Media initiative provides Downtown Eastside context for 2010 Games

As the global media descends upon Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics, a new initiative conceived in partnership with SFU Business is helping international reporters give their stories about the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood more context, and a stronger sense of that community.

Keeping the Door Open Society and SafeGames 2010, which focus on risky behaviours, harm reduction and social justice issues, established the concept of telling the neighbourhood’s story in a responsible way at the 2009 SI2 (Social Innovation) Conference, hosted by Simon Fraser University’s Segal Graduate School of Business in downtown Vancouver.

“It is not obvious from the surface that the Downtown Eastside is a community, and we are hoping to give journalists the opportunity to go beyond the usual stereotypes,” said Gillian Maxwell of SafeGames 2010, whose group will facilitate media tours of the area and have reporters meet residents of the neighbourhood, one that is impacted heavily by poverty, addiction and mental illness. “One of the aspects that can easily be missed is the honesty and heart that exists there, so to meet them face to face is an enlightening experience.”

As the initiative rolls out in the days leading up to the Games, SafeGames 2010 is also working with business students from inov8.ca, an SFU Business social innovation initiative that is supported by the school’s CMA Centre for Strategic Change and Performance Measurement. Inov8.ca students will volunteer with SafeGames in a number of different roles.

The collaboration highlights the potential of interplay between social innovators, academics, students and other parties that was the core of the SI2 workshop. Presenters at SI2 were encouraged to explore the relationship between social innovation and social institutions in a wide range of ways. SafeGames 2010 welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with inov8.ca in this way.

According to Tom Lawrence, SFU Business professor and SI2 organizer, a primary goal of the SI2 event was to provide significant opportunity for new conversations to occur among participants from across disciplines and sectors, both through structured panels and roundtables, and through informal social interactions.