MB
August 16, 2011 | Manitoba
Mark Horvath’s visit to campus inspires “We Are Visible” scholarship for prospective students
Winnipeg, MB - August 16, 2011 – Students, staff and members of the community gathered at CDI College in Winnipeg on August 9th to learn how internationally renowned social media activist Mark Horvath is using websites like Twitter and blogs to address homelessness throughout North America. Horvath, who is currently on a cross Canada summer tour, was also on hand to witness an announcement about the college’s new scholarship.
After Horvath’s presentation, Winnipeg Campus Director Tahl East announced the creation of a “We Are Visible” scholarship, an award which will be presented at CDI College’s Winnipeg and Calgary City Centre campuses. The new scholarship covers full tuition (including textbooks and materials) at CDI College for those who might not otherwise be able to pursue post-secondary education due to financial hardship.
Formerly homeless himself, Horvath is widely known in the US as an activist and ambassador for millions of people who live in shelters, motels, tents, back alleys and under bridges. For the Canadian tour, his main goal is to expose Canadians to homelessness through personal stories of those experiencing it. The entire trek was coordinated by the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF) in partnership with the Community Action Committee (CAC).
At his stop in Winnipeg, Horvath addressed how social media can be used to empower and give a voice to the victims of poverty and homelessness in Canada, using his own sites invisiblepeople.tv and wearevisible.com as examples. Invisiblepeople.tv uses unedited, uncensored and raw video interview footage of people Horvath meets on his travels. Through wearevisible.com, he encourages and guides the homeless to get online and share their stories. The site includes information on how to create Gmail accounts, start a blog, set up Facebook and Twitter profiles and connect with other people. In short, the site encourages them to speak out and be seen.
As a college, we believe in changing lives though community involvement and access to education,” says East. “We’re really proud to partner with Mark Horvath and put a voice and a face to homelessness.”
If you’re interested in learning more about CDI College, fill out the form on the right.