In 2003, Shernold Edwards was nervous about pitching her MOW Deportees at the annual Innoversity Creative Summit’s Open Door Pitch contest. She pitched unsuccessfully at the same event in 2002, but after going through boot camp at the Canadian Film Centre returned to win best overall pitch, a victory she says has been invaluable to her career.

Now, only one year after winning the pitch contest, Edwards attended the 2004 summit, held in Toronto May 13-14, this time as a commissioning editor for CTV, where she is now a manager of drama development.

‘Last year I was on the pitcher side and this year I’m hearing pitches,’ says Edwards. ‘It was amazing to be on the other side of the table and to know that I am in a position where I can make a difference.’ While Edwards intends to pursue Deportees, she says her new position at CTV makes it hard to find the time.

More than 600 people, including 400 media executives, attended the event, which aims to promote a better representation of Canada’s diverse cultural population in its media by addressing issues ranging from representation in the workforce to portrayal and presence on the airwaves.

At this year’s Open Door Pitch competition, almost $40,000 in development funding was awarded to aspiring producers and directors from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Howie Shia and David Wolfe were the big winners in the drama category and received $7,000 towards developing Chinatown Cops. Matthew P. John won in the children’s category for Panchatantra: The School of Wisdom and Duraid Munajim in the documentary category for Mohammed East West. Each received $5,000 in development funds.

Among the summit’s workshops, panels and screening events was a series of case studies highlighting best practices within the industry, which Innoversity’s executive director Andra Stevens says ‘expose decision makers, key executives and senior managers to successful strategies where companies have taken a deliberate, consistent approach to managing diversity.’

Events like this make Innoversity an important forum for encouraging the industry to take the first steps towards real change, explains Paul de Silva, chair and executive director of the International Diversity Council for Film and Television.

‘We’re in a period of transition where broadcasters are becoming aware of the need to represent the population accurately both in terms of the workforce they employ as well as the programming they broadcast,’ he says.

The soon-to-be released results of new research into the state of diversity in the Canadian media, as well as the formation of a new producers association, indicate awareness is on the rise.

In June, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters is expected to release the findings of a two-year study on cultural diversity in broadcasting. In addition, de Silva says the formation of a new producers association for filmmakers from minority backgrounds will be officially announced at the Banff Television Festival in June. De Silva will co-chair with Amos Adetuyi, president of Toronto’s Inner City Films.

Also to be released at Banff are the results of a major study conducted by Women in Film and Television-Toronto on challenges and opportunities for visible minorities in the media job market. Kate Hanley, president of WIFT-T, gave Innoversity attendees a sneak peek into some of the findings at Freeze Frame, a workshop she moderated at the summit, which provided advice for visible minorities looking for work in film and television.

-www.innoversitysummit.com