ACCESS is pleased to announce the recipients and finalists of the 2021 Bright Ideas Pitch.

This year’s Bright Ideas Pitch prioritized youth-led groups or projects that started within the last 2 years, and/or those that have not received any other funding since the pandemic began. While the pandemic has seen shifts in funding and donations, many funders shifted their resources toward urgent pandemic needs or restricted grants to established organizations — so ACCESS is supporting some of these grassroots groups and newer organizations that have not been eligible for funding. It was the first-ever virtual edition of the Bright Ideas Pitch.

Hosted annually since 2016, this initiative has provided several groups each year with a boost to support the positive social change they are creating.

All of the applications and presentations were full of inspiring, positive actions and ideas. This year, ACCESS was able to provide funding to 3 groups.

Funding Recipients

Alienated City by Gladys Production

Alienated City is a short film exploring the idea of urban alienation, displacement, and the feeling of being out of place in a crowd. This visual poetry takes place in the streets and aisles of the city of Toronto. Through portraying the indifference of the cityscape towards its inhabitants, the goal is to convey the feeling of being small, powerless and lost amongst the concrete forest, which many immigrant youths who are seeking their identity could relate to, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I chose this idea because as a Hong Kong-Canadian, I have moved between big cities throughout my life. I have always found myself surrounded by strangers and unfamiliar cultures. In addition to my identity as an LGBTQ youth, I often feel like I am not being understood by others. It was challenging for me to articulate my feelings or connect with others through speech. This lasting feeling of loneliness and isolation leads to a profound melancholy that I would like to express through this work. I will prioritize crew and cast members with multicultural backgrounds, BIPOC, and who are members of the LGBTQ community to bridge the gap to the creative expression of these underrepresented communities.”

The Student Advocate Project by EVE

The Student Advocate Project will be an ongoing initiative that aims to amplify the voices of students who have concerns related to, but not limited to, the environment at their school. The project aims to create a platform where it is safe to talk about specific taboo issues, such as sexual harassment, general women’s rights and much more. Three values for this project include the choice to be anonymous, the opportunity for support, and the chance for one’s voice to be amplified.

EVE will identify which issues are prevalent among youth within the region and create online resources; this includes pamphlets, webinars, fillable workbooks, and more. In the near future, they also strive to provide support through staff workshops, speakers for students, educational brochures, and other solutions to schools. In school communities, there is a need for reassurance and support for students, and for communal support that is both empowering and inclusive, which is what this aims to fulfill.

Twin Tales Project by Ayul Health

The mission of Ayul Health is to radiate positivity and support health advocacy by spreading awareness on health-related topics that all children can connect to. In the earlier stages of building the Twin Tales Project, they published children’s books on topics that promote healthy living, diversity and acceptance. (For example, their book “I am Beautiful”, contains 4 children who each have a skin disease, and highlights themes of confidence and acceptance regardless of one’s appearance). Their next two books focused on vaccine campaigns to educate the younger population on the importance of vaccination in light of the pandemic. The funding will support their children’s book initiative to make more content on health-related topics, and to bring these books to more children through library donations or engaging events and workshops.

“As we continue to grow this initiative, we want to make a larger impact by targeting more children with physical and mental disabilities. Ultimately, we want to decrease the isolation faced by many children who face physical and mental health issues. We hope to achieve this by promoting neurodiversity in children and allowing them to recognize that having a disability does not devalue them. We hope to address the need for increased awareness in children, to eliminate discriminatory and ableism midgets at a young age. Alongside this, we aim to provide a safer and more inclusive atmosphere for children to bravely express their differences in a positive light. Our work will benefit the younger populations with a need for acceptance and awareness on health issues to promote diversity.”

Finalists

In addition to the recipients selected by the panel of volunteer judges from a variety of backgrounds, ACCESS acknowledges the finalists that were shortlisted from all applications this year to pitch live.

The wide range of initiatives that were the 2021 finalists are as follows: