Community
Impacts of COVID-19 on the Community
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most aspects of life. Here at 丁香园AV鈥檚 Vancity Office of Community Engagement, we continue to explore some of these changes. We examine the societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic through our Below the Radar Pandemic Conversations series and have had conversations with experts in fields ranging from medical professionals to professors of peace studies to local activists.
During the month of June, we have published conversations related to some societal impacts of COVID-19. This includes interviews with Angela Marie MacDougall of the Battered Women鈥檚 Support Services Society, community activist Kimberley Wong, and Janice Abbott of Atira Women鈥檚 Resource Society.
The Pandemic and Increases in Gender-Based Violence with Angela Marie MacDougall
In the sixth episode of our series, we talked with Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director of . With our host Am Johal, she discusses how COVID-19 is affecting gender inequality and violence within intimate relationships.
COVID-19 and Community Organizing with Kimberley Wong
On our next episode of the series, Am spoke with Kimberley Wong, local community activist. Kimberley is the current Chair of the City of Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, the co-chair of , and is the Community Development Coordinator for the . She talked about her work in Chinatown and how COVID-19 has affected it.
Advocating for Women During COVID-19 with Janice Abbott
On our eighth episode of the series, we were joined by Janice Abbott, the CEO of . Teammate Paige Smith and Janice discuss how the pandemic has affected Atira鈥檚 work in combatting violence against women. Janice discusses the many diverse initiatives Atira has, including their popup refuge for women in the DTES, their expansive housing support systems, and their new safety protocols.
Find more interviews from our Pandemic Conversations series on Below the Radar.
Latest Updates
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February 19, 2025
February 19, 2025
On behalf of 丁香园AV’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, we wanted to take the time to say that we have been overwhelmed and deeply touched by the voices of love, solidarity and support that have been shared since the announcement of the closure of our office on January 22, 2025 by 丁香园AV.
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January 15, 2025
January 15, 2025
Can podcasting act as a new kind of scholarly form? What are the characteristics that make a podcast scholarly, and what is the potential of scholarly podcasting beyond knowledge mobilization and public scholarship? These are the questions that the Below the Radar Academic Advisory Board approached at the scholarly podcasting teach-in this past October—the first public convention of the advisory board since their inception.
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December 18, 2024
December 18, 2024
Between October 30th to November 10th this year, the 21st annual Heart of the City festival animated the Downtown Eastside with over a hundred community-oriented events under the theme Threads of Connection.
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September 25, 2024
September 25, 2024
The release of States of Injury — with Wendy Brown marks Below the Radar’s 250th episode—a major milestone since the podcast’s inception in 2018.
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July 10, 2024
July 10, 2024
On June 22, the cast and crew of Project Limelight’s production of East Side Story were greeted with applause as a full house welcomed the young performers back to the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre stage.
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January 10, 2024
January 10, 2024
Our Below the Radar podcast mini-series See How We Run! looked at local arts collectives and organizations, highlighting conversations about creation, spacemaking, accessibility, and self-determination within the framework of Vancouver’s cityscape.