RAVEN project news

RAVEN featured in UNB news

The UNB news blog featured our RAVEN project today. Quotes from RAVEN partners:

“The NBMC looks forward to its collaboration with this project, which will certainly have a great impact on the production and dissemination of news stories on and about rural communities in our province,” says Sophie M. Lavoie of the NBMC Editorial Board.

“The goal is to create and share media relating to those residing in rural communities,” says Lynn Poole-Hughes, CEO of JEDI. “The content developed aims to shed light on the challenges, successes and everyday life of those whose voices are not typically heard. Some of the voices will be Indigenous Peoples. JEDI is proud to partner on and support this initiative. We are certain that Dr. O’Donnell will do great work in realizing her project’s goals.”

[Note: we’re looking forward as well to working with the NBMC and JEDI!]

The full blog is here.

RAVEN: Alternative digital media in New Brunswick

After the RAVEN launch, members of the RAVEN team presented a paper at the first UNB Rural Issues Workshop of the academic year. Our paper, “Rural Action and Voices for the Environment: Alternative Digital Media in New Brunswick” can be accessed here. The co-authors are Susan O’Donnell, Tracy Glynn and David Perley. We intend to develop this paper into a longer publication in future.

The RAVEN team received many thoughtful comments about and critiques of our paper, as well as feedback by email after the workshop. The team will be discussing the feedback at their September meeting with a view to refining and improving their project plans. Thanks to everyone who participated in the launch and provided feedback at the workshop!

RAVEN is launched!

Almost 60 people participated in the RAVEN launch event on September 13. RAVEN team members, our project partners JEDI and NBMC, Indigenous and rural champions and collaborators, as well as researchers from Université de Moncton and Dalhousie University, spoke during the event. The food table included traditional bannock from St. Mary’s First Nation and fresh produce from the Hayes Urban Teaching Farm.

The RAVEN launch was part of the Rural Issues Workshop series hosted by Daniel Tubb (UNB Anthropology and RAVEN co-investigator) and Tom Beckley (UNB Forestry and Environmental Management). Tom was also the discussant for the paper we presented at the workshop.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the launch! Speakers included…

Wolastoq Grand Council Chief Ron Tremblay who opened the launch event,

Edee Klee, New Brunswick Community Harvest Gardens,

Raissa Marks, NB Environmental Network; Rick Doucett, NB Federation of Woodlot Owners; Shawn McGrath, YSC Forest Products Marketing Board,

and David Perley, UNB Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre, RAVEN collaborator.

The RAVEN launch poster designed by Shanthi Bell.

RAVEN statement of principles and actions

At our first RAVEN meeting, the team agreed on a statement of principles and actions that you can read here. The statement also includes the RAVEN objectives and how we are defining a rural community.

RAVEN team meeting – August 2018

The RAVEN team had its first meeting on August 28 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. You can access the meeting agenda and minutes here. The main discussion topics were the plans and budget for the project over the next year. Most of the RAVEN funding is spent on student salaries, because research training is a primary focus for all projects funded by SSHRC. We also discussed our ongoing efforts to secure an office space for RAVEN.

UNB students join RAVEN for Autumn

RAVEN hired two new students for the Autumn term:

Shanthi Bell, a fourth-year student in Psychology and Media Arts and Cultures
Mary Aspinall, a PhD candidate in Sociology.

Welcome Shanthi and Mary!

In addition, Tracy Glynn, a member of the core research staff and PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies, will be returning for this term.

UNB REB OK for RAVEN’s research protocol

Today the UNB Research Ethics Board (REB) gave RAVEN its approval to conduct the research outlined in our application for funding to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). We are pleased that we can start the research work in September.

RAVEN wins research grant from NBIF

RAVEN is pleased to announce that the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) has awarded our project with a grant that will allow us to conduct additional work, including with our new partner, the Joint Economic Development Initiative (JEDI). Thank you NBIF!

RAVEN staff hired

RAVEN’s first staff member, Tracy Glynn, began work today. Tracy is a doctoral candidate in the UNB Interdisciplinary Studies program. We are pleased to have her on the project. Tracy is an expert on photovoice and has extensive experience in the environmental movement in New Brunswick. Tracy will be working part-time during the summer to speak with social justice and environmental groups in the province and share information about the RAVEN project. We are starting to build the RAVEN network. Welcome Tracy!

RAVEN project announced at Congress 2018 in Regina

RAVEN principal investigator Susan O’Donnell chaired the panel session “Journalism, Protest, and Public Opinion” at the Canadian Communication Association (CCA) annual conference at the University of Regina on May 31. As part of her panel presentation: “Indigenous Resistance to Resource Extraction in New Brunswick’s Monopoly News Environment,” Susan announced the RAVEN project due to start the following week.

You can download Susan’s slides for her 2018 CCA presentation here.

RAVEN’s journey begins

The RAVEN project received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council from 2018 until 2022, with partner the NB Media Co-op. Thank you SSHRC! The funding will allow us to build capacity for alternative digital media production and distribution by rural champions. Based at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, the new team will formally launch RAVEN in September 2018.