tales-of-Fogo-Island

Listening to Mr. SmallwoodIn 1967, the National Film Board of Canada began a program called'Challenge for Change'. The program was focused on building communicationbetween communities and turned out to be exactly what was needed on FogoIsland. At the same time, a group of local people began working together tofind solutions for the Island. This committee, known as the Fogo IslandImprovement Committee asked Memorial University Extension Service toorganize a conference on the island. It was hoped that the conference wouldhelp bring the people of the island together.This conference marked the beginning of a partnership between MemorialUniversity, the National Film Board and the people of the island. At first, thegroups focused on the issue of resettlement. However, there were too manyother pressing issues. Rather than deal with each separately, the Film Boardand its partners produced twenty-eight short films about local life,personalities and events (Coish, 1975).A community meeting. Notice the recording equipment.