Hello Cool World

New e'Zine & Vlog Hot Off The Presses

By Sandy Haksi On January 20, 2012

We've (finally!) released another issue of our News of the Cool e'Zine. The release is timed to coincide with today's Occupy the Courts national day of protest, and includes articles on Joel Bakan's new book — Childhood Under Siege — with a review by Occupy Parenting's Eric Curren, as well as pieces on tackling corporate giants and social branding. We also did a short Occupy-themed vlog that ties it all together. Check it out below and please share it!

Occupy The Courts Vlog from Hello Cool World on Vimeo.

In the vlog, Joel Bakan talks about corporate personhood and how the Occupy movement is really a call to be a citizen, with all the rights and duties that entails. Hello Cool World founder Katherine Dodds discusses how branding can be used for social good and not just to maximize profits, and Move to Amend's Steve Justino gives us some background on Occupy The Courts. 

Occupy Your Future

Watch & Share our Occupy-themed Video Blog (Vlog)! It's like a mini-edition of this e'Zine

As the grassroots organizers behind the hit film, The Corporation, we are embarking on an exciting new phase to reign in the corporate "psychopath." We're in the midst of launching an "Occupy Your Future" campaign to build on — and pay tribute to — the Occupy movement that has energized and activated people on the ground, the world over.
Since the explosion of #Occupy this past fall, we've seen renewed interest in the film, and it's been cited as essential viewing for those want to understand how we got to this point. Now more than ever, weaknesses in the corporate globalization model have been exposed, and momentum is building to keep corporations accountable and reduce the harm they cause. Talk about a teachable moment! And it's great timing because we're about to release a new educational version.

Our hope for this new 3-part version for high schools is that, not only will it be a valuable educational tool, but it will also be an engagement platform for students and teachers alike, spawning Corporation clubs in schools across North America. Imagine teenagers and adults huddled together in classrooms strategizing solutions to corporate misrule! As Joel Bakan, author of the bestselling book behind the film (and has a new one hot off the presses — Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children) says, "schools are probably the most important site of social struggle that we have."
This new high school version will be packaged with some exciting extras such as the Story of Stuff videos, our own short film, The Corporation in the Grade 8 Classroom, and an interview with Hello Cool World's founder, Katherine Dodds discussing how branding can be 'occupied' for good. It was a conclusion she came to during her early days at Adbusters magazine, the training ground for a few of our Hello Cool Worlders, which is itself enjoying a boost in notoriety for being the original brains behind #OccupyWallStreet.
Hello Cool World will be acting as the Canadian Educational distributors for the film, and we are trying to create a new kind of model that builds on the notion of "fairer trade." We offer a higher return to filmmakers and use our profits to fund the campaign. It will allow us to produce more e'Zines and connect our network with current initiatives to take on the corporate giants, such as Move To Amend's Occupy The Courts day of protest in the USA. Actions like these seem intimidating to us as individuals but, if Occupy has shown us anything, it's that working together we can challenge the 1% and make our voices heard.
—Hello Cool World  & The Corporation



January 09, 2012

Happy 2012 from Hello Cool World!

By Michelle Reid Happy New Year!
We are starting off 2012 with a bang and moving in a dozen directions at once on our many, many projects. If work is a buffet, then everyone at Hello Cool World is carrying two full plates and stuffing extra projects wrapped in napkins in their purses for later. Check out the photo of our crazy vision board! Here's a little preview of what we're working on now...
We're getting close to announcing the OWN premiere date for 65_RedRoses, which will be sometime in Spring 2012! We also just launched a beautiful new site design for 65_RedRoses- check it out!
We're also busy working with ImmunizeBC on the I Have Immunity campaign to promote immunizations through storytelling. We heard some amazing stories from health care providers and administrators in December, and we're looking forward to a year filled with collecting and sharing stories. If you have a story to share, talk to us on the Facebook Page, or tweet at @IHaveImmunity!
For sexual health advocates who've been looking for action since Pap Awareness Week wrapped up, get involved in Dating Confidential! A research study from UBC by STI nurse Cindy Masaro, Dating Confidential is looking for women over 25 who are dating or in new relationships, in order to improve sexual health education and services. Visit the website to take the survey, send it to friends, and chat about sexual health with us over on the Dating Confidential Facebook Page.