Ask Andra Stevens and she’ll tell you that cultural diversity isn’t just a social boon, it’s a business imperative.

‘In a few years two out of three kids in kindergarten will be people of color,’ she says. ‘It’s the new mainstream and any business that does not take that seriously, who is not programming and hiring and promoting those people to the highest levels of the organization, is going to be left behind.’

Stevens is acting executive director of the Innoversity Creative Summit, a Toronto confab about cultural and social diversity in Canadian media, back for its second year May 22-23 at The Colony Hotel. The summit brings together TV, film, radio and print professionals of all stripes and more than 75 top-ranked speakers for a series of pitch workshops, panel talks and case studies.

At the top of this year’s guest list: Moses Znaimer, newly departed from CHUM Television, will hold court at the ‘Breakfast with a Visionary’ session, speaking on the multiracial future of Canadian TV.

‘I can’t think of anyone who can claim the space he has in media and I think he really has something to say about where we’re going as a society and what are the new trends and challenges for the industry,’ says Stevens. ‘Not everyone will buy into it, but it will be food for thought.’

Also due to appear are Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps, National Film Board head Jacques Bensimon, CBC’s top programmer Slawko Klymkiw and Jim Compton of the Aboriginal People’s Television Network.

This year’s summit will spend more time on print issues than in 2002 – half of the eight case studies deal with the film and television industries, while the 15 panel discussions and other events are less industry-specific.

One of the studies puts APTN under the microscope, examining the impact of ethnic-aimed broadcasters on the communities they serve. Another looks at changes in the Toronto radio market, following the rise of the black-centric FLOW 93.5.

‘A lot of people see links between the advent of FLOW and other stations around it. I think the same can be said for APTN,’ says Stevens. Other studies look at CBC’s efforts to get staff talking about race and CHUM’s moves into Vancouver and Latin America.

Rookie producers are drawn to the summit’s pitch competition, says Stevens, which gives finalists a chance to pitch projects to top broadcasters. ‘A lot of people in this country who are trying to get money to make a TV product are looking at Banff,’ she says. ‘But Banff is a high mountain to climb. It costs $3,000 to get out there and most independent producers don’t have that.’ Innoversity costs roughly $300 for creators, and pitch finalists get in for free.

‘They have the ideas, they have the talent, but getting onto the airwaves is still very hard to do.’

Broadcasters, meanwhile, often stumble over efforts to become more diverse, according to Stevens. ‘We hear from media organizations that they’re aware the country is changing, that this is a very different country than 20 years ago and that they need to be in touch with their audience.’ But they don’t know how to do it. ‘They say, ‘We don’t have the tools, we don’t have the contacts.’ They want to bring in new talent… but their recruitment strategies somehow do not turn those people up. Business still often works against quote-unquote outsiders.’

-www.innoversitysummit.com