Among the many arguments that are made to reduce poverty (the moral obligation of a wealthy society for example) there is a compelling economic argument against poverty that should have decision-makers sitting up and taking notice.

The economic argument against homelessness has been made successfully in many jurisdictions and is well-documented in the article Million Dollar Murray by award-winning author Malcolm Gladwell. Take a look at the video featuring Iglika Ivanova, Public Interest Researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives as she explains the economic argument against poverty.

We’re thrilled to be in great company along side videos from dogooders like Greenpeace International, Amnesty and Sierra Club. Thanks See3 Communications!

You can sign up here to have a great cause-related video sent to your inbox every day. The DoGooder is supported by Youtube the Case Foundation and acts like a curator, saving you from hunting through endless videos to find the gems.

Check it out and happy 2012!

“Indeed the development of the Internet – far from threatening libraries as some opponents of public services wishfully want us to believe – has created a whole new need for libraries, librarians, and the information management and facilitation services they offer.“

Read Catherine’s op ed in today’s Vancouver Sun.

Storytelling Best Practices: Websites is a new publication that features great case studies in great storytelling techniques for websites.

Canadian examples include the University of British Columbia and the David Suzuki Foundation.

Andy’s book delves into the type of stories you should tell on your website and the best way to tell them. Learn from what’s working!

With this in mind, we assembled the creative team including the oh-so talented choreographer Isabelle Maheux, videographer Max Sample, Ethos staffer Shawnee Hummel,  composer Miles Bruce and musician/arranger Bill Sample and went to work. Watch the result on the Homelessness Action Week homepage here.

And take a look at our “url outtake reel”:

I was thrilled

Here’s my contribution:

This is a picture of my friend taken by her sister, the artist, also a friend. It doesn’t usually appear alone like this. It’s usually seen in A Group of Sixty-Seven, one of many  faces that are simultaneously individual and part of a collective.

These portraits, hanging in a gallery, pictured against a painted landscape of iconic Canadian imagery are part of an exploration of place, identity, and cultural belonging. I know this.

But I am searching for something else. I am trying to find the faces I know. I am searching for halmeoni (grandma) who greets guests with extraordinary feasts and sends visitors home with jars of roasted sesame seeds and harabeoji (grandpa) who is always happy to see us and tells us to come over more often.

I am looking for the sisters and brother and uncles and aunts and cousins and friends who taught us to sing happy birthday in Korean, who convinced our daughter she too was Korean when she was little and who remember the details of our lives that I have forgotten.

I cut this picture out of the paper once when it appeared in a feature story about the artist and put it on my fridge because that’s what you do when a picture of your friend is in the newspaper.

Helesia

Do you want to get involved in raising awareness about the solutions for homelessness? Can you follow basic directions from our choreographer?  Do you want to have fun? We’ll be filming at the end of September in downtown Vancouver on one special day. If you would like to volunteer contact Helesia at 778.786.2838 or hluke (put the at sign here) ethosstrategygroup.com.  

Humans have been telling stories since the beginning of time and, as it turns out, some of these stories were critical to keeping us safe and healthy. We’re hard-wired to learn from and retell stories. This workshop will help you to deliberately select and craft stories that advance your cause. It is useful to anyone – from volunteers to professional service providers. Learn more about the power of stories to reach the hearts and minds of our audiences and build community resilience.

Ethos Strategy Group is offering three storytelling workshops as part of preparations in Metro Vancouver for Homelessness Action Week 2011 (Oct 10 – 16).

This workshop is free but pre-registration is required. You are welcome to circulate this invitation to your colleagues.

Darryl joined Ethos as a consultant and media specialist in late 2010, where he took part in several important projects, including work for the BC Public Guardian and Trustee, the City of Surrey, and First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition. He developed strategic planning, communications documents, and both qualitative and quantitative research. In August, 2011, he left Vancouver to study law at the University of Ottawa. He now lives in the nation’s capital with his wife, Gabriela.

Before joining Ethos, Darryl was the Research Co-ordinator for the Canadian Media Research Consortium.

Darryl and Gabriela introduced us to this wonderful guava paste, jelly candy wrapped in leaves and packed in wooden crates. They brought this treat back from a working trip to Columbia where Gabriela wrote a series of articles on fair trade flowers for the Tyee online.

If anyone finds this for sale in the Metro Vancouver area – or online – I will personally order a case!

We miss you Darryl but we wish you all the best in law school!

Twitter: @vanschools125

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