Arctic360's Breaking the Ice podcast aims to provide valuable work experience for young people from the North — starting with Norman Wells resident Jaiden Stevens.
Arctic360, a Toronto-based non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that bills itself as "Canada’s premier Arctic think tank," created its Breaking the Ice podcast during the pandemic. After receiving new funding from Global Affairs Canada, the organization pushed forward with a long-term goal of involving Northern young people in the project.
The first NWT resident to get involved will be Stevens, who Arctic360 president and CEO Jessica M. Shadian tracked down after connecting with the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated.
"I reached out to colleagues that I know, and Todd [McCauley] from Sahtu Secretariat popped in and said, 'We want to be part of this,'" explained Shadian, who has 20 years of experience living and working throughout the Nordic and North American Arctic as a researcher and professor. "He's like, 'I think I know someone really good who would be great for this, and he introduced us to Jaiden Stevens."
Stevens already has some experience in the media space, but will lengthen his resume when he works on the Breaking the Ice podcast this summer.
He will be working remotely from Norman Wells, but will be involved in producing the podcast, and may even get a chance to host it.
"He has a really good voice on tape, so I'm going to push him a bit," Shadian said. "I'd really like for him to host on a few of the episodes and particularly the ones that resonate with his interests — which are around innovation and technology — and some of the specific episodes that will be focusing on the North itself."
When Stevens' time working with Breaking the Ice concludes, he will be much more employable in the media space, and new job opportunities may open up to him. In fact, he may already have a job lined up.
Josh Ferguson, who also lives in Norman Wells, runs a local production company called Breaking Ice Productions — not to be confused with the Breaking the Ice podcast. He already knows Stevens well, and after mentoring him through the summer, he hopes he can engage him someday soon.
"Jaiden is somebody I'd like to work with in the future, and basically I'd like to hire him at some point if everything goes according to plan on my end," Ferguson said. "I have a vested interest in helping him succeed [on this podcast]. He can come to me and basically be like, 'Hey, do you have any advice about this?' because I run a media production company and also produce my own podcast, so I have experience in both realms.
"I hope that it's a positive experience for him and I hope that he can get inspired about the work and see it as more than just a gig. The key to succeeding in the creative field is being inspired by what you're doing."
While Stevens will be the first NWT resident to get the opportunity to work on Arctic360's Breaking the Ice podcast, he will hopefully not be the last. Provided Shadian and her team are able to find the required funding, she plans to invite other Northern young people to work on the podcast in the future.
"I would love to," she said. "Our work really depends on funding sources, so I do hope that Global Affairs sees the worth of what we're doing, and the value that it brings, so this is something we are able to continue going forward. It's a gap that we had.
"We have students [working with us] that are oftentimes studying the North, but they haven't been to the North and don't have that lived experience or boots on the ground experience the North."