OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) is hosting a number of events to help Canadians participate in the Canadian Content in a Digital World consultation (#DigiCanCon), culminating with a live TV and web program called Medi@cracy on November 20.
CACTUS member Tri-Cities Community Television will host an event on November 17 at the Vancouver Public Library at 7:00 PM PT. On November 20, CACTUS, in association with the Association des journalistes indépendants du Québec, Ricochet, and St. Andrews Community TV, will present a live stream and broadcast that will allow viewers to answer Minister Joly's questions by phone and Twitter. The Medi@cracy call-in/live broadcast will begin at 8:00 PM ET and will air on channel 593 on Bell satellite TV or stream from www.mediocracy.ca
On November 22, CACTUS executive director Cathy Edwards will help to moderate a focus group presented by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) for more answers to the same questions. The event, held at the Department of Canadian Heritage in Ottawa, will enable WCT members and non-members to consider the issues from the point of view of women working in telecommunications.
The first event took place on November 2 in Toronto in partnership with youth multimedia arts centre Regent Park Focus.
"The Heritage Minister's consultation is timely”, Edwards said in a statement. “Other groups are considering how Canadians access content in the digital world as well: the need for digital media literacy to make the most of the content available, to what extent digital platforms are democratizing media, and whether there are equal opportunities in digital media industries. The Minister is encouraging different sectors to explore the questions from their own perspectives."
