Since 2007, POV has worked to support creatives in the media industry. The Canadian non-profit specializes in the area of training, education, and employment, working to develop programs that support young creators from diverse backgrounds, creating opportunities for youth in digital media, film and TV.
The organization has trained over 500 underrepresented youth, helping them find work in their field. Now, POV is looking for funding to help continue the work that it is doing.
“Soon after the black square social media movement for BLM fizzled out, so did the interest to continue to support underrepresented communities,” reads a news release from POV.
“Supporters and funders need to champion diversity not just when it is trending but because it’s the right thing to do.”
We had the chance to catch up with Biju Pappachan, the executive director of POV, to find out more about this important work, and why the organization needs funding to keep the dream alive.
POV: Supporting Young Diverse Creatives
“We work with diverse communities that are BIPOC, that come from LGBTQ+ communities, that come from refugee and newcomer communities, all across the city, and basically bring these folks to the table and develop training programs that help young diverse creatives break into the industry,” Pappachan told Now Toronto.
“The sector is very secular. It’s mostly, you know, white straight men that populate the space. The higher up you go, and certainly in the executive and C suite levels, you see less and less diversity, and it’s actually harming our creative and media industries.”
Pappachan explained that POV is working to address this by looking at the problem through what it calls a “lens of access,” making programs for training and education, as well as employment opportunities, more easily accessible for underrepresented communities.
“BLM and Me Too, Oscars So White, and all these other amazing movements brought a lot of attention to the lack of diversity and what can happen when that continues to thrive. We’re now a few years removed, and that is becoming a memory of the past,” he continued, adding that POV is looking to build on the momentum gained during those movements.
“We’re really trying to push forward the successes that we gained through that social media movement, in order to make sure that the interest for supporting underserved creators and communities is still prioritized by the sector, and reminding the sector and the government that this isn’t just like a performative thing, right?”
Pappachan explained that POV is looking at increasing access on a wider scale. This includes access to funding and a seat at the table.
“Because as you know, when diverse communities are able to tell their own stories, then those stories get represented in the wider society, and how people view those communities. Because now those stories are being told by folks from those communities instead of straight white guys who’ve been doing a lot of that storytelling.”
By doing this, Pappachan explained that POV hopes to help the industry see true diversity amongst its professionals, as opposed to having one or two people from different backgrounds hired to diversify a team.
POV is encouraging people to be responsive instead of reactive.
“A lot of the time… it becomes something reactive instead of responsive. You know, ‘Oh no, Oscars So White just started. So we better start to hire some POCs on our team. So we can tell everybody that we’re inclusive,’ but the reality is, the systemic issue still exists,” Pappachan explained.
But he hopes to see a more collaborative effort to meet people where they are and provide them with the resources they need.
“So, in my dream world, it’d be the government at the table, the industry at the table, the community, the different community organizations and groups at the table, the union’s at the table, and all four or five of us are addressing the problem through the lens of access, and then thinking about how we can actually meaningfully engage communities from their perspective,” he continued, adding that not every community needs the same resources.
“So how do we then respond to the needs of the groups that we’re hearing from in a way that makes economic sense, but also increases the creative talent that we’re putting out into the city?”
Pappachan says Demand Outweighs Ability
Pappachan told Now Toronto that the organization is looking for funding, as it struggles to meet the demand for its services.
“The demand far outweighs our ability to deliver the programming, and that’s because there hasn’t been an acknowledgment about the need for talent development in this way,” Pappachan said.
“There’s a lot of the same people that are getting work, so the work is happening, but what’s not happening is talent development to replace those folks once they start to retire.”
He explained that organizations like Sony Canada have stepped up to donate both equipment and funding for the group’s programming.
“Because they realize that if they invest in that, these young people are then going to become employees of Sony in the next five to seven years, or are going to become future content creators,” he explained.
“What the sector and the wider society is starting to see is that there’s an economic impact as well. Because when we invest in young people and young creatives and direct resources to them, they then become contributing members of that sector of the society that they live in. And then that investment then comes back into that country.”
The organization is currently aiming to raise $10 million dollars over the next few years to support and expand its programming. You can read more about POV on its website.
