nikki reimer

looking forward to this tomorrow morning!

Vancouver Mayor to do honours at ribbon-cutting for official opening of W2’s Winter Olympics unaccredited media centre

Vancouver, BC – Mayor Gregor Robertson will officially open W2 Culture + Media House on Wednesday morning, a media centre hosting independent journalists and bloggers from across the globe.

A morning reception with Salt Spring Coffee Co. and fresh croissants will take place from 9am to 10am on February 10, 2010, at 112 East Hastings with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9.30am with Mayor Gregor Robertson.

Located in the heart of the Downtown Eastside, across from the historic Woodward’s site, the W2 Culture + Media House is a 24 hour/day media centre for non-accredited bloggers and journalists to share their perspective on the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver with the world.

The 1903 heritage building provides infrastructure, resources and support for unaccredited media and features 13,000 sf (over 4-floors) of media production resources, daily morning press briefings and an epic mix of programming highlighting Vancouver’s diverse cultural scene. Fourty events over 24 days featuring 150 Vancouver and international artists working in creative technology, literary, music and interdisciplinary arts. W2 will present artists and producers from Nunavut, Quebec, USA, UK, and the Netherlands. The complete program is to be launched at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the Fresh Media Olympics Conference will be introduced, which will assess the impacts of Vancouver’s social media and journalism communities half-way thru the Games, on February 22.

Local and international media using the W2 Culture + Media House during the 2010 Games include: CNN iReport, CNN Chicago affiliate, CJSF Radio, CFRO Radio, 24 Hours, Vancouver Sun, Open Media, Vancouver Observer, The Tyee,  Rabble.ca, and bloggers from the UK, Norway, USA, Japan, and the Netherlands. More are registering each day at  unaccreditedolympics.eventbrite.com. The registration process provides subsidies for DTES and community media who are looking to share their view of this historic Vancouver event.

W2 is also inviting the Vancouver community to celebrate the opening on Thursday February 11th from 4pm – 7pm at the centre’s daily Cinq à Sept reception with wine provided by Ganton and Larsen Prospect Winery, hors d’ouevres and live music.

For more information on the W2 Culture + Media House, as well as W2’s upcoming programming and events, visit www.creativetechnology.org.