iMOVe

In January 2009, Sankofa Films, a for-profit enterprise of Sobaz Benjamin, began delivering community-based programs for youth at-risk called In My Own Voice Entertainment (iMove). Drawing on the expertise and support of many service providers and community volunteers, iMOVe made one promise to the youth it was working with - their voices were important and would be heard. Male, female, black, white, and Native youth gathered—each with his or her personal story of hardship, sadness, frustration, abandonment or fear. Even as their courage and optimism shone through, it remains clear that current influences and past events keep them constantly at risk.

The IMOVe Collective quickly gained experiences never before enjoyed—being interviewed, standing on both sides of a video camera, hosting a radio talk show, witnessing the other side of the law without fear of reprisal, conferring with government officials, and cultural change activists. Wherever they have gone, they have presented their unique perspectives and their life experiences with candor and dignity.

In 2010, a physical space to house iMove’s core program, Centreline Studios, was donated in-kind by the NS Housing Authority and supported by the Halifax Regional Police Community Office in Uniacke Square. Centreline Studios shares this space with the Black Educator’s Association, and the Youth Advocate Office, which supports a variety of literacy and youth mentorship programs to the neighborhood of Uniacke Square.

The drop-in at Centreline Studios currently runs three days a week from 5pm to 8pm. Drop-in activities are youth-directed, and predominantly focus on the creation and production of music and film. Youth engage in activities that help them articulate and express their emotional and cultural lives; sometimes through the culturally relevant mediums of spoken word and hip-hop music, sometimes through their weekly CKDU campus/community radio show, sometimes through talking circles and peer-mentoring sessions.

In 2013, iMove became a non-profit entity and hired Charlene (Char Char) Gagnon as Program Director of iMOVe to assist in the delivery of more programming in a variety of geographic and cultural communities in HRM. iMove has recently expanded the programs and services offered through Centreline, and is leveraging its position as a neighborhood community development hub for all residents of Uniacke Square. Expansion of iMOVe programs include: The Uniacke Centre for Community Development (UCCD) - Service Hub & Lifelong Learning Centre and “All the Voices” Special Event Radio Project for the Gottingen 250 Festival