Corey is currently the Senior Manager, Communications at RBC Ventures, and he previously led corporate communications at MaRS Discovery District, the largest urban innovation hub in North America. Previous roles include leading media and communications at Vancouver-based Charitable Impact, along with CBC News & Current Affairs. He has worked at both TedXToronto and TedXVancouver in an editorial capacity, and holds international politics degrees from Queen’s University and The University of Edinburgh.
Democracy According to Corey Black
I’ve never experienced a time when our politics has been so unstable and divided, and when pessimism for our future has been so widespread. With every year that passes, we seem to say a collective F**k 2018, F**k 2019, F**k 2020, etc. And so it’s initiatives like the DemocracyXChange where we can grapple with these existential issues, and where the seeds of a stronger democracy can be planted.
I was fortunate to have an influential teacher in middle school who taught us about the values of democracy, and that being an engaged citizen with a sense of justice was “cool”. Since then, issues around media’s role in our politics and the environmental crisis have dominated my thinking.
I think a lot about Omar El Akkad’s American War novel, and what it says about democracies ripping themselves apart who are no longer able to have rational conversations or agree on basic facts. Jon Lovett’s comedic genius in his Lovett or Leave It podcast has also been a great companion during Saturday strolls around the neighbourhood.
Anyone that cares, and anyone that is concerned for the future.