Vancouver Island North Training and Attraction Society (VINTAS) is launching a short video series promoting the communities and people living in the Regional District of Mount Waddington.
The videos conclude the first portion of a two-year long project on the My Vancouver Island North website. Recent North Island Secondary School graduate, summer student, and promising film maker Micah Estlin visited North Island communities throughout the summer to complete this project.
He reached out to people he found in the towns and villages, filming the region in a firsthand manner that communicates home-grown impressions of the North Island region.
With funding through VINTAS and Community Futures Mount Waddington, Estlin took on the challenging 2-month summer work experience. “Micah came to the video project with a surprising level of technical knowhow, creativity and maturity for a recent high school grad. I would highly recommend Micah to anyone who has a video project in mind,” says David Mitchell, CFMW Marketing Committee Chair, Vancouver Island North Training and Attraction Society.
Statistically, many rural communities in British Columbia are facing similar demographic challenges.
There is an aging population, with fewer youth and families in the communities to fill important jobs and careers.
On Vancouver Island North there are job openings in health, education, industry, the public sector and in business and entrepreneurial succession.
The #MYVIN social media and online initiative wants to get the message out that rural lifestyle is fantastic, and an opportunity for growth.
Www.MyVancouerIslandNorth.ca is a portal to regional information produced by individual communities.
Up and coming filmmakers, amateur photographers, writers and artisans are welcome to share and promote their work through the site. To submit content, contributors may contact myvanouverislandnorth@gmail.com.
- Gazette staff