The rise of the Internet has dramatically increased our news intake. But it often feels like it has dramatically increased our bad news intake.
It's time to move beyond the old "if it bleeds, it leads" approach to journalism, and The Huffington Post is responding to that challenge with a new initiative called "What's Working."
"Just showing tragedy, violence, mayhem — focusing on what's broken and what's not working — misses too much of what is happening all around us," HuffPost editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington recently wrote.
"What about how people are responding to these challenges, how they're coming together, even in the midst of violence, poverty and loss? And what about all the other stories of innovation, creativity, ingenuity, compassion and grace? If we in the media only show the dark side, we're failing at our jobs."
HuffPost Canada will be doubling down on our coverage of the people who are righting wrongs and coming up with ideas and projects that can improve the lives of Canadians. It's about striving for solutions.
And we would love to hear from you about what's working where you live, so please share your ideas below. And to inspire you, scroll down to see some seriously awesome efforts happening around the country right now.
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Declaring themselves "two girls trying to change the world," 13-year-old Toronto students Tessa Hill and Lia Valente started by changing Ontario.
The Grade 8 students launched
We Give Consent, a campaign that garnered over 40,000 petition signatures and a meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne.
The pair even got a shout-out in the Ontario government’s new action plan to stop sexual violence and harassment.
After proving young people can make a difference, we look forward to seeing what these girls change next.
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Journalists for Human Rights, a Toronto-based NGO, usually sends Canadian journalists to sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East to train reporters.
But the group has also started an Indigenous Reporters Program to train people in remote northern communities like Attawapiskat, Moose Cree and Sioux Lookout so they can tell their own stories. This
despite the fact it's "10 times more expensive" to send journalists to Fort Severn, Ont. than to the Congo.
The program is expanding with paid internships at APTN and Global News, as well as scholarships for indigenous students attending journalism school.
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Bikers Against Child Abuse recently arrived in Calgary proving that you can't judge a biker by his leather.
"When they see all these big burly guys, they know that we're there for them. That's a lot of empowerment to them," local chapter president William "Wheels" Hebert told CBC. Police and social services connect the motorcyclists with abused kids to provide support, including courthouse escorts.
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A B.C. woman launched her own online protest after a Canadian senator started a push to force transgender people to use the washroom assigned to their birth gender.
Brae Carnes, started demonstrating the absurdity of forcing her to use the men's room. Oh, and being 23 she's doing it with bathroom selfies.
Carnes started posting pics of herself in front of urinals with the hashtag #PlettPutMeHere, referencing Tory Senator Don Plett.
Her social media campaign has gone international — check #WeJustNeedToPee and #Occupotty — and garnered mainstream media coverage on
TV,
radio and in
newspapers.
Ontario Premier Mike Harris' "Safe Streets Act" was intended to stop squeegee kids. But the anti-panhandling law has ended up fining the homeless $4 million since 1999, making it even harder to get off the streets with thousands owed to collection agencies.
That's where
Fair Change steps in. Run by students of Toronto's law school Osgoode Hall, the clinic fights these tickets for free.
Fair Change is also lobbying the provincial government to repeal the law,
telling the Toronto Star it's "an ineffective, expensive, inhumane response to homelessness."
