Media Release

School of Communication, Simon Fraser University8888 University DriveBurnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6

Contact:

Tyler MorgensternCell: (778) 385-8448Office: (778) 782-7353mddcoordinator@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2010 Details Announced

For the ninth year running, Media Democracy Day (MDD) will spark vibrant, critical,interactive dialogue around the Canadian media system.

VANCOUVER, B.C.- June 18, 2010

- The School of Communication at Simon FraserUniversity, co-sponsor Vancouver Public Library (VPL), and coordinating partnersOpenMedia.ca are excited to announce the official date of Media Democracy Day (MDD)Vancouver 2010. This year’s event will take place November 6 at the Vancouver Public Library,Central Library.Since 2001, Media Democracy Day has united and engaged Vancouver-based citizens, culturalproducers, the media, academics, activists, students, and community leaders in a dynamicdiscussion of the state of our Canadian media system.“To assume that we are passive receivers of media messages vastly underestimates audiencesand citizens” said this year’s coordinator Tyler Morgenstern. “Media Democracy Day seeks toinvolve us all in the discussion of how media is shaping and influencing the way we see theworld,” he added.MDD Vancouver 2010 will feature keynote speakers, interactive panels, and hands-onworkshops focused on critical analysis of media policy, citizen and alternative media production,and the transformation of the media system to make it more diverse and representative of audiences and communities.For Morgenstern, these discussions are becoming more urgent: “In the past year, we’ve seen howmedia from the margins can change the way we see major world events- think about the Iranianelection or the BP oil disaster. MDD celebrates how alternative and dissenting voices arecreating a richer, deeper view of such events for all of us.”This year, MDD Vancouver follows on the heels of National Media Education Week, a Canada-wide initiative to promote media literacy as a key component in the education of young peopleby encouraging the practice of media education in Canadian homes, schools and communities.