Event Summary

The Indigital: Tech Your Life Career Camp, put on by W2 Community Media Arts Society and in partnership with First Nations Employment Society, is an innovative four day technological experience that will expose Indigenous youth, and those interested, to the essential and emerging technologies sector. Through engagement in the InDigital Camp and InDigital Conference experiences, this unparalleled summer experience will nurture participants’ discovery and interest in ICT, creative, broadcasting and green-tech technologies and expose them to the educational and career options available within these tech-sectors.

The InDigital Camp will be attended by a select cohort of Indigenous youth who will participate in a series of innovative tech-skill building workshops, site visits to local tech-industry companies and postsecondary programmes, and innovative media arts social activities. Following the Camp, these youth, along with over 100 local Indigenous and community members, are invited to attend the one-day InDigital Conference. The InDigital Conference is an opportunity for those interested in the tech-industry to attend a number of progressive technology workshops to more intimately explore the areas of the tech-sector that most interest them. The fourth day of the event will provide a select group to participate in the production of a live television show or radio broadcasting certification! In addition to skill-building and networking opportunities, Camp and Conference participants will be eligible for Certificates of Completion, prizes, and swag.

Overview of the following four tech-industry sectors InDigital will highlight:

Information and Communication Technology

• The term ICT refers to the meeting of audio-visual and telephone networks with computer networks through cabling and linking systems. Jobs in this sector work with fibre optic networks, coding programs and designing  communication systems, wireless technology, and software engineering

Creative Technology

• Creative Technology is a term used to describe jobs that merge digital technology and artistic creativity. Careers  in Creative Technology include Graphic Design, Web Development,Branding Specialist, and Mobile Application Design.

Broadcasting

• Broadcasting is made up of many different careers. Camera Operators, Video Editors, Producers, Directors, and Broadcasters, as you see them on the CBC, APTN, and other televised news and radio outlets, all have jobs in this field.

Green Technology

• Green Technology is an emerging industry that strives to decrease human dependency on petroleum products toward zero carbon emission living. Jobs in this industry include those structured around identifying, implementing and maintaining solar, wind, and renewable based energy solutions.

W2 Media Cafe is an artist-run, globally networked media arts lab, Incubator, community meeting space and social enterprise cafe serving artists and residents of the Downtown Eastside and Vancouver. It is a 10,000 

square-foot space: a cultural hub where digital art, culture, food and social inclusion intersect. W2 connects people and ideas through its globally networked community media arts centre in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. W2 is people-powered, meaning mostly run by volunteers who care about making positive change happen.

W2’s mandate is to break the digital divide through access to technology and training while promoting social inclusion, encouraging cross-cultural dialogue and advancing issues of redress. Technology in the hands of people can increase the effectiveness of their communication, especially in the DTES, where 6,000 people have no phone, Internet or computers. Technology can help community organisers and independent journalists advocate to make change in society, as well as help individuals function as more engaged citizens. Supporting access to technology can advance individual economic sustainability and identity. Through W2 Media Cafe, DTES and Vancouver residentscan learn about how to access the centre’s multi-platform tools and technology, training, production facilities and the means of distribution.

W2 gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of FNES, who have made the InDigital event possible.

The First Nations Employment Society was incorporated as a non-profit society in April 1997 and provides leadership in developing Aboriginal Human Resources at a regional level. First Nations Employment Society (FNES) represents ten First Nations as well as on/off reserve people residing in the Vancouver Sunshine Coast areas. FNES manages an agreement with Service Canada on behalf of the ten First Nations with delegated authority for training and employment in the Vancouver Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia. First Nations Employment Society is always striving to improve labor market outcomes for all Aboriginal people living in there service areas  

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