--- Grassroots “On COVID-19 Project” expands its mandate beyond pandemic

Jordan Gowling

The On COVID-19 Project, a volunteer-based grassroots organization, has changed its name and mandate to reflect its new mission to provide public health information beyond COVID-19.    The project was founded back in June of 2020, to provide clear public health information on the pandemic to millennials and generation Z Canadians, though social media platforms such as Instagram. 

As of March 1, the project is called the On Canada Project. “With the On Canada Project, we will continue to keep Canadians up to date with COVID-19 and expand to discuss the social determinants of health, including the individual, community, and government layers to these issues that require a health-in-all-policies approach to bring about equitable and sustainable change,” said Samanta Krishnapillai, Founder and Executive Director of the project.

The project received a positive response from young social media users and volunteers, who find the two-way dialogue an effective means of staying informed. It also helped identify existing inequities that have deepened during the pandemic, with the platform providing an avenue for people of color, black and Indigenous people to share their experiences during COVID-19. “We also hope to bring a critical, credible and Canadian lens to our government, systems, culture, and behaviours to help mobilize Millennials and Gen Z to stay informed, take action, and champion change in our country,” said Krishnapillai. “An informed demographic is a mobilized demographic."

The organization has more than 130 volunteers and its executive team contains experts in dietetics, health sciences, biology and communications. The new Twitter and Instagram handle is @oncanadaproject.

[Local Journalism Initiative]