Hannah Sung

Hannah Sung is a former MuchMusic VJ. She spent September 2006  traveling through Indonesia and East Timor with CARE Canada's youth initiative YouthCARE to produce a documentary about the issues youth face in the aftermath of natural disaster and civil strife.

Hannah was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, and earned a degree in English with a minor in Women's Studies & History from the University of Toronto. Hannah previously worked for the Toronto Star, Chatelaine magazine and had been with MuchMusic for four years and conducted interviews with music stars U2, 50 Cent, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, The Rolling Stones, Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, Billy Joel and others.

Interview

What music are you listening to/art are you checking out these days?

Right now, I'm really into Feist, Born Ruffians, Rihanna, The Pipettes and Team Macho. I'm also looking forward to reading my friend Jason Hall's latest play, "GBS," based on adolescence in a Toronto suburb (Scarborough represent!).

Why should people, especially youth, vote?

Youth should vote because we have different issues that matter to us than people who are further along in life. For example, the environment, education and foreign diplomacy are key issues that young people care about because they're all about the future! Voting is part of being active about shaping the world you want to live in.

For you, is there a connection between art and democracy? What is it?

There's a big connection between art and democracy. Art is all about ideas. Democracy is all about acting on them. I admire those who use them as tools to push the limit.

Why do you care about community when it is so easy not to?

I care about community because there's strength in numbers. If you don't care about your community, you don't care about yourself, your friends, your neighbours, your family - that just doesn't make sense.

What do you look for in a politician? What do you expect from your MP?

I look for responsiveness to their constituents. I expect my MP to act on letters and comments from the public. They are our representative in an institution that shapes the way we live. It's a privilege and they should know it! We have a responsibility to communicate our concerns to our MPs, and we should know that, too.