Innovate Where You Are: Canadian Innovation Week 2024 Re-Cap

Exploring digital tools and engaging in participatory food security research, Niriqatiginnga youth develop resilience and leadership skills. Our focus is on building strong, adaptive communities ready to face future challenges with confidence and creativity
Exploring digital tools and engaging in participatory food security research, Niriqatiginnga youth develop resilience and leadership skills. Our focus is on building strong, adaptive communities ready to face future challenges with confidence and creativity

Canadian Innovation Week was a great success, providing our projects with an opportunities to showcase some of the incredible talent and creativity that exists within our communities. This week, we celebrated Canadian Innovation Week with a focus on highlighting the innovative ideas and advancements happening here in Winnipeg, and across the region.

We’re a small group, growing from the ground up. And we didn’t plan to take part in any kind of Canadian Innovation Week activities. But when we looked at their web site and the their toolkit, we just couldn’t resist. So we tried our best and made sure to have a post for every day of the week!

And since innovation happens EVERY day, our final post for Canadian Innovation Week is to share some of our favourite moments from past and present projects that will be presented during the 2024 Arctic Congress from May 29-June 3 in Bodø, Norway.

Here are the articles and activities we shared for #CIW24.

Food Tech Forward: Youth, artists explore AI Technologies for Participatory Organizational Development
May 17, 2024 – Explore how initiatives like Art Borups Corners are empowering Indigenous youth in the digital world and addressing key challenges in community development and communication.

#CIW24: Building a Sustainable Development Goals Action Tracker
May 16, 2024 – Inclusivity and awareness are central to Art Borups Corners approach, with a specific emphasis on social programming and sectoral inclusion within Northern communities.

Canadian Innovation Week: Youth Climate and Creative Entrepreneurship in Action
May 15, 2024 – Today for Canadian Innovation Week we celebrate all of the young Canadian innovators and organizations that are supporting them along the way. 

Celebrating Canadian Innovation Week in Manitoba with Local Spark
May 13, 2024 – For today’s Canadian Innovation Week #CIW24 spotlight, we wanted to share some of the news about the Art Borups Corners Youth Arts and Media Team and how they’re innovating with “local spark.”

New Summer Youth Arts Program: Growing From the Ground Up in Manitoba
May 10, 2024 – Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Art Borups Corners Youth, Arts, and Media has launched a new project aimed at building organizational capacity.

Friendshoring: Food Security, AI and Arctic Supply Chains
May 7, 2024 – Discover how projects like Art Borups Corners and Our People Our Climate project are tackling climate change, security, and economic development in the Arctic and northern regions.

Innovate where you are

The theme “Innovate where you are” describes perfectly the Art Borups Corners project journey. It’s a program that started from the ground up, with little more than a plastic table. It began as a small, volunteer-driven program, fueled by a passionate belief in the power of arts and creativity to tackle northern food insecurity. Today, we are blossoming into a growing non-profit organization, dedicated to empowering youth, food sector entrepreneurs and community organizations through a blend of cultural, creative, and entrepreneurial initiatives. Our story is one where significant, impactful innovation can emerge from the humblest of beginnings. So, we encourage others: innovate where you are. Stick to it. Keep going, and keep creating! With perseverance and passion, you can make incredible things happen.

We also want to thank the Rideau Hall Foundation and its Canadian Innovation Space for sharing our posts and activities on social media and for making all of this week’s incredible story sharing possible. We saw so many amazing and inspiring projects that gave us even more ideas. Our Art Borups Corners Youth, Arts and Media team members are all looking forward to continuing to support and celebrate Canadian innovation next year.

To learn more about Canadian Innovation Week, visit their web site at: https://canadianinnovationspace.ca

Niriqatiginnga empowers Indigenous youth by teaching them about digital supply chains and food security. Our programs equip future leaders with critical skills to enhance food distribution and sustainability in their communities.
Art Borups Corners empowers participants by teaching them about digital literacy, supply chains and food security through arts and creative approaches. Our pilot program equip future leaders with critical skills to enhance food distribution and sustainability in their communities.

Thanking our supporters

We would like to thank all the amazing projects, organizations and programs that have been supporting our activities these past two semesters, in particular: the University of the Arctic, Live It Earth, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, University of Minnesota Duluth, OpenAI and its Researcher Access Program for supporting our Art Borups Corners project activities. We also acknowledge funding and support from Manitoba Agriculture and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership – Indigenous Food Systems program, and the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Indigenous Intellectual Property Protection Program. The Art Borups Corners Youth, Arts and Media Team is funded with support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Program.

To learn more about Art Borups Corners and its activities, visit the news page at: http://artsincubator.ca/news

Picture of Art Borups Corners

Art Borups Corners

Nestled in the heart of Melgund Township, Northwestern Ontario, Art Borups Corners is a dynamic participatory arts collective and living lab, where innovation and creativity thrive. The program was founded in 2014, with an arts incubator established in 2021 and 2022 with funding and support from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. Today, working with students and faculty from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, we fuse traditional and participatory media arts with artificial intelligence, music, storytelling and community-driven, land-based artist residencies to cultivate new voices and bold ideas. Whether through collaborative projects or immersive experiences, our small but vibrant community supports creators to explore, experiment, and connect. Join us at the intersection of artistry, technology, culture and community—where every moment is a new opportunity to create.

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