AHA Media

AHA MEDIA is very happy to celebrate its First Birthday and First year Anniversary online on Wednesday November 11, 2009 !!! 🙂

AHA MEDIA has come a long way in one year when we ( April Smith, Hendrik Beune and Al Tkatch) formed AHA MEDIA ( using the first letter of our first names) and decided last year to have our very own site online!

AHA MEDIA does mobile new media/social media reporting and event documentation for all communities in Vancouver and Downtown Eastside. We have even been invited to the cities of Whistler and Victoria to do mobile media and livestreaming.

With lessons learned from the Fearless City Mobile project from W2 Community Media Arts Centre http://www.creativetechnology.org, we are proud to continue to grow everyday and help support/report in all our neighborhoods from social justice issues to social media events!

AHA MEDIA enjoys providing an independent and alternative perspective to general media views. Through our new media devices and cameraphones, we hope to be a news resource for everyone who is interested in us.

Over the year AHA MEDIA has grown to include 11 people affiliated with AHA MEDIA – nearly all  live and work in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside.

We are honored to have the Aboriginal/Native Culture perspectives from our Aboriginal  reporters – Brody Benson, Alvin Clayton, Clyde Wright

Other fantastic members of AHA MEDIA are :

Peter Davies – Photographer

Ken Glofcheskie – Sports and Social Justice

J-Hock – Housing and Economic Issues

Derrick Simms – Tech Support

Alain Assaily –  Real Journalist!

AHA MEDIA enjoys peer training, participating and engaging in our communities to produce content for everyone to see and hear!

Among our many news/events coverage,  our next ongoing project is documenting and archiving events leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Olympics. We will report on all perspectives as well as hearing the personal stories of folks in our neighborhoods.

Two future projects AHA MEDIA will be involved  in are:

1) Documenting the Poverty Olympics – a satirical view of the Games put on by CCAP who are concerned about economic, housing and social justice issues of the Downtown Eastside

2) Participating in Fearless City’s CODE Live and Bright Lights editions – the Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition, part of the 2010 Winter Olympics celebrations. The projects will include streaming videos created by local residents and shown on giant screens at W2, a community media arts centre opening this winter as part of the Woodward’s development.

AHA MEDIA is proud to be part of  ongoing year long documentary filming process for a movie called With Glowing Hearts – http://www.vimeo.com/5401993

AHA MEDIA is still learning and growing everyday!  We humbly thank EVERYONE who has supported us, been our mentor and most importantly been our friend!

We couldn’t have done it without you! 🙂

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Below is a photo of AHA MEDIA – Al Tkatch, Hendrik Beune and April Smith celebrating our First birthday and First Year Anniversary together on Wednesday November 11, 2009 in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver Chinatown

We hope AHA MEDIA will continue to have good luck, good fortune and live as long as the turtles swimming in the ponds! 🙂

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Below is a photo and video of AHA MEDIA Co-founders Hendrik Beune and Al Tkatch and their thoughts

This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms

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Below is a photo of three ducks swimming at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver Chinatown. AHA MEDIA believes that beautiful things can happen in small places especially in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside

AHA MEDIA thanks everyone once again during our year long journey into media making online and offline 🙂