We're thrilled we have been included in the first ever IdeaBOOST affiliates program, and while hile we're sad we weren't one of the chosen six to be part of the Spring Cohort, we are still very pleased that we made it to the top of the page views, and the top three by boosts (thank you all our boosters!). Below is an abeit narcissistic screen grab of the page views rating! : ) 

But seriously, we were very thrilled to get the support of so many people, it gave us a chance to 'go public' with our intentions to fund and develop our integrated platform and it has helped us hone our pitch which is very useful. We have been calling it the 'Dream Machine, because this really is our dream. Even getting on the shortlist has been a big boost to our project. 

We also feel very fortunate that because of the buzz we generated and the strength of our proposal, the CFC and their sponsors have chosen to include us as one of the additional companies granted 'official' affiliate status for the IdeaBOOST  program, complete with networking perks and opportunities to pitch potential investors.

“Congratulations to all of the companies who entered – the quality was exceptional,” The CFC’s Chief Digital Officer Ana Serano said.  In addtion to the six chosen, Serano added: “This year’s entrants were all of such a high calibre, that we’ll also be launching ideaBOOST’s first Affiliate Program, enabling all of the companies who made it to the shortlist to participate in a select number of ideaBOOST sessions, peer-to-peer learning and strategic assessment modules.”

To see all the winning companies as well as the affliliates go to the IdeaBOOST.ca site.

You can also see our Hello Cool World Dream Machine entry there. We're going to use this momentum and feedback to make our pitch for this grassroots platform even stronger. We will still need your help to make our "Dream Machine" come true! 

]]> Dream MachineideaBOOST http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=535&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=535&website_id=1& Thursday, 09 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700 The #STRONG2013 conference is ending tomorrow, but today will be our final day being here twittering and social media-ing.

]]> AboriginalTechnology http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=534&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=534&website_id=1& Wednesday, 08 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700 What an intense - but fun - 3 days it's been at the #STRONG2013 conference!  We've had a great response from participants who have been actively tweeting and responding to all the online action!

]]> AboriginalTechnology http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=533&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=533&website_id=1& Tuesday, 07 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Guest Blogger Mike Jacko  has joined the team from the Circles of Understanding project. HCW Is thrilled to have his help with the conference and to be working with him on the new COU project too. Here's his panorama pic of the tweet team in action! 

LIGHTS! CAMERA! TWITTER!

The Hello Cool World team has been full-on tweeting, and filming the confernce! Many interviews have been done, and many are still to come tomorrow! Saw an iphone on a tripod, went to the Indigitization workshop, learnt about some of the challenges of entering into the digital world, checked out the Online Safety workshop, and also checked out Cross-media Story-telling workshop facilitated by the amazing Cease Wyss. I also missed several other awesome workshops because they all run at the same time :(   The conference has so much information I can barely keep up.  Looking forward to the next few days, can't wait to hear more ideas from First Nations people about Indigitizing their communities! Exciting!! - MJ

Below: Grand Chief Edward John addresses the morning session.

More photos below the break! 

]]> AboriginalFirst NationsHello Cool WorldLocal Events and PartiesMedia ActivismMarketingTechnologyVideo http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=532&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=532&website_id=1& Monday, 06 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700 HELLO COOL WORLD heads to the STRONG Conference today! 

Our media team of Bella, David, and will be on site all week, doing interviews, documenting the conference sessions, live blogging and tweeting. We'll have Mike Jacko as our intern from the VACPCS  and Photographer Nancy Bleck will be joining us on Wednesday.

In addition to making a short film about the First Nations Technology Council and their annual STRONG conference - we're making connections work with some of our other projects like Circles of Understanding Project and the book  'Picturing Transformation, Nexw-áyantsut’ that Kat is co-authoring with Chief Bill Williams and Nancy Bleck. 

We've also been doing a lot of work around First Nations Health. Check out some of what we've done on our HelloCoolWorldMedia.com site! 

Watch this blog for live updates as the conference gets underway! 

]]> First NationsMedia ActivismStrategyTechnology http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=531&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=531&website_id=1& Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Dear Friends! Please support  ‘Picturing Transformation, Nexw-áyantsut’ book. (Published by Figure 1 Publishing, Fall 2013) consider becoming a sponsor! 

We are so close now to this book coming to life! We've done the substantive editing, all the photos have been selected and the design is about to begin! 

Now there's just one more thing... We need to raise $25,000 from sponsorship to print the book. 

We are seeking 2- 4 major sponsors for 5-10K, and 10 sponsors at 2K. Can you, or do you know of someone who can help us? If so please suggest them to us and we'll send a proposal package to them! email Kdodds@HelloCoolWorld.com if you can help us find sponsors.

All those who contribute at this level, will be given logo space on our sponsors page.

If you yourself are unable to help as a sponsor consider pre-buying the book now at the special price of $29.95 (it will retail for $39.95 when it comes out in October.

]]> Uts'am Witness http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=529&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=529&website_id=1& Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Please BOOST (aka vote for) our proposal to IdeaBOOST - it's for a platform to help us do all our work and campaigns! Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

in March 2013 Hello Cool World attended the annual Communicable Disease Workshop (hosted by First Nations Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada), which was held at the Coast Hotel in Vancouver. Hello Cool World Intern Maria Martin helped us make this short video blog from interviews we conducted at the conference. She also updated our First Nations Health section of out Hello Cool World Media site.

Pictured: Maria and David at the conference with our Hello Cool World info table about our projects. Below Maria recaps her thoughts on community health and interning with HCW! 

As a nursing student, I enjoy community health. Community healthy nursing enables me to interact and collaborate with people where they live, work, and play to promote health. I have the privilege to encounter people in their realm rather than in a hospital setting. I go to their community to explore and discover their norms, values, beliefs, environment, people etc that shape their health and quality of life. As a result, I had the opportunity to coordinate, collaborate and cooperate with a variety of partners, disciplines and sectors to promote, protect, and preserve health, prevent diseases and injury. I learned a lot about advocacy, health marketing and advertising, health public policies, population health etc in the process.

]]> 65_RedRosesFirst Nationshealth promotionHello Cool World http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=530&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=530&website_id=1& Tuesday, 23 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

Hello Cool World (of The Corporation outreach) is excited to be working on the media relations for Occupy Love, an inspiring new documentary from award-winning Canadian filmmaker Velcrow Ripper (Scared Sacred, Fierce Light). Occupy Love explores the cultural uprisings of our time from the Occupy Movement and Arab Spring to the European Summer and environmental protests and asks the question, “How could the crisis we are facing become a love story?”.

Check out the trailer HERE.

Occupy Love is being self-distributed by a talented team led by Velcrow and producers Nova Ami and Ian Mackenzie. Their crowd sourced, social media driven approach to distribution is consistent with the theme of the film, which successfully raised $80,000 through the crowd-funding platforms IndieGoGo and Kickstarter! 

The global response to the film has been amazing with over 200 grassroots screenings being self-organized by individuals and organizations in over 25 countries, and more being added every day. The largest community screening so far took place in Porto Allegre, Brazil on April 11th attracting a whopping 1,500 attendees!

We look forward to watching the momentum grow!

Occupy Love marks the completion of Velcrow's Fierce Love Trilogy, a twelve-year journey which began with Scared Sacred, named one of Canada’s Top 10 movies of 2004, and winner of the 2005 Genie (Canadian Academy Award) for best feature documentary. It continued with 2008′s award winning Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action. (We've got a special to buy both these DVDs on our webstore for 40% off.)

Hello Cool World also worked on outreach and DVD production for Scared Sacred. As with our work with The Corporation, and The Take, we've been inspired by how films with a social message, can find audiences and inspire those audiences to action. All these films are available on our webstore, and all our profits go to our campaigns, and now also to the distribution platform for social cause media we are developing. Check out our proposal to  CFC's IdeaBOOST program, and please BOOST us, our dream is to better help films like Occupy Love engage with audiences, and to encourage audiences to organize actions as well as screenings.

Occupy Love is a moving, transformative, heartfelt film, featuring Ripper’s signature stunning visuals and rich soundscapes along with interviews from leading visionaries including Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Jeremy Rifkin, bell hooks and Charles Eisenstein. 

The Occupy Love US theatrical tour starts Friday, May 3, 2013 in New York City, with screenings and special events to follow in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Seattle.

Coming to Canadian theatres starting June 2013! Check out more screenings and opportunities to get involved after the page break...

]]> Arts and CultureBe The MediaOccupy LoveDVDHello Cool World storeLocal Events and PartiesFilm Launch http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=528&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=528&website_id=1& Monday, 22 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700

Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

Hello Cool World is excited to be working on the media relations for Occupy Love, an inspiring new documentary from award-winning Canadian filmmaker Velcrow Ripper (Scared Sacred, Fierce Light). Occupy Love explores the cultural uprisings of our time from the Occupy Movement and Arab Spring to the European Summer and environmental protests and asks the question, “How could the crisis we are facing become a love story?”.

Check out the trailer HERE.

Occupy Love is being self-distributed by a talented team led by Velcrow and producers Nova Ami and Ian Mackenzie. Their crowd sourced, social media driven approach to distribution is consistent with the theme of the film, which successfully raised $80,000 through the crowd-funding platforms IndieGoGo and Kickstarter! 

The global response to the film has been amazing with over 200 grassroots screenings being self-organized by individuals and organizations in over 25 countries, and more being added every day. The largest community screening so far took place in Porto Allegre, Brazil on April 11th attracting a whopping 1,500 attendees!

We look forward to watching the momentum grow!

Occupy Love marks the completion of Velcrow's Fierce Love Trilogy, a twelve-year journey which began with Scared Sacred, named one of Canada’s Top 10 movies of 2004, and winner of the 2005 Genie (Canadian Academy Award) for best feature documentary. It continued with 2008′s award winning Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action. (We've got a special to buy both these DVDs on our webstore for 40% off.)

We worked on outreach and DVD production for Scared Sacred. As with our work with The Corporation, and The Take, we've been inspired by how films with a social message, can find audiences and inspire those audiences to action. All these films are available on our webstore, and all our profits go to our campaigns, and now also to the distribution platform for social cause media we are developing. Check out our proposal to  CFC's IdeaBOOST program, and please BOOST us, our dream is to better help films like Occupy Love engage with audiences, and to encourage audiences to organize actions as well as screenings.

Occupy Love is a moving, transformative, heartfelt film, featuring Ripper’s signature stunning visuals and rich soundscapes along with interviews from leading visionaries including Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Jeremy Rifkin, bell hooks and Charles Eisenstein. 

The Occupy Love US theatrical tour starts Friday, May 3, 2013 in New York City, with screenings and special events to follow in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Seattle.

Coming to Canadian theatres starting June 2013! Check out more screenings and opportunities to get involved after the page break...

]]> AboriginalActivism and ProtestsAdbustersAlternative EconomicsArts and CultureBloggingClimate ChangeDistributionEnvironmentFilm LaunchFirst NationsHello Cool WorldLocal Events and PartiesMiddle EastNaomi KleinOccupy MovementPoverty and Economic JusticeSocial JusticeThe Corporation http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=527&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=527&website_id=1& Friday, 19 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700

Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

It's exciting times! Our book, Picturing Transformation, Nexw-ayantsut cover design is done, and the layout is about to begin (you can see a thumbnail of the cover on the masthead above

We'll be having updates for this soon but right now... Please take a minute to boost our partner in this project, Hello Cool World's IdeaBOOST proposal

It's just a couple of clicks, costs no money, and will help them build their alternative distribution platform for social cause media, a propsal that will give us all more tools to do our work, including this book! We have less than a week to get as many boosts as possible so please click on the boost link, and if you have already boosted share on twitter and facebook. You can only boost once per email address, but you can tweet and like it daily to give them more points. We need everyone who supports us to support this project too! : ) 

Their platfom will support out outreach efforts to get the book to as many people as possible and will also help us keep this website up to date and engage with more of our supporters. 

]]> Activism and ProtestsAlternative EconomicsArts and CultureBe The MediaFirst NationsHello Cool World http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=526&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=526&website_id=1& Monday, 15 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Thank you sylvi! I was inspired to post this blog about sylvi's new work as I listened to her beautiful song and poetry as it came into my inbox this morning.

"I care for you like an old ancient tree, you are the feather falling to me..." 

As sylvi's press release states: "See Through Publishing in association with VAMS, is pleased to announce the release of The Feather (video). Feather will feature in an upcoming book/dvd that will include footage of sylvi, who has multiple sclerosis, when she was standing and playing guitar." 

If I'm not mistaken this footage of sylvi from the past, is of the Uts'am Witness era! Her beautiful lyrics speak to the power of the forest behind her, to inspire and to sustain. 

sylvi participated in the Uts'am Witness project from the early days.

You can buy the Uts'am Witness CD she created as fundraiser for the project (proceeds now going to our Picturing Transformation book Project) on the Hello Cool World Webstore.

 "Sylvi is an inspiration to the world. A superb composer and sound artist who easily risesabove every conceivable obstacle to create memorable and demanding projects with extremely positive values" -Charlie Richmond

sylvi's music runs from folk to cinema-for-the-ears soundscapes. Her songs have a particular depth. This video is particularly cool for how it showcases sylvi's talent, but also the recording facility itself at Vancouver Adapted Music Society's fully-accessible recording studio.

]]> Uts'am WitnessVideo http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=525&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=525&website_id=1& Friday, 05 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

At Hello Cool World we really are dreamers, and it's a good thing too. We dream of tools for social change, amplification engines for all our visions of alternative futures. The dream is what keeps me going.

There is a story behind every dream. Since I learned to read (such a long time ago), the technology that is the alphabet changed my life forever. But I also had the first massive moment of facing my limits because I had always assumed that once a person learned to read, they simply went on to read all the books. Which is what I set out to do. 

The moment when I realized I could never read all the books was devastating. I also discovered there were more languages than I could ever learn. The tower of babble fell on my five-year old self, already drunk on fermented knowledge apples. It was one of my most profound moments, the friction between desire and reality, and I never recovered from learning my personal limits. 

Since then I have been obsessed with systems. And collaborations. Things that help people do more than what they can do alone. And which is why, in such a personal way, I fell in love with the possiblities of the internet.

When we began working on The Corporation over a decade ago, our dream was to mobilize a grassroots network that connects audiences to ideas and actions. I remember excited conversations with Mark Achbar, before the film was even in production, about grassroots outreach and the possiblities of email. We were excited about websites and heady over hypertext. It was a time when blogs barely existed, and Facebook and Twitter were years away.

But the people and projects behind the technology were the point all along. What I fell in love with was the power of connecting people. We had a grassroots hit on our hands armed with little more than an email list. As we foraged forward, we built the technological infrastructure to go with it, a centralized platform to create and launch campaigns. We always liked to say that our platform balanced content, technology and outreach.

And I could not have done ANY of this alone. Films take teams of people. So do websites, databases and strategies. What we built in the early days (with the strategic advice of Scott Nelson and the hands-on help of Phillip Djwa, followed by David Griffith, and more recently with Atef Abdelkefi & Sandy Haksi), has been serving us well. 

But now, we at Hello Cool World are up against the limits of our old code, and in the face of new  frontiers it's time to BOOST our platform to new heights. In a way that will offer the economy of scale to our potential user and investors.

This platform connects all the work we have been doing. We are putting into practice everything we have learned before, during and after the launches of The Corporation and other documentaries The Take, Scared Sacred, and 65_RedRoses, as well as from book projects like Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine and Picturing Transformation, Nexw-áyantsut, the book I am co-writing (with Chief Bill Williams and Nancy Bleck) for the Uts'am Witness Project. We're drawing on our experience with LACE Campaign, promoting cervical cancer awareness, and our many sexual health campaigns and cross-cultural projects, all of which require mobilizing and connecting people around a cause. We're proud of what we've accomplished and if we can scale it up, we believe we can do more good for more people. 

Make our dreams come true, not only for us, but for you.

]]> Activism and ProtestsArts and CultureAlternative EconomicsDistributionDVDFair TradeFair Trade DVD DistributionFilm Launch http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=524&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=524&website_id=1& Wednesday, 03 Apr 2013 09:00:00 -0700  

HELLO COOL WORLD SEEKS SOCIAL JUSTICE COPY WRITING - EN FRANÇAIS!

Dear friends,

Help us find a spectacular copy-writer in French!

Hello Cool World is looking for experienced Francophone copywriters with a taste for social justice. We need to communicate with you in English, but we need true word-crafting expertise in French, with a current understanding of Quebec culture.

We need pitch writing, tag lines and ad-style copy for a bilingual non-profit identity project, and we are looking for someone with experience* in these areas, but who wants to use their powers of persuasion for good!

We are well aware that concepts and creative ideas don't all translate directly, and that word crafting takes a certain kind of finesse. We're also a company that is unashamedly go-gooders, and all our clients do meaningful work. For this project, our client is Inter Pares. We've worked with these fine folks several times before, but this time we are being stretched to become a truly bilingual company, and we need to find a person, or people who fit with our sensiblity and that can provide us with some high-level writing in French, that takes into consideration the process we have already undergone so far. 

Contact kdodds@hellocoolworld.com by email with your resume if this is you, and give us an example of your copy-writing. Please let us know your hourly freelance rate.

* we are not looking for good writers only, but for people who have done this kind of work specifically, for other clients, and who understand the back-and-forth process that identity work entails. 

For some of our work in progress, see the surveys we just launched of logo drafts.

]]> Social JusticeSocial MarketingMarketing http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=522&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=522&website_id=1& Tuesday, 26 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Help us reach our goal of 5000 boosts by midnight April 25!

Our Dream Machine is an open source platform connecting audiences to the causes they care about

As the grassroots campaigners for The Corporation, we've been working on this labour of love for over 10 years. Right from the get-go, we wanted to do more than launch a successful film that informed and moved audiences. Our dream has been to build a grassroots network that connects audiences to ideas, action, and ultimately outcome. We want the creators of social change films and projects to get their work out there. We want people to easily support the causes they care about. And we want it all to make a difference.

Watch our short video and vote for us on ideaBOOST!

It's a process we started with The Corporation, where our lofty goal is to change the corporate form and tackle the issues that an under-regulated, overly powerful business model has unleashed across the planet. That means supporting the Occupy movement and initiatives to overturn the corporation's legal status as a person, fighting the banksters, the pipelines, the TPP and other suppressive trade agreements, and to generally agitate to reassert democracy and the power of citizens. It's a long list that seems to grow daily.

]]> Alternative EconomicsArts and CultureContestsHello Cool Worldopen sourceTechnologySocial Marketing http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=521&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=521&website_id=1& Wednesday, 20 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700

The three days at the CDC Conference was a whirlwind of mid-week fun. The team was there to live-tweet CDC conference happenings + their projects around First Nations health and social media promotion. Many attendees recognized and were aware of our projects and campaigns. We did live tweeting & video interviews throughout the conference, so stay tuned for our vlog post highlighting the event. We asked people what community health meant to them & what community health looked like in First Nations communities. We also interviewed Dr. Evan Adams who explained the connection between community health and the new First Nations Health Authority. The wellness model takes a mind, body, spirit approach.

]]> Aboriginalhealth promotionHealth/Health AdvocacyHello Cool WorldI Have ImmunityHIV AIDSLocal Events and PartiesnursingSexual HealthTechnologyVideoYouth http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=520&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=520&website_id=1& Thursday, 14 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700

The much anticipated Day 3 of the #CDC2013 #FNhealth conference has finally arrived!

We were looking forward to Day 3 because the presentations today covered the topics of HIV/AIDS and harm reduction.  Kathy Wrath talked about doing harm reduction in small communities, and a lot of the stigma and misinformation about harm reduction that exists in communities.  She pointed out an interesting fact that drug users are often the biggest opponents to harm reduction! So in order to "do" harm reduction effectively in communities, we have to consider how and where people are receiving care.  Who are they listening to and where are people going to receive help?  Kathy explored a part of grassroots outreach that is fundamental to reaching people - using peer groups.  By using existing social networks, we can meet people where they are.

]]> AboriginalChee MamukFirst Nationshealth promotionHarm ReductionHIV AIDSInsite http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=519&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=519&website_id=1& Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700

Day 2 at the First Nations Health conference today started with a presentation on vaccines, which we were of course interested in because of our work with ImmunizeBC. (See Kat Dodds holding a few of our I Have Immunity portfolio pieces to the right.)

The topic of immunizations has been in the media a lot recently, particularly with Simon Fraser University recently coming under fire for allowing an anti-vaccine conference to take place at their Harbor Centre campus.

Andrea Derban explored some of the common myths and misinformation in the public today about vaccines, including the idea that vaccine's "cause" autism, and the idea that the reactions to vaccines that some people get is evidence of the vaccine delivering the full disease itself.

"If someone ever says 'I got the flu from the flu vaccine,' that's like saying 'I got an egg from ground chicken.'"

Looking at the actual science behind vaccines, the presentations today explored some of this widespread misinformation, and suggested that we need to think about the way that we talk to people about immunizations.

The way that we communicate with people - as health care service providers, (and social marketers!) is critical! Polarizing the conversation is not always productive - it's not just about "us versus them". The presentations today implored health care providers to remember that it is their responsibility to promote the most optimal health in their communities, and that immunizations are one of the tools that they have to do so.

After the jump, hear Vancouver's Tyson and Dawn Wozniak tell their story about how, as "natural parents," they decided not to vaccinate their first child. But when their second child arrived, they did more research - and had a change of heart. 

]]> AboriginalMedia ActivismHealth/Health Advocacyhealth promotionHIV AIDSI Have Immunity http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=518&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=518&website_id=1& Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700 New year, new publisher and coming soon -- new crowdfunding plan!

Margaret Reynolds photo of Scott McIntyre's blanketing ceremony at the Equinox Gallery on February 27, 2013.

We are very excited to be working with our new publisher Figure 1 Publishing on the book. We're getting the drafts of the cover now, and the final copy has gone to our editor.

As some of you may (or may not) know, last October our original publisher D & M (Douglas & McIntyre) filed for bankrupcy protection. This was sudden and sad news as D & M was Canada's largest independent publisher, of fantastic art books and many many books on First Nations art and culture, so we knew our book would have been been in good hands. And for some time we simply did not know if it would be happening. 

So while we were in limbo for a while, now we can announce with great excitement, that "Picturing Transformation, Nexw-áyantsut" is going forward, full steam ahead, and with the same creative team that was working with us at D & M who have all formed this new publishing company FIgure 1 Publishing. They've also hired  our wonderful editor Lucy Kenward so we can start the process from where we left off.

The Quill and Quire reported on the new publishers mentioning our book among others.

In the Vancouver Sun Margaret Reynolds, executive director of the Association of Book Publishers of B.C., said she will be watching the new company with great interest.

“It’s a very different shift than the traditional publishing services model because of the quality of what they’re doing,” Reynolds said. “It’s really interesting because of who they are and the expertise they bring to this endeavour.” 

So while we are excited about moving forward, we are also very grateful to D & M, and Scott McIntyre in particular for believing in our book from the start. Along with the fine folks from Figure 1 Publishing, the day after they announced their new company, Nancy and I we particpated in a traditional blanketing ceremony to honour Scott McIntyre, with Chief Bill Williams, Marc Williams, and Aaron Nelson-Moody of the Squamish Nation

This felt like a fitting way to transition from one plan to the next, with ceremony and gratitude. Thank you Scott McIntyre, and thank you Figure 1 Publishing.

Stay tuned for our crowdfunding plans to suppor this work which now needs a little more support from our 'community" to see it come to life! 

Watch for updates in the coming days and weeks.

]]> Uts'am Witness http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=517&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=517&website_id=1& Monday, 11 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Welcome Wagon + Announcement

From Guest Blogger Maria Martin

Hi everyone!

My name is Maria Martin and I am a new intern at Hello Cool World
headquarters. Similar to my predecessor, Linh Tra, I, too, am a
Nursing student at Vancouver Community College. I am in my fourth year
and currently doing my public health clinical rotation. I am doing a
project for HCW about health promotion as part of my clinical so stay
tuned and curious.

Hello Cool World team will be at the Community Health Associates
Meeting on March 12-14. We are invited to the conference to display
our work with First Nations on health promotions so come by our table
to chat, check out our portfolio, or be part of our live broadcast. We
will be at the helm of the social media component, tweeting and
blogging live. Follow us on Twitter (#CDC2013, #FNHealth) Facebook, or on our site.

We are also doing interviews so this is an opportunity to plug your
work or projects and meet the Hello Cool World team. Anyone attending
feel free to come by our table to learn more about whom we are, what
we do, and what Hello Cool World can do for you or your organizations.
Let’s connect and stay cool. MM

Check out more about Hello Cool World Media projects here.

More about what we are up to at the conference below the break! 

]]> Be The MediaBloggingChee MamukFirst Nationshealth promotionHarm ReductionHealth/Health AdvocacyHello Cool WorkshopsHello Cool WorldHIV AIDSHPVI Have Immunity http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=516&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=516&website_id=1& Tuesday, 19 Feb 2013 09:00:00 -0700 SACY Project Video Well Underway! intern Linh Tra with editor Bella Sie in front of the rough cut! 

Hello Cool World has made tremendous progress with the SACY project over the last few weeks. Back in January we held a couple of video shoots with the youth and got excellent content for the documentary around the 4 S’s: be smart, speak up, be safe, and get support. We also held a super fun photo shoot for the SACY poster. The youth got their hair and makeup done, which the girls really enjoyed, but the boys.... yeah, not so much hehe!

Overall the video footage and the photos turned out great and we had so much great material to work with, it took me weeks to transcribe it. : )  Then the editing process began! This usually takes a pretty long time, but Bella, being superwoman, finished it in a week. We're waiting now for SACY coordinator Helenka to see it, before heading back into the edit suite. So, now we’ve already got the rough draft of the documentary completed and ready for approval, on to the next steps. Way to go Hello Cool World!

I can’t wait to see the final product! We’ll keep you posted!

]]> Video WorkshopsVideoSACY http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=515&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=515&website_id=1& Friday, 08 Feb 2013 09:00:00 -0700 Linh Tra is a Bachelor of Nursing student at Vancouver Community College and is interning with Hello Cool World as part of her community health clinical.

Hello Cool World has been working on a project with the SACY team (School Aged Children and Youth), along with the Vancouver School Board. The SACY project is a Substance Use Prevention Initiative that engages students, parents, teachers, administrators and the greater community in a process to strengthen school-based alcohol and drug prevention and early-intervention programs and policies. Hello Cool World and SACY interviewed about a dozen high school students from all over Vancouver. We will be putting together 4 short videos around the 4 key messages about alcohol and drug prevention: be smart, speak up, be safe, and get support.

The youth of the SACY project reported that they experience many stressors and pressures as teenagers. Some of these include the pressure to find who they are, the pressure from parents and teachers to succeed in school, and pressure from peers to fit in. They also mentioned that some issues youth face are related to drugs, alcohol, self image, bullying, self harm, relationships, sexuality, etc. They felt pressures from everyone around them to be or act a certain way or to do certain things with their futures and this caused much stress for them. The youth noticed that many teens are unable to effectively cope with their stress. Therefore, this may lead to many risk taking behaviours. As one youth said, “pot and liquor for the most part is like, people use those as kind of an outlet.”

]]> Youth http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=514&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=514&website_id=1& Saturday, 05 Jan 2013 09:00:00 -0700 It's a new year, time to ponder the future and our vision for Hello Cool World! 

The Vancity Women Entrepreneur Project has been a great opportunity to work on a business plan, and this coming week i'm excited to be sitting down with my long-term cohorts to discuss what we collectively see in our future, how we can continue to work with those "with a message to sell or a story to tell!" 

January sees us continuing the exciting work branding and positioning the wonderful Social Justice organization Inter Pares (which means "Among Equals'). We are also at work on a very exciting pilot project we are doing with SACY and Vancouver youth to create short videos and campaign materials to support their high school program addressing in a positive ways, issues youth face around substance abuse. We'll be continuing our public health and harm reduction work with more e'Zines for Toward the Heart.

We're also looking forward to more important work with Circles of Understanding, which is addressing the impact residential schools have had on First Nations people in Canada, and how to educate the public and create opportunities for awareness and healing. We've also been inspired by the #IdleNoMore movement, which the 'official' site aminstrators have already said has become too big from them to track! And while we at HCW have no direct link to its organzing, I have been watching and participating when I can locally as I think this is one of the most siginficant grassroots movements I've witnessed in my lifetime. I am humbled, excited and hopeful because of this work and ceremony I have been witnessing.

We've had excitement and challenges in this past year, and I feel privileged to be able to be doing these projects in a spirit of reflection as we build models to help both ourselves, and our cohorts do what we do more effectively and sustainably. 

]]> Hello Cool World http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=513&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=513&website_id=1& Tuesday, 18 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0700 NOW EVEN BIGGER BARGAINS for items from our online store, + NEW products! 

REMEMBER TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to order in time for Xmas if you choose express delivery options! 

SALE ON EVERYTHING UNTIL DEC 31!

Use the promo code PopUpShop2012 at the checkout for 10% off EVERYTHING on our online store, and since we've also put 5% off our ENTIRE inventory, you save 15%. 

Even greater savings for 65_RedRoses fans, 25% off with promo code #4EvaHeart (only works on 65_RedRoses items). 

Looking for a SPICY stocking stuffer? Or a scathing critique of the 'orgasm product industry'? 

Do gooders like to have fun too! Maybe you are looking for something a little more fun for someone you love? We have organic all natural body candy, lube and oils from Good Clean Love + Liz Canner's entertaining documentary expose of the search for the female viagra.

If you are in Vancouver and order online, our Chinatown warehouse (525 Carrall) will be open for a few hours on Saturday Dec 22 for pick up if you want to choose to save on shipping! Call 604 251 5567 for times.

Besides the well known Corporation and 65_RedRoses products, we have some great new titles just in, some of them brand new films. Read below the line for details on new items! 

Thank you for supporting our campaigns! 

]]> 65_RedRosesArts and CultureThe CorporationUts'am Witness http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=512&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=512&website_id=1& Saturday, 01 Dec 2012 09:00:00 -0700 December 1 marks World AIDS day and I am reflecting on over a decade of work Hello Cool World has done around sexual and reproductive health. 

When we first formed the company in 2001, two of our first clients were Vancouver Coastal Health's Condomania, and what was known then as Planned Parenthood BC, now Options For Sexual Health.

But today I am reminded also, a lesser known campaign we did in that first year of business for Deltassist. Our intended audiences was young women in Delta, and so, we gathered a few together and brainstormed what kind of campaign would work for them. 

The result was this image at left, which was playful enough to catch their attention, but had it's serous side on the reverse: 

"Going Fishing?" asks the goldfish in the condom on the front. "Careful what you catch" is what is says on the back. Followed by "Does he call you cold fish for playing safe? Tell him to be a good sport. Put it on because you can't put it back."

This little card proved very popular, and our ad hoc focus testing revealed that young gay men also liked it! 

Without being too hard sell, it answered fears that some young women and gay men felt about being the one to insist on protection, and the humour was an effective way to make the message memorable.

We have a lot to thank that group of girls in Delta for, as it set the tone for all our work to follow, we take a documentary approach to advertising in as much as we ALWAYS go to the audiences we want to reach to get insights into what mode and message will have meaning for them. We do this to be effective, of course, but it also is an important part of our Hello Cool World philosophy, empowering communities is as important to us as completing our 'deliverables' to clients.

]]> Sexual HealthWorld AIDS Day http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=511&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=511&website_id=1& Thursday, 29 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 Vous pouvez compléter notre sondage Inter Pares en ligne maintenant et participer au concours pour gagner un article provenant de notre magasin en ligne!

Bienvenue sur le blogue Hello Cool World! Nous sommes heureux de pouvoir enfin communiquer avec les francophones du Canada!

Hello Cool World est une firme de communication axée sur les causes sociales et les organismes sans but lucratif. Elle travaille régulièrement avec des OSBL et des agences gouvernementales pour développer des campagnes de communication.

Récemment, Hello Cool World s’est associée à Inter Pares, une organisation de justice sociale, pour lancer un processus de stratégie de marque et de positionnement. Puisque c’est une organisation bilingue, Hello Cool World s’est pourvue d’une consultante francophone (Bonjour!) pour l’aider à mener le projet dans les deux langues.

Lors de notre visite à Ottawa, nous avons rencontré membres de l’équipe IP et ceux  du conseil d’administration et recueilli leurs idées, pensées et opinions par rapport au positionnement d’Inter Pares dans le monde des OSBL et de la justice sociale. Nous en sommes ressortis énergisés et remplis d’idées!

]]> Inter Pares http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=510&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=510&website_id=1& Wednesday, 28 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 In Vancouver? C'mon down this Sunday...

Come and have a festive treat, and get great deals (and no shipping charges) for items from our Online store! The more you buy, the more we bargain!

Not in Vancouver? No problem, there is still a deal for you! Use the promo code PopUpShop2012 at the checkout for 10% off EVERYTHING on our online store!

Thanks for you support for all our grassroots campaigns! 

]]> Alternative EconomicsDistributionRaw OpiumThe Corporation65_RedRosesFair Trade http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=509&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=509&website_id=1& Thursday, 08 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 "Re-Mix, For the Unrequited"

RE-VISION. It's been a while since this book was published by Kat&friends. No reason for it to be taking up space, when it could be released, allowed to find new homes...

... always already, It all started with a conversation...because STORIES are, QUEEN we are told.

Lynn, when commenting that she was not going to invest in my business wanted to see me write more poetry.

But, I replied, I am supposed to be working on my business plan.

Poetry being only slightly more lucrative than painting. ~sigh~

But OK. I have a book of poetry. That Lynn edited, that Nancy and Terry designed, and that is sitting, unsung in boxes in my cupboard....

And so, I decided to go public with this box of text and offer it up. 

You could buy one.

Why not?

]]> Creative time wastingPoetic license http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=508&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=508&website_id=1& Thursday, 08 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 Romney wasn't the only loser on election night. American voters resoundedly walloped Citizens United and the notion of corporate personhood by easily passing measures around the country to amend the Constitution and overturn the ruling.

At local and state levels, residents across party lines emphatically rejected the ruling that unleashed a tide of corporate spending in elections — and won every time! Even red states like Montana and Colorado that went to Romney saw a landslide of support with majorities of 70% and more.

The drive to get these initiatives on the ballot came from a coalition of groups including Move To Amend, Free Speech Is For People, and Common Cause. Kudos to all the volunteers and grassroots supporters who helped get them passed in their communities! Hopefully, this high level of support will send a strong message to Congress and push them into action.

]]> Activism and ProtestsCampaign 4 Corporate Harm ReductionCitizens United RulinggeopoliticsMove to Amend http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=507&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=507&website_id=1& Wednesday, 07 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 It's the day after the US election, and Planned Parenthood declares Obama Reelection Is ‘Resounding Victory for Women’

Planned Parenthood Action Fund president literally jumping for joy when the news of Obama's reelection broke! 

Note: all images from Planned Parenthood Action's Live Election blog.

“This is a resounding victory for women. More than ever before, women’s health was a decisive issue in this election. Americans today voted to ensure that women will have access to affordable health care and be able to make their own medical decisions,” said Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Pictured Above: Online HQ for the PP get out the vote! 

Here in Canada we were watching through the news and sites like this, and on my Facebook stream there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief. It also got me exploring the Planned Parenthood US sites a bit more and seeing the many connections with the work here in Canada. We at Hello Cool World through our work, and through this That's So Sexy blog, have been working in BC with Options for Sexual Health since it was Planned Parenthood BC. Now, our Canadian National organization, which is still connected with the international Planned Parenthood Federation is called the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health.

And we do have a lot of work to do here at home, as we have a Prime Minister that is our crazy equivalent to Mitt Romney. More on that in future blogs!

If anything this US election brought the issues of gender and reproductive health and rights front and centre in all progressive's minds. And that is, IMHO, a good thing. Also for Canadians.

]]> Cervical Cancer Screening Program CampaignFeminismGenderSexual Health http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=506&website_id=1& http://www.hellocoolworld.com/blog.cfm?view=BLOG_POST&blog_id=506&website_id=1& Monday, 05 Nov 2012 09:00:00 -0700 SURVEYING A WILLING POOL OF PROGRESSIVES TO HELP PROMOTE INTER PARES

UPDATE: Anyone in Canada or the US can now fill our our our Inter Pares Audience Survey and enter to win any item from our Webstore!