From September 22nd to 29th all partners of the #FutureOfLIVE campaign and their members participated in awareness-raising activities to communicate why touring and presenting is important, the difference it makes in communities, and why predictable and increased funding from the federal government is needed for the performing arts!
We want to thank all participants for making as much noise as possible over those five days! Because of you, awareness was spread and several politicians paid close attention to our campaign, making #FutureOfLIVE a massive success!
Here are some of CAPACOA’s favourite moments from National Action Week…
A Positive Meeting with the Minister of Canadian Heritage
To start National Action Week off on a strong footing, representatives of the #FutureOfLIVE coalition met with the Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, on September 22nd.
The meeting was an opportunity to talk about the many arts organizations already affected by funding cuts. #FutureOfLIVE representatives insisted on the urgency of extending supplementary funds for the Canada Arts Presentation Fund..
Minister St-Onge was receptive to the coalition’s ideas and understands the difficult situation that many arts organizations and their members find themselves in.
The #FutureOfLIVE Makes the News
Representatives from four #FutureOfLIVE partner associations held a press conference at Cabaret Lion d’or, in Montreal on September 27th. They raised a big red flag regarding the decline of CAPF supplementary funds and the funding cuts already experienced by festivals and series presenters across the country. They appealed to the Minister of Finance and called for a substantial reinvestment.
The story was relayed by some 30 newspapers and news programs on radio and television.
In addition, an opinion piece by Jacinthe Comeau was published in two Atlantic newspapers.
Video Testimonials and Other Social Media Activities
#FutureOfLIVE from CAPACOA on Vimeo.
Through the use of an introductory campaign video, testimonial videos from partner organizations, and our official campaign hashtags, #FutureOfLIVE and #AvenirDuSPECTACLE, we were able to spark interest on social media!
Featured testimonials were provided by Aramusique, Imperial Theatre, Réseau Ontario/Centre culturel Louis-Hémon and the Coopérative de développement culturel et patrimonial de Mont-Carmel. Our main video (EN and FR) and all four featured testimonials can be found on Vimeo.
Search #FutureOfLIVE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see what has been shared!
Also have a look at this report, which outlines data regarding both web and social mentions:
Mentions_Report_29_09_2023_6430.pdf
A big thanks to all contributors to our #FutureOfLIVE National Action Week video series and in particular to AL Connors for compiling and editing all video materials!
Call to Action – It’s Not Too Late!
Having the ear of the Minister of Canadian Heritage is one thing. Having the ear of the Minister of Finance is another. If we want the #FutureOfLIVE requests to appear in the 2024 budget, we must continue rallying support from MPs from all parties.
If you’ve already connected with your MP, send a follow-up letter using this template.
If you haven’t connected with your MP, it’s not too late! Send this letter.
And don’t stop sharing stories with the #FutureOfLIVE hashtag!
