Food Security, Resilience and Adaptation in the Arctic, using Participatory Video
Ongoing Project
For her PhD in geography, Maeva is using participatory video to engage Inuvialuit youth in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories on global changes affecting them.
The Nuna Tariuq Silalu film project (which means Land, Sea and Weather), as called by the participants, is a community-based research project that provides opportunities for youth in Tuktoyaktuk to learn filmmaking skills to share stories on topics that matter to them. The youth involved chose to create two movies, HAPPENING TO US a film on how climate change is affecting people in Tuk and the second, LIVING IN TWO WORLDS, about youth navigating life in the modern and traditional worlds. The Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation partnered with Maeva, Michèle Tomasino from Mangilaluk School and Jaro Malanowski from Avatar Media to make this project possible. Seventy people attended the community film screening in Tuk on June 19, 2019 and more film screenings will be planned in the region including international film festivals. A film screening also happening in Inuvik in December 2019. In total, seven youth participants completed the 2.5 week film training and some are mentoring younger students.
The youth also had the opportunity to meet with Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and former Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna.
Darryl Tedjuk practicing his new skills on the camera. Photo: Maeva Gauthier.
Group photo by the Arctic ocean after the youth interviewed Randal "Boogie" Pokiak. Row 1 (l to r): Jaro Malanowski from Avatar Media, Eriel Lugt, Brian Kikoak workshop assistant, Michele Tomasino from Mangilaluk School, Maeva Gauthier from the University of Victoria. Row 2 (l to r): Darryl Tedjuk, Carmen Kuptana, Randal "Boogie" Pokiak, and Nathan "Muk" Kuptana. Photo: Johan Stroman
In the News
Happening to Us: Amplifying Youth Voices from the Arctic. Langscape Magazine. Jul. 30, 2020
Tuk TV: Inuvialuit Youth Take Their Story Global, Pinnguaq, April 5, 2020
Tuktoyaktuk teens taking documentary to next level, NNSL Media, Jan. 5, 2020
“The Youth at the heart of COP25”, Climate Change News, Jan. 17, 2020
“Their Eyes Opened Up”, CBC news, Dec. 21, 2019
Two Tuktoyaktuk Teens on Living in a town that’s being lost to climate change, Chatelaine, Nov. 29, 2019
Tuktoyaktuk teens will show their climate change doc at UN Conference, CBC News, Oct. 9, 2019
Help bring Inuit filmmakers to COP25, UN Youth Climate Report, Oct. 23, 2019
Exciting Developments
An exciting development from this project includes the participation of four youth from Tuk (Nathan, Eriel, Carmen and Darryl) as part of the Inuit Circumpolar Council delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, Spain in December 2019 in addition to the PhD student Maeva Gauthier and filmmaker Jaro Malanowski. Their video is available to policy-makers on the UN Youth Climate Report and they were on the panel at their press conference at COP25. Youth are also providing film services in Tuk under an initiative called TukTV.
We are thrilled that people believe in this project and in supporting the youth. Funding partners for the project and the research is listed below.
Special thanks to the community of Tuk, Mangilaluk School, Tamara Voudrach from the Inuvialuit Communications Society, Dustin Whalen and Angus Robertson from NRCAN, and Shaun Cormier, Jocelyn Noksana and Kendyce Cockney from Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation for believing in this.
Contact Maeva Gauthier for additional information or to enquire about collaborations.
Eriel Lugt was featured with other Inuit climate action leaders, Siila Watt Cloutier, Brian Pottle, and Piita Irniq, at the Canada House in London, UK. The exhibit was launched for COP26.
Affiliations
Local Scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience, UArctic Thematic Network (Member)
