GOOD BUSINESS 2011! I admit I started 2011 feeling a bit tired — overwork and a family tragedy overshadowed New year's eve, and we began 2011 with a cornucopia of deadlines. But this morning I finally got to the post office to pick up a package that had been sitting in postal limbo while I was out of town. Opening it up I was inspired! A gift from Mark Achbar & Siobhan Flanagan, it is a very cool book called "Business Model Generation". The geek in me crowed with glee. It reminded me what all this busy-ness was for... and how we got here.
The story I like to tell is how seeing Manufacturing Consent, the film about Noam Chomsky & the media that Mark Achbar & Peter Wintonick made in '92, is why I went into media. And working with Mark on his next big film -- The Corporation -- is why I started a company (a tiny corporation that is not publicly traded!) And of course Adbusters was my training in advertising, and Naomi Klein's No Logo inspired me to fight the big brand bullies, but, as with Manufacturing Consent -- my sense was that the power beneath all this corporate media, publicity and advertising could not be left in the hands of only those seeking profit alone.
We bagan our mission to unleash the power of branding to do good.
Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.
Six Miles deep is a film about the oldest matriarchal democracy in the world – the 6 nations, or Haudenosaunee people. Set during the 2006 conflicts at Caledonia, the film explores indigenous land claims issue, through the perspective of the women leaders in the community. It's one of several youth films we are promoting at DOXA.
David Ng is a Hello Cool World veteran with experience going back a decade. David first worked with us when he was just 14 years old as a participant in the youth advisory group for the sexual health education program Condomania. Now an accomplished videographer passionate about the issues of gender and power, he is currently on sabbatical in South Africa while he pursues a Masters in Gender Studies with a focus on international development.
Now that the dust has settled on our LACE premiere, we want to offer congratulations to our friends at Chee Mamuk. They have every reason to celebtrate the good work they do, and now they have an award for it!
On April 18, the BC Persons With AIDS Society held an Awards Gala honoring volunteers, paid staff, visionaries, activists and consistent supportive voices who work on behalf of people living with HIV as well as in prevention. We couldn't be more thrilled that Chee Mamuk has won in the category of Innovative Programs & Service Delivery!
One week ago the 2010 Olympic Games opened in Vancouver, HelloCoolWorld’s hometown. Our photographer and friend, Nancy Bleck, Slanay Sp’ak’wus, reflects on the Games First Nation’s focus.
Last Friday, day of the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympic games I watched while some of my First Nations friends participated, and others protested.
During the ‘official’ opening, whether they knew it or not, the world was introduced to a basic lesson in First Nations protocol, or Chiyacx, the traditional law for how to do things in a good way. Those unfamiliar with Chiyacx, may have observed only what they see as ‘dancing and costumes’, what should be understood as regalia and ceremony. What happened was actually an historical first.
Nancy Bleck is an award-winning international artist working with photography, film, video, and cross-cultural collaboration. She was recently honoured with the YWCA ‘Women of Distinction' award in the category of Arts, Culture and Design, for her work on Uts'am - Witness, a project spanning 10 years.
Hello Cool World joined an estimated 4,000 people who gathered on the afternoon of Sunday, February 14, for the 19 Annual Women’s Memorial March. The yearly gathering serves as a reminder that violence against women is persistent in our neighborhoods, provinces and country. Led by the families of missing women, we gathered at the Carnegie center and slowly walked through Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (or as locals refer to it, the DTES) through to Gastown, watching supporters wave from apartments above.
Hailing from the mountain town of Salt Lake City, Utah, Lizzy enjoys picnics, reading on a lazy Sunday morning and adventurous bike rides. After learning about books at the University of Toronto she now calls Vancouver home. She joined Hello Cool World as a member of the LACE campaign action team, and luckily for us, decided to stick around.
Katherine Dodds AKA "Kat" is the founder of Good Company Communications and HelloCoolWorld.com. Trained in renegade advertising & branding through her work with Adbusters in the '90s, Kat's early induction into the possibilities of the web-world was inspired by the term hypertext, which she immediately found comforting. She is dedicated to cause-related communication and to the development and use of tools that promote democratic processes.
David Ng is a Hello Cool World veteran with experience going back a decade. David first worked with us when he was just 14 years old as a participant in the youth advisory group for the sexual health education program Condomania. Now an accomplished videographer passionate about the issues of gender and power, he is currently on sabbatical in South Africa while he pursues a Masters in Gender Studies with a focus on international development.
Nancy Bleck is an award-winning international artist working with photography, film, video, and cross-cultural collaboration. She was recently honoured with the YWCA ‘Women of Distinction' award in the category of Arts, Culture and Design, for her work on Uts'am - Witness, a project spanning 10 years.
Hailing from the mountain town of Salt Lake City, Utah, Lizzy enjoys picnics, reading on a lazy Sunday morning and adventurous bike rides. After learning about books at the University of Toronto she now calls Vancouver home. She joined Hello Cool World as a member of the LACE campaign action team, and luckily for us, decided to stick around.
