Reflecting on Vancouver’s Current Youth Media Funding Trends in the Context of Neoliberalism

Youth media organizations and programs in Vancouver provide diverse opportunities for youth. However, my thesis argues that neoliberalism and discourses about the information society and creative industries have shaped youth media funding since the 1990s. Through interviewing youth media representatives in Vancouver, my findings indicate that these funding trends create a number of challenges for youth media organizations and programs. Organizations face precarious funding, have to rely on unpaid labour, and are confronting competitive funding environments that can impact how organizations collaborate. In addition, funding is becoming increasingly narrow and focused on individual skills development, which stands in contrast to the diverse work associated with youth media organizations and programs. Given the challenges that organizations face within current funding trends, I conclude that there is a need for sustainable government funding models for youth media programs in Vancouver.