Invitation to share photos and pictures about Canadians and their communities
Press release
Vancouver 2010 invites Canadians to share their photos and words about their country and neighbourhoods through innovative online digital scrapbook called Canada CODE
May 4, 2009
Vancouver, BC – Photos of a cyclist as an urban warrior struggling through snowy city streets on the first day of spring, a young mother hanging laundry on the line to dry or maybe a haiku glorifying a fiery autumn landscape—all could contribute to a constantly morphing online portrait of contemporary Canada created by Canadians for the entire world to see. It is called Canada CODE and is part of the Vancouver 2010 Games Cultural Olympiad. It’s a first for Canada and the Olympic Games and submissions are welcome starting today at
www.vancouver2010.com/code.
Canada CODE, a grassroots digital collaboration of text and photos by Canadians about their daily lives is the first project of a larger program called CODE (Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition), which also officially launches today. The Cultural Olympiad began in 2008 and is a three-year series of multidisciplinary festivals of arts, popular culture and digital programs, presented by Bell.
Bell has been instrumental in facilitating the involvement of leading industry partners and BC-based companies in CODE and, as the exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the 2010 Winter Games, Bell is helping to connect all Canadians to Canada CODE.
In addition to support from Bell, Canada CODE is also connecting with Canadians through the assistance of the National Film Board of Canada, a major collaborator on the project through its network of studios and partner associations.
Anyone—young or old—with access to the Internet and a desire to connect can create, explore or contribute to Canada CODE. Submissions will be moderated and uploaded within 48 hours. The contributor’s user name, as well as their location, will be tagged to their creative work and can be seen whenever a visitor to the site clicks on their submission.
A selection of the best Canada CODE content will be showcased on public screens in Vancouver and Whistler for the thousands of spectators and athletes visiting during the Games while the project in its entirety will continue to exist online in perpetuity as an archive of the country in 2010.
“This eclectic collection of words and photos submitted by anyone who wants to share is meant to reflect the stuff that we as Canadians are made of. It’s who we are. It’s the things we do every day. It’s the words we use to describe our selves and our communities,” explained Burke Taylor, VANOC vice-president, culture and celebrations. “The Canada CODE will reach into all parts of the country to truly make these Canada’s Games through the power of Canadians’ imagination and the Internet.”
To kick-start the bilingual online art project, a number of Canadian writing luminaries such as this year’s Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden of Willowdale, Ontario, Vancouver’s Evelyn Lau and Montreal’s Nicole Brossard, have added their voices and vision to inspire others about their daily lives and neighbourhoods. A total of 49 Canadian writers will help launch the site, thanks to support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Rae Hull, director of CODE and originator of Canada CODE said, “Canadians are always looking for ways to reach across the huge land mass we inhabit to connect with each other. Historically, we’ve had the telephone and the train; today, we are one of the most wired nations in the world. The networked nature of the web is an ideal way to illustrate both the incredible diversity that exists in Canada and the way we knit it all together. The Canada CODE is a playful way for all of us to riff on our collective sensibility to show the world what Canada is in 2010.”
Background
About the Cultural Olympiad
The Cultural Olympiad, presented by Bellis a series of multidisciplinary festivals and digital programs showcasing the best in Canadian and international arts and popular culture. Launched in 2008, the program culminates in the 60-day Cultural Olympiad 2010 (January 22 to March 21, 2010), which begins before and continues throughout the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. CODE is the Cultural Olympiad’s digital edition, a series of programs developed to creatively engage national and global audiences through the use of digital technology
Partnerships
Bell
Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the presenting sponsor for the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad. Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell Home phone local and long distance services, Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite and VDSL television, IP-broadband services and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on Bell's products and services, please visit www.bell.ca. For corporate information on BCE, please visit www.bce.ca.
Government
The Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad is grateful for the support of the Government of Canada and the governments of all of Canada’s provinces and territories and their respective cultural agencies: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. In addition to the Cultural Olympiad’s government and corporate partners, CODE is proudly supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the National Film Board of Canada. New Media BC and Wavefront Innovation Society are also both active participants in the project. The National Presentation and Touring Program is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
National Film Board of Canada
The world changes, our stories live on—that’s the National Film Board of Canada’s pledge to Canadians as it marks its 70th anniversary in 2009 with a new national online Screening Room and a slate of bold, innovative productions. Canada’s public film producer and distributor, the NFB produces and distributes social-issue documentaries, auteur animation, alternative drama and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. In collaboration with its international partners and co-producers, the NFB is expanding the vocabulary of 21st century cinema and breaking new ground in form and content, through community filmmaking projects, cross-platform media, interactive cinema, stereoscopic animation—and more. Since the NFB's founding in 1939, it has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To watch over 1,000 productions online or for more information, visit www.nfb.ca.
About VANOC
VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.
Contact
If you are a member of the media, please contact mediarelations@vancouver2010.com.
For all other inquiries, please contact info@vancouver2010.com.