Tuning in to Y Station: Sparking Change
This month’s edition of Tuning in to Y Station challenges you to change your mind, change a habit or simply change your mood. From podcasts to marketing campaigns, check out what our team has been digging into.
Chosen by Alana Williams, CEO
Documentary: This Changes Everything
Have you ever heard of the Bechdel test? It’s a fun, albeit kind of sad, game you can play when watching a movie. Are there more than two female characters with names? And do they talk to each other? Is it about something other than a man? That’s it. It’s almost absurd in its simplicity and yet, I can no longer watch a movie or show without this in the back of my mind. While the quantification of movies that pass this test, when studied, are depressingly low, it’s not so much about the numbers for me. It’s that not all characters, especially non-male characters, get to be fully-formed individuals with backgrounds, thoughts, relationships, hopes and concerns.
I’ve heard the phrase “you can’t become what you can’t see” and, if women are simply ornaments – without NAMES even – on our screens, how does that change what a young person internalizes about their future self? This came to light for me after watching “This Changes Everything” on Netflix and learning more about the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, a documentary I should have watched much sooner.
Chosen by Ann Gordon-Tighe , Strategist
Video: IAP2 North American Conference Keynote
Last month, Chris and I were lucky enough to hear chair of Edmonton’s Antiracism Advisory Committee and award-winning speaker Shalini Sinha deliver the keynote at the IAP2 North American Conference. Her remarks were a powerful reminder of the role public engagement professionals play in speaking community truth to power and facilitating access to power.
It made me change the way I think about my role in public conversations as a 'neutral third party' and whose needs I advocate for in processes. Although the speech isn't available online, but you can hear some of the themes begin to emerge in this introductory video from IAP2.
Chosen by Jillian Nason, Director of Client Services
Campaign: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Campaign by Ultravirgo
Ultravirgo took an opportunity to raise awareness and turned it into actionable advocacy with this sensational campaign focused on mental health and suicide prevention. By creating an artwork generator for sharing personalized messages about one’s own mental health journey, the campaign encourages transparency on a highly stigmatized topic. Unique, transformative, and impactful.
Chosen by Chris Henderson, Chief Strategist
I recently attended the IAP2 North American Conference and something in particular has stuck with me from a great session on DEI and Intersectionality practices in engagement processes by Pam Kapoor, a fantastic writer and facilitator from Ottawa. It was a presentation on the basics, but Pam gave us a lot of detail to consider. But a particular note I wrote down that I keep returning to: “The act of considering intersectionality is itself a vital step to create the necessary depth in our processes and moving forward on intersectional needs for participants.” Pam encouraged everyone in the room that you don’t need to get it right 100% of the time from the very beginning, but you need to make a commitment to taking meaningful steps forward on those intersectional needs. In recent engagement and strategic design work I’ve been trying to steadily incorporate that.
It’s a thought that has stuck with me so much so that I had an extended and amazing conversation on Monday with actor and consultant Hunter Cardinal about these concepts. As we continue to work in the community, I’m excited to see our capacity and our skills grow in a way that includes new perspectives and voices into the decision-making we help our clients with.
Chosen by Jenny Black, Digital Strategist
Podcast: Sounds Like a Cult
In each episode of Sounds Like a Cult from All Things Comedy, hosts Amanda Montell and Isabela Medina-Maté take a different zeitgeisty group—think fans of The Bachelor, Disney adults or essential oil enthusiast— and compares it to the framework of a cult. While inherently light-hearted, the podcast is guaranteed to make you sit up a little straighter and reflect on the loyalties we attach to products, ideologies, and sources of entertainment in our own lives.
Chosen by Anthony Fisher, Junior Associate
Podcast: Roots Watering Hole Episode: Toni Anderson Sacred Keepers
This episode of Roots Watering Hole offers a perspective I personally don’t hear often, covering topics ranging from the long-lasting impacts of colonization on the environment to the interconnectedness between land, culture, and identity. It also explores the beneficial impacts of connecting with the environment and the negative consequences of disconnecting. The Sacred Keepers program also made me consider how to best engage with youth communities in unique ways, retain cultural values, and create spaces to heal.
Chosen by Dayna Tumbach, Project Manager
Resource: Clockify for Timeboxing
Have you heard of “timeboxing”? This time management technique involves setting a fixed amount of time to tasks in advance and stop working once the time is up. Unlike time blocking, which helps hone your time management skills, timeboxing aims to help rid you of perfectionist tendencies, tackle unpleasant tasks and find more balance in your day-to-day life.