Our project is based on the desire to demonstrate that communities can do something to reduce the lifestyle risks and ill-effects associated with the media saturated world our kids are growing up in.

The goals of this project can be simply stated: We want to help make our children’s lives safer and healthier by reducing the risks associated with TV watching, Internet use and playing with video games.

We developed a media education curriculum that asked students to reflect on the role that media play in their lives and challenged them to explore what they would do if they didn't rely on media to entertain them so much. This task of course is never easy, but the results of this pilot project reveal that it is possible.

The project was coordinated by the Media Analysis Lab at Simon Fraser University in partnership with the North Vancouver Parents Advisory Council and the North Vancouver District Board of Education. Funding for this pilot project has been provided by the Ministry of Justice Canada.