Our History

From Broke to Booshaka! A Brief History of Apathy is Boring.

On January 4th 2004 - when a public affairs minded dance choreographer from the Yukon, a filmmaker from Montreal, and a photographer / graphic designer from Vancouver island met at a party, the idea of Apathy is Boring was born.

Seeing that many of their peers felt disengaged from the democratic process, Ilona Dougherty (23), Paul Shore (30) and Mackenzie Duncan (20) wanted to see youth voting rates increase while combating the issue of youth apathy.
 
Five months later the 2004 Federal Election was called and work began on what would be Apathy is Boring’s first federal “Get out the Youth Vote” campaign. Using a website, digital media technology, concerts, and a media outreach campaign, Apathy is Boring was able to reach over 500,000 young people in Canada in less than four months. Throughout that campaign Apathy is Boring was repeatedly featured in the national media,  including Canada AM, Mike Duffy Live, CBC - The National, CBC radio – The House, Global TV, Muchmusic TV and newspapers across Canada.
 
Following this successful campaign the founders of Apathy is Boring began to build the idea into an organization. Through local events “The Civic Duty Concerts” in Montreal featuring artists such as Euphrates, Eternia, K’naan, Tumi and the Volume, Taima, Chris Brown & Kate Fenner. Apathy is Boring gained more media attention, and was able to develop a solid local youth following.
 
In the summer of 2005 Apathy is Boring launched www.youthfriendly.com in partnership with the Department of Canadian Heritage and began offering Youth Friendly workshops to ‘adult’ organizations who wanted to better engage youth in their work.
 
Through 2005 Apathy is Boring continued to produce events, give workshops and develop resources, while at the same time renting their first office and hiring their first staff! October 2005 saw the online launch of Apathy is Boring Clothing Line (design by Mackenzie Duncan), and in December Apathy is Boring hosted the World Urban Café Fashion show with Melissa Auf Der Maur, which was covered by Etalk Daily & The New York Times. That same night co-founder Ilona Dougherty went home at 4am and found in her mailbox the confirmation that Apathy is Boring had received a major grant from the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation.
 
In January 2006 Apathy is Boring carried out, in partnership with the Go Vote Coalition, its second national federal election campaign featuring an Apathy is Boring PSA shown in Cineplex Odeon Theatres across Canada for a full week leading up to the election. (LINK to PSA)
 
In October 2006 Apathy is Boring launched a new website thanks to funding from Telefilm Canada. The resource continues to grow and offer Canadian youth everything they need to know about getting involved. Throughout 2006 & 2007 Apathy is Boring continued to give Youth Friendly workshops throughout Canada (Yukon, Alberta, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec) and hosted concerts the biggest of which featured Moka Only, Zaki Ibrahim & Chinatown and offered a forum for dialogue between youth and politicians from almost every federal political party.

Collaboration with a growing number of partners during 2008 solidified Apathy is Boring’s status as a leading voice in reaching out to Canadian youth. From the policy oriented (conducting research for Elections Canada about the impact of new voter ID requirements on Northern and First Nations Canadians) to the party oriented (sending street teams to talk to youth about democracy at over 21 concerts and festivals across the country), Apathy is Boring reached tens of thousands of youth and engaged them in dialogue.

Most recently, Apathy is Boring completed its 2008 Concert Series “Every Party Should Be Democratic” in conjunction with its third federal election outreach campaign. In addition to two Youth Dialogues with the Governor General of Canada, Apathy is Boring co-produced a series of four concerts. These events, featuring well-known Canadian artists Hedley, ill Scarlett, Theo Tams, K'naan, and Jully Black among others, exemplified Apathy is Boring’s innovative format: by bring together political and community leaders, artists, and over 10 000 youth to talk about the issues that matter to them and become inspired to get active in their communities. Apathy is Boring also produced a PSA that aired on MuchMusic Television, advertised in free weeklies in every major Canadian city, and undertook an online campaign “Democracy is More than Voting” urging youth to make an informed decision in the fall 2008 federal election.

Apathy is Boring continues to be an important voice on youth issues including testifying in front of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedures and House Affairs in fall 2007 about changes to the Elections Act. Apathy is Boring has grown to have a full time staff, several interns each year,  an active board of directors, tens of thousands of youth who visit the website, and subscribers to the list serve, and many active volunteers. They have also developed an online presence on external networking sites that attract hundreds of visitors every month.
 
Apathy is Boring has become a truly national non-partisan project that uses art, and technology to encourage active citizenry, outreaching to a broad demographic of youth about how to be more involved in the democratic process and they are excited to continue doing this important work.
 



Photo: Most of the Staff and Board at the 2008 Apathy is Boring Retreat

Patron:

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D
Governor General of Canada

Annual Reports

Annual Report 2006
Annual Report 2005
Annual Report 2004

Concert Series 2008

Concert Overview

Media Coverage PDFs

2004

Student Vote 2004: Apathy? or conscious choice? / CBC News / June 21, 2004

2005

Youths Make Spirited Case at Climate Meeting / The New York Times / December 9, 2005
ALEA, Jardin givré, Caméras vertes!, Le Droit de cité́, RECYCL'art 2005, Devenir Snowbirds, Climax / VOIR / December 15, 2005
Web, text messaging target youth vote / Toronto Star / December 19, 2005

2006

Day of Action Hopes to Boost Youth Awareness / CTV.ca / January 16 2006
18-Year Olds Too Immature to Vote, Studies Suggest / Maclean's / January 16, 2006
Get out there and vote! / The Ottawa Citizen / January 23, 2006
Stage Scenes / Now Toronto / June 1-7, 2006

2007

From Boardroom to the Backstage: An interview with Ilona Dougherty / Sierra Youth Coalition / February 14, 2007
Hipster-izing Democracy / Mirror News / February 15-21, 2007
Fighting Apathy in the Digital Age / The Gazette / May 15, 2007
Second Edition is First-Rate / The Gazette / September 9, 2007
Activist Teaches the Fine Art of Motivating Youth / Yukon News / September 28, 2007

Candidates Use Facebook to Pull in Young Voters / CTV / October 2, 2007
OLP's Raine Maida Wants You to Save the World / Dose / November 9, 2007

2008

Quite a Show! / The Yukon News / September 4, 2008
Online campaigns leave candidates vulnerable / CTV News / September 16, 2008
Apathy is Boring aims to bridge gaps between election candidates and young voters / Axiom News / September 24, 2008
Idol runner-up ready to rock the youth vote / CTV.ca / September 27, 2008
Election Fever: Apathy is Boring, Digital History Education / October 1, 2008
The Theo Tams Blog / October 2, 2008
Too apathetic to be ALIENATED / Ottawa Citizen / October 4, 2008
Canada Votes 2008: Instilling Interest / CBC News / October 6, 2008
That elusive youth vote... / Maclean's / October 6, 2008
Don't want to vote? Do it anyway, it's your duty / Eye Opener / October 7, 2008
CBC Spark / October 8, 2008 
Student apathy on the rise / Gauntlet News / October 9, 2008
Election 2008: Now who's apathetic? / The Uniter / October 9, 2008
Bring Photo ID, address to vote: Elections Canada / CBC News / October 14, 2008
Canada Votes 2008: Youth Matters / CBC News / October 14, 2008
Apathy is Boring, but common / Survey Now / October 17, 2008
Youth interest in politics growing / Guelph Mercury / November 5, 2008
U.S. voter turnout put Canada to shame / Calgary Herald / November 6, 2008
The Apathy Party / Hour News / November 20, 2008

2009

Voter Apathy / Groundwire CKUT FM in Montreal & CIUT FM in
Media 2009
WANTED: Young Voters / Algonquin College /June 29, 2009
Cast your vote: Why many youth don't participate in elections / Fulcrum / June 29, 2009
Hip enough to care: Pushing students to vote / The Charlatan / June 29, 2009