Mission

The mission of Addiskignit/New Perspective is to demolish the wall and to serve and build a bridge between the dispersed and relatively voiceless Ethiopian and East African communities, cultures and peoples, comprised of newly arrived and settled immigrants and their families who are living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Immigration, resettlement and successful integration into Canadian society; all entail struggle, adaptation, all are aided by having culturally and situationally relevant news, information, stories and entertainment. It is the role of New Perspective to provide these services through a bilingual show in Amharic/English , and through our website and monthly Newspaper thus bridging the official language of Ethiopia with the shared language of Ontario..

audience profile

Ethiopian, Eritrean and East African immigrants. According to a recent census from the City of Toronto, there are more than 50,000 people of Ethiopian and more than 10,000 of Eritrean background living in the GTA. We plan to target these audiences at the community level, reflecting the social, cultural, economic and political issues, local and international that are pertinent to them at this time. By using both Amharic and English we will address first generation Canadians as well as second – most second-generation youth use English as a primary means of communication.

uniqueness

There is no (other) radio service in the GTA delivered in Amharic; our tri-lingual Addiskignit/New Perspective newspaper is the only community paper serving the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. In this environment, circumstantially relevant information with current local news, interviews and entertainment targeted to the Ethiopian and Eritrean community, is, by definition, unique. Hosts Gezahegn Mekonnen and Sosina Ashenafi, experienced journalists and human-rights defenders who have extensive work experience in print and broadcast media in both Canada and Ethiopia, will bring personal experience, credibility and professional expertise to the programming and presentation of the show’s material.

vision

New immigrants coming from the complicated socio-political environments and personal circumstances of East African, do not find it easy to adapt and assimilate into mainstream Canadian society. Many suffer from poor health and socio-cultural or political trauma. According to the City of Toronto, indices of suicide and of gun violence are higher for African Canadian communities. We intend to put these and other issues ‘on the table’ along with local stories and information about ways forward and about how such issues can be addressed. Our vision is to see the world and our local communities free from economic, racial, ethno-cultural and gender discrimination, division and harm.

structure

We use a magazine format for the show, with information, documentary, interview and entertainment components. The content of the show is info-tainment, which means that the show will be a fusion of information provided in various forms, and entertainment.