Young Inuit Spread Video Message of Empowerment Over Tobacco

Media Release: August 02, 2012

August 2, 2012 – Ottawa, Ontario – A video produced by the National Inuit Youth Council (NIYC) urges teens to take control of their lives and quit smoking.

The video, titled “Don’t Be a Slave!” is the product of a weeklong film and production workshop in Iqaluit earlier this year. Boas Mitsuk of Hopedale, NL; Kristen Dick of Inuvik, NWT; and Robert Hunter and George Salerina of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, worked with Nunavut filmmakers Becky Kilabuk and Anguti Johnston to map the video and learn the shooting and editing process.“The central message of this video is particularly strong because it comes from young Inuit who face the same challenges and temptations as the rest of us,” said Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Youth Coordinator Kathleen Merritt, who serves as the liaison to NIYC, the organization that represents Inuit youth from Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec) and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories.

The video was produced with the support of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and Health Canada and is available at www.niyc.ca/ZkQ

For more information:

Patricia D’Souza, Senior Communications Officer
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
dsouza@itk.ca; 613-292-4482

NT5