Hello from the Student Research Team!

Hi everyone! We’ve had such an exciting week starting off here at iCreate, as we’ve worked on recruiting youth participants and building momentum for the project.

You may be wondering exactly what iCreate is all about. At this point, we’re actively looking for both youth (aged 10-24) and elders (anyone over age 24 with an interest in social justice and youth engagement) to take part in the next three stages of our project:

Our first event is the iEngage Conference, which will take place at Cape Breton University on the weekend of May 1-3. Speakers will give talks on all kinds of fascinating subjects, with a particular focus on the environmental impact of the coal mines and steel plants in Cape Breton. Then, we will offer hands-on workshops in theatre, music, writing, film making, radio, the visual arts, and conducting scientific experiments! Though we are looking for youth and elder participants for the later stages of the project, everyone is welcome to attend the presentations and workshops at the conference.

After our conference, youth and elders will form squads to work together on artistic and scientific projects that address the effects of environmental damage in their lives. These squads will meet once a week for six weeks, and will collaborate with experienced artists and scientists in each field.

Then, on June 12th, each group will present their creations in an open symposium for the community.

Yesterday, our student team met with the youth at the Whitney Pier Youth Club to recruit participants for iCreate. We were so inspired by their enthusiasm to be a part of all the different workshops. Katherine, our resident biologist, was especially excited to learn about the youth’s interest in science! The youth’s energy brought so much momentum to the project, and we’re looking forward to pitching the project to other youth groups in the community. In particular, we’re searching for youth to be a part of our audio and video documentary teams, where participants will get the opportunity to work with radio and film professionals from CBC and Cape Breton University.

If you’re interested in being a part of iCreate, send us an email at icreatecb@gmail.com, or click here for more information.