several open door sessions, cultural entrepreneurs were able to meet one-on-one with producers and industry executives, all with a view to opening up the industry to reflect the rich cultural world that Canada has become.
The CRTC has long been dedicated to making our broadcasting system reflect this new Canada, requiring that broadcasters move ahead with research, developing concrete plans while creating yardsticks to measure their success. And no broadcaster has been more successful in Employment Equity than the Weather Network. A case study presented by Human Resources personnel and other employees revealed the secrets of their success.
"Achieving diversity is not hard," explained Valerie Morrisette, vice president for human resources. "You need focus. We are passionate about reflecting the diversity of Canadians on air and behind the scenes."
This passion was evident as the panel explained some of their strategies for success, which included regularly highlighting the importance of diversity to managers through workforce analysis, comparing their staff to Statscan numbers to see where there were gaps. Disability awareness training is provided through visits from the CNIB and the Canadian Hearing Society. Also, their HR department runs a very active and highly focused recruitment and outreach program involving internships, scholarships, job fairs and university visits. It seems that this small Canadian broadcaster has gone a long way toward dispelling the myth that hiring disabled people poses major challenges for employers.
For any company, though, launching new initiatives can be difficult. The average company succeeds only about 25 percent of the time. As diversity forces film, television and radio to develop new business practices, how can new talent and ideas be successfully launched while avoiding the pitfalls? Panelists discussed this question in a session entitled Gotta Break a Few Eggs, and once again, the answer appeared to be focus and passion.
Tonya Lee Williams, actress and founder of the ReelWorld Film Festival, was more specific. "How can we get more people of colour into the Canadian media? You just do it, project by project. You can't have a careful plan when it comes to the entertainment industry. But if everyone in this room went out and did one project, that would make a difference."
Williams was also adamant that no big change would take place until people of colour were in positions of power. "The people in charge of the projects have to be people of colour to ensure that (the work) speaks with the voice of the people. Then no one needs to worry about political correctness. But you have to empower them, give them carte blanche, and let them fail part of the time. At the end of the day, they'll open up whole new markets."
A new market has recently opened up as South Asian cinema (Bollywood) is embraced around the world. In Canada, there has been a great expansion of South Asians and Middle Easterners in the media arts. A group of such radio and television broadcasters joined together in a panel discussion entitled Media Brown Out to investigate how the diversity initiative had affected them.
Jian Ghomeshi, Host of Play on CBC Newsworld put it this way: "I am Iranian, yet I find that all kinds of cultural communities claim me as their own. And that's great, but I do feel a lot of pressure, and I think that shows that there needs to be a lot more cultural diversity in broadcasting in this country."
Everyone agreed that they felt a great responsibility to their own and to other communities, and that it was a privilege as well as a responsibility. CFTO reporter Caroline Jeba explained, "I'm a general reporter, but if there's a story in the Tamil community, I volunteer to do it. I feel I can bring more to it, and it's important to me to steer it away from any kind of stereotyping."
One way to fight stereotyping is to get a diverse mix of real voices out there, which has been Tabassum Siddiqui's goal since she was named arts and culture editor at the University of Toronto's The Varsity. There have been very few visible minority editors at university papers, and Siddiqui has made a point of bringing in more minority writers. "When I first suggested it, the higher-ups were surprised that I felt it was necessary," she shrugs in disbelief.
What these young professionals have in common is a strong belief in themselves and in the future. When a question from the floor asked how many executives were people of colour, the answer was 'none.'
"But," chimed in Caroline Jeba, "most of the people I work for are women. Thirty years ago, it wasn't like that, but now, I'm sure that women's perspective is reflected. We don't have to talk about that anymore. So, when we get more people that reflect the new Canada in positions on camera and off, we'll be able to relax and know that their perspective is being represented, too."
"I'll be a news director one day," said Merella Fernandez of CityPulse News. "It's changing."
CBC Radio's Sook Yin Lee agrees. "It takes time. I think the prospects are good, and that it's possible for a much more integrated landscape. Even if there are powers trying to stop it, it will happen."
Innoversity runs workshops and monthly networking events throughout the year. For further information, visit www.Innoversity.com.

Publication Date: 2004-05-23
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4004