

This is a time when Canada must harness its community-driven resilience. We’re asking you to share examples of how Canadian communities are responding to the crisis with creativity and imagination. Collective problem-solving and collaboration will be instrumental in how Canada mitigates the local impacts of COVID-19 and creates on-the-ground solutions.
Highlighted Initiatives
CBC documentaries & local films featuring Windsor’s independent producers, directors and student filmmakers
Links include:
Leslie McCurdy Story: On the Money
Award-winning actress and playwright Leslie McCurdy has dedicated her life to staging the stories of heroic Black women who stood up against racial injustice. For two decades, McCurdy has been bringing the stories of her heroines to life on stage. Like her, they inspire others to follow their dreams and to stand up for what they believe and not be treated as second class. They include Harriet Tubman and Viola Desmond, both known as firmly established heroines of civil rights in North America. McCurdy comes from seven generations of civil rights activists, the most recent being her father, the late Dr. Howard McCurdy, Jr.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Graffiti: The art that changes a city
Watch as Windsor gets transformed by graffiti artists and discover how their art brings life back into the city’s neighbourhoods. This project is a collaboration with CBC Arts, CBC Windsor and local independent producer/director Sasha Jordan-Appler.
CBC ARTS | Meet Derkz, one of the artists behind the murals transforming Windsor neighbourhoods
Featured artists: Eugenio Mendoza (DREVMZ), Daniel Bombardier (Denial), David Derkatz (Derkz) and Briana Benore (Athena)
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
A drama, documentary and musical all in one? Directors Trista Suke and Ellis Poleyko follow Trista’s experience struggling with alopecia, a hair loss condition. An eccentric memoir intertwined with interview segments of people living with the condition, Foxy shines a light on mental health and society’s unachievable beauty standards.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Q&A | FOXY director Trista Suke on why alopecia doesn’t define her
A compilation of short, scripted films and documentaries from independent producers and student filmmakers from the University of Windsor and finalists from the Windsor Youth Short Film Showcase. This year’s compilation brings together stories about performance and the creative process, identity and learning to love who you are, plus some fun with time travel, dogs and fireworks. You’ll have to watch to find out more!
Short films include: Band Together, Starving Artist, Led By Her, Time Record, Season of Seven Loves, Love Me and Fire Work.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Stories from the Land: Corn Soup and The Last Fishermen
Stories from the Land, a podcast dedicated to Indigenous storytelling, has been adapted into a documentary series by Wanderer Entertainment Inc. for CBC Short Docs. Watch a sneak peek of the series on Absolutely Canadian with this special Ontario broadcast featuring the short films Corn Soup, from Fort Erie, and The Last Fishermen, from Rainy Lake in Fort Frances.
You can watch it now on CBC Gem.
Harm reduction coalition publishes COVID-19 guidelines for people who use drugs and harm reduction programs
Resources are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
List of collective intelligence tools being used to respond to COVID-19
Collective intelligence is the enhanced capacity created when distributed groups of people work together, often with the help of technology, to mobilise more information, ideas and insights to solve a problem.
Restaurants in Minneapolis offer free lunches to children during school closures
Many children rely on school lunches to stay fed during the day, and with the announcement that schools will be closing, several restaurants have said they will give free lunches to any students who need them while they’re home from school.
US academics create remote learning platform to connect students across the US
Youth Remote Learning looks to connect students across the United States with free online courses that will help to promote intellectual curiosity in an online platform.
San Diego County schools provide free meals for students during COVID-19 closures
San Diego County schools provide free meals for students during COVID-19 closures. The meals are federally funded through a USDA program that serves low income families throughout the school year.
US Interagency Council on Homelessness creates list of resources for homelessness service systems during COVID-19
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has a list of resources that can be used by homelessness services systems in response to COVID-19.
UK digital agency helps to bring cultural content into audiences’ homes
In response to COVID-19, UK-base digital agency The Space is to helping to bring cultural content into audiences’ homes and supporting the creative teams who have made this work.
National Association of School Psychologists releases resource for talking to children about COVID-19
Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus) offers advice, guidelines, and resources for parents.
Vendors in Portland Oregon launch initiative to share COVID-19 information with people experiencing homelessness.
Vendors in Portland Oregon launch the Coronavirus Action Team, an initiative to get information about COVID-19 to people experiencing homelessness. Vendors are paid a stipend to check on each other, dispel myths about the virus & explain health dept guidance
UK’s Creative Review creates guide for creative support during COVID-19
Creatives and companies the world over are offering help and support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Creative Review has compiled a list of what’s available right now, which will be updated regularly.
China creates national cloud learning platform and broadcasts primary school classes on public television
China launched a national cloud learning platform during the outbreak to provide learning materials for students in junior and senior high school. The e-learning platform is meant to provide resources for students but not to replace classroom learning. At the same time, classes for primary school students were broadcast on state-broadcaster CCTV’s China Education Television Channel 4.
Norwegian prime minister holds press conference on coronavirus for children
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told the country’s children in a televised news conference that it was OK to feel scared during the “special days” of the coronavirus outbreak.
FEANTSA prescribes key priorities for addressing COVID-19 for people experiencing homelessness
FEANTSA (European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless) prescribes key priorities for addressing COVID-19 for people experiencing homelessness.
Playwrights Guild of Canada is livestreaming 10-minute readings across Canada
The Playwrights Guild of Canada is doing a Play Reading Relay, where 29 playwrights will livestream 10 minute readings from their plays over a 7-hour day.
Crowdsourced resource for technologists
The Coronavirus Tech Handbook provides a space for technologists, civic organisations, public & private institutions, researchers and specialists of all kinds to collaborate on a rapid and sophisticated response to the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent impacts. It is a quickly evolving resource with thousands of active expert contributors.
Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation release handbook on COVID-19 prevention and treatment based on clinical experience in China
Experts at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine treated 104 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in 50 days, and recorded their real treatment experience in a Handbook of COVID-19 Prevention and Treatment, offering practical advice and references with medical staff around the world. The handbook provides comprehensive guidelines and best practices by China’s top experts for coping with COVID-19.
Seattle business owners form Facebook group to offer each other support and resources
A Faceook Group for Seattle business owners offers place to share tips, promote services, and encourage the support of local businesses in the Puget Sound region.
Facebook group formed to evaluate, design, validate, and fabricate open source medical supplies around the world and creates open source medical supply guide
Open source medical supply guide, crowdsourced via Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/groups/670932227050506). Group formed to evaluate, design, validate & source fabrication of open source emergency medical supplies around the world but specific to locales
Georgetown University think tank creates evaluation tool for assessing local public health and response capacities
The Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University has created an evaluation tool – the Rapid Urban Health Security Assessment (RUHSA) – as a resource for assessing local-level public health preparedness and response capacities. The RUHSA draws from multiple guidance and evaluation tools. It was designed to support city decision-makers prioritize, strengthen and deploy strategies that promote urban health security.
European Commission releases ‘bottom-up’ call for startups and SMEs with innovations related to COVID-19 to apply for €164m fund
The European Commission calls for startups and SMEs with technologies and innovations that could help in treating, testing, monitoring or other aspects of the Coronavirus outbreak to apply to the next round of funding from the European Innovation Council (Mar 18 deadline). With a budget of €164m, this call is “bottom up”, meaning there are no predefined thematic priorities and applicants with Coronavirus relevant innovations will be evaluated in the same way as other applicants. The Commission will look to fast track the awarding of EIC grants and blended finance (combining grant and equity investment) to Coronavirus relevant innovations, as well as to facilitate access to other funding and investment sources.
Resource: How to set up mutual aid
A how-to resource for setting up neighbourhood pods of mutual aid.
Resource: pod mapping for mutual aid
Pod mapping is a tool specifically for accountability and dealing with harm in communities. However, it can also be adapted to help you assess who you can rely on in a pinch—who you’d turn to for support and who would turn to you. This simple resource was written by an activist as COVID-19 took hold in her region. (includes worksheet and additional resources)
Free Ebook on building collective resilience after a disaster
“The Response: Building Collective Resilience in the Wake of Disasters”, contains interviews, articles, guides, and personal stories to deepen your understanding of community led disaster response and support deeper engagement with your neighbors, family, and friends as you prepare for the future together.
Youth climate protest adapts to digital #ClimateStrikeOnline
The Fridays for Future movement, started by Greta Thunberg, will shift their national strike (April 3) to a digital strike due to COVID-19.
Halifax restaurant, Basha Restaurant invites anyone who’s struggling financially to come inside and have a free meal
The owners of a Halifax restaurant say the way the community embraced them when they first started has them feeling compelled to give back during this difficult time. All orders are take-out only and they have a strict one customer at a time policy.
Edmonton window art map encourages neighbours to decorate windows and participate in community ‘window walks’
Crowd-sourced #YEGWindowArt map calls on community members to join in on ‘window walks’ by decorating windows and adding them to the crowdsourced map, then enjoying a walk through the neighbourhood to see what others have put up.
Edmonton app reinvents itself to help people find groceries and supplies
The Edmonton-developed app Spontivly shows where supplies are available amid COVID-19 shortages.
Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations compiles COVID-19 resources
ECVO (Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations) has put together a resource outlining COVID-19 impacts on the sector
Edmonton Global launches a COVID-19 business resource page
Edmonton Global, an Economic Development Corporation in the Edmonton Metro Region, launched a COVID-19 business resource page to help businesses navigate the tools and programs announced by Canada and Alberta.
Resident Facebook group matches people in need with those who can help
This Facebook page serves as a hub to support members of the Charlotte County community impacted by COVID-19. The page enables residents to post about what they need, and other residents to volunteer resources.
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