Wapikoni Mobile facts for kids

Wapikoni Mobile is a special non-profit group based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They help teach people about Indigenous cultures, challenges, and rights. They do this by holding workshops and showing films to the public.

Every year, about 300 young people join their workshops. They make around 50 short films and 30 music recordings.

Wapikoni Mobile has visited over 29 Indigenous communities in Canada and other countries. These include places like Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Panama, and Finland. The program has helped over 4,000 Indigenous youth share their voices. They have created more than 1,000 short films and 600 music recordings.

The Story of Wapikoni Mobile

In the early 2000s, filmmaker Manon Barbeau worked on a film with 15 Atikamekw young people. They were from the Wemotaci community in Quebec. Wapikoni Mobile is named after a young woman who helped Manon Barbeau. Her name was Wapikoni Awashish. She was a young Cree woman who sadly passed away at age 20. She was working on her own film called "La fin du mapris" when she died.

In 2004, Manon Barbeau started Wapikoni Mobile. She worked with the Council of the Atikamekw Nation and the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Youth Network. They launched the first mobile studios that the group uses today. The National Film Board of Canada also helped start the project.

One famous person who joined in the first year was Samian. He is an Algonquin rapper from Pikogan, Quebec. Now, Samian is a spokesperson for Wapikoni. He helps organize concerts to raise money for the group. Other young people who took part in Wapikoni have gone on to work at places like Telefilm Canada and the CBC.

In 2012, Wapikoni Mobile received a large grant of $520,000 from the McConnell Foundation. This money helped them for three years.

By 2012, Wapikoni had two permanent studios. One is in the Kitcisakik community and the other in the Wemotaci community. In 2014, they held a big meeting to create RICAA. This is a network for Indigenous film and video companies around the world.

In 2017, Wapikoni Mobile became an official partner with UNESCO. This means they can give advice on how Indigenous youth express themselves. They also help with issues that affect young Indigenous people.

Wapikoni Mobile has about 12 people working in their main offices. They also have 60 people who work on projects in the field. About a third of these field workers are Indigenous.

What Programs Does Wapikoni Offer?

Wapikoni Mobile helps Indigenous youth learn about making films and music. They mostly work in Canada. The goal is to create jobs and learning chances for these young people.

Participants work with two filmmaker-mentors. There is also an Indigenous assistant filmmaker-mentor. A local youth worker and a community coordinator also help. Young people learn how to use professional film equipment. The workshops last for a month. They focus on making documentary films and recording music. Participants learn about writing and directing. They also learn about other behind-the-scenes jobs. These include filming, sound recording, and editing.

Each mobile studio is a special RV. It has an editing station and a small sound studio. There is also a place to show films. The RVs have computers with Final Cut Pro software. They also have HD cameras and microphones for filming. This group is known for giving Indigenous youth a way to express themselves. They also give them the tools and skills to do it.

The films made are shown in the communities where they were created. Many of these films are also shown to people who are not Indigenous.

Awards and Special Recognition

Wapikoni Mobile and its participants have received many awards:

• Young people who took part have won 152 awards and honors. These are from national and international human rights groups and film festivals.
• They won the 28th Grand Prize of the Montreal Council of Arts in the film category.
• In 2011, they received the Rights and Freedoms Prize. They also got an Honorable Mention Award at Plural +.
• In 2014, they won the Intercultural Innovation Award. This was from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).
• In 2017, they were a finalist for the Global Pluralism Award.