Thanks to a scholarship awarded by the International Development Bureau, Cynthia Bergeron, a Master's student in regional intervention at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, carried out, from September to December 2002, the Créations de femmes project at the Bamako Detention Centre in Mali. Aimed at promoting and developing the creativity and expertise of Mali’s female population through a creative workshop, this project gave many imprisoned women the opportunity to experience a complete design process. Thanks to this intercultural project, the participants were able to build strong social ties which contributed to the economic emancipation of the community and, more importantly, to their social rehabilitation. It was in the fabrication of soaps, a traditional Mali product highly valued in West Africa, that the women found an incredible source of creative inspiration. Furthermore, the sale of these products during an exhibition held at the end of the project enabled the detention centre to obtain the financial support required to continue the production’s marketing process.
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Beyond a doubt, the dream of every writer is to see their literary efforts read by a great number of people. To help them realize that dream, a group of students at the Université de Sherbrooke set up a literary circle called Les Plumes de l’ombre whose aim is to showcase the talent and ideas of future writers. Founded in 2000 in Granby and Sherbooke, the circle has published, on a biannual basis, eight literary journals. Several hundred copies have been sold. Every week, the members of the group, who are either amateur or professional authors, gather to discuss, read texts and exchange ideas in an effort to help each author obtain recognition, improve their craft and promote their ideas. Les Plumes de l’ombre has also set up writing workshops in high schools and annually publishes some of the students' texts in the youth section of their journal. In order to further express itself, the organization intends to launch a publishing house in the near future. Soon-to-be authors, now you know!
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In January 2002, a group of seven students from different programs at the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC) in Montreal decided to set up Expression, an association aimed at promoting art and culture within the student communities of the HEC and the Université de Montréal. In its very first year, Expression offered salsa lessons and organized a series of exhibitions. During one, a student from the Université du Québec à Montréal had the opportunity of presenting her photographs to more than 400 visitors over a five-day period. More recently, Expression, which defines itself first and foremost as a platform between artists and the student public, produced the musical comedy Notre-Dame de Paris. Presented twice last March at the Théâtre Outremont (with some 50 student participants), the performances were a huge success and attracted more than 1,500 spectators. Expression has also developed partnerships which enable students to obtain discounts on tickets to shows in Montreal. To date, they can count on the participation of some 100 students while increasing their visibility on several campuses across the city.
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