Mention global issues like poverty, HIV-AIDS, gender inequality and child mortality, and most young people feel a desire to make a difference but doubt they can.
A young, Christian, husband-and-wife team lead the way for young Canadians to move beyond doubt and get involved in international development in a meaningful way when they launch The Just Us Project on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008.
Combining their passion for international development with skill in filmmaking and event planning, Alex and Meghan Nicholls produced their multi-media, interactive
road show event to reach more than 5,000 young Canadians in about 30 communities across the country during the next four months.
“Many young people don’t get involved in global issues,” says 26-year-old Meghan, “because they see it as an Us and Them issue. The premise behind The Just Us Project is to build a bridge between young Canadians and similar-aged people in the developing world. We selected Rwanda as a case study to demonstrate that we have a lot in common. There is no Us and Them there’s Just Us.”
Each no-cost 90-minute event screens a 40-minute film, shot and produced by the Nicholls, followed by a guided group discussion allowing participants to reflect in a personal way and share ideas about what can be done. They invite attendees to take action, and those who do receive connections to Canadian international development agencies, and ongoing support through The Just Us Project online forum and on Facebook.
The Nicholls say because most young Canadians have not met similar-aged people living in the two-thirds world and tend to focus on our differences, which keeps us separated.
“We live in a different climate,” says Meghan, “wear different clothes, practice different customs, eat different foods; so, it’s easy to pass off others as different and say we cannot help. But inside we are the same. The only real difference is in Canada we have more money, technology, and resources.” She adds when we connect through our similarities and realize we have similar hopes, goals and challenges that people everywhere are motivated and working hard to make a good life it becomes easy to partner to help provide things Canadians often take for granted like clean water, warm and dry shelter, health care and education.
Her 25-year-old husband Alex agrees. “Ideally, we would have toured across Canada with the people we met in Rwanda. They are some of the most joyful, grateful, compassionate and hopeful people we have ever met. Of course, that was not practical; so, we did the next best thing. We went and filmed them, providing viewers with a realistic feel for global issues.
“We don’t over-dramatize the despair to make audiences feel sorry so they will do something, and we don’t over-pump the hope for unrealistic expectations about what is possible. We want Canadians to connect honestly with the people in the film so they don’t pass it off as just another experience, but instead, get involved.”
Knowing many young Canadians want a radical shift in their life, The Just Us Project models a way to find meaning by combining one’s passion with practical and
professional skills to make a difference. “Anyone who wants to live radically needs to take on something really big–like ending global poverty–that’s radical!”
The Just Us Project premieres at The Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. Full details of the premiere and other events across Canada are posted as they are scheduled at www.TheJustUsProject.com. Anyone who wants to host the no-cost event with their youth and young adult group can make arrangements by e-mailing Meghan@thejustusproject.com.
