Official Google Canada Blog: May 2015

Official Canada Blog

News and notes from Google Canada

Google.org supports Canadian nonprofit World Wide Hearing for the launch of its Impact Challenge: Disabilities

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Editor’s note -- Today’s blog is authored by Audra Renyi, Executive Director of World Wide Hearing

Mahmoud is a 7-year old boy from rural Jordan. Since birth he struggled to communicate and talk - a burden not uncommon for a child suffering from significant hearing loss. But then, in a moment, everything changed.

Mahmoud was fitted with his first hearing aid. A smile broke across his face. Then he laughed. He could hear the audio technician’s voice loud and clear. Just as the fitting was finishing up, Mahmoud's father arrived at the outreach center to see his son. From outside the room, he called out Mahmoud's name. Mahmoud's ears perked up and he immediately turned around. When he saw his father's face and connected it to the voice he was hearing for the first time, Mahmoud burst into tears and jumped into his father's arms.

We believe the mobile screening devices we’re developing at Montreal-based World Wide Hearing have the power to make a fundamental difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of people living with a disability. And that’s why today’s news is so important. Google.org is committing twenty million dollars in grant funding for a first-of-its kind Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities. Throughout the Challenge, Google.org will identify, fund and support nonprofits and technologies working to increase access to opportunity for hundreds of millions living with disabilities. World Wide Hearing is as one of two initial "anchor" grants.

World Wide Hearing team in action during a hearing screening campaign: screening a young girl, one of 1,200 school children screened over two days in May 2015 in Mazatenango, Guatemala

With Google.org's support and a $500,000 USD grant, World Wide Hearing will develop, prototype and test an extremely low cost tool kit for identifying hearing loss using smartphone technology that’s widely available--and affordable--in the developing world. 642 million people around the world suffer from hearing loss. Diagnosing auditory challenges can be a struggle in low income communities--the equipment is expensive, bulky and hard to scale, particularly in the developing world.

This support from Google.org will help identify those living with hearing loss, ensuring we all hear more laughter from people like Mahmoud.

Posted by Audra Renyi, Executive Director, World Wide Hearing

Google

That’s a wrap! +15,000 fans flock to YouTube FanFest in Toronto

Monday, May 4, 2015

That’s a wrap! More than 15,000 passionate fans joined us on Saturday, May 2, as YouTube FanFest made its North American debut. Toronto welcomed a group of the biggest Canadian and international YouTube creators for a live showcase that wowed the crowd with music, comedy and interactive performances. If you missed the show or want to watch it again, now you catch the full show on the FanFest YouTube channel!
The free, public show featured YouTube superstars Jenna Marbles, Bethany Mota, Michael Stevens of Vsauce and Toronto’s own IISuperwomanII. The performances ranged from the soulful music of American star David Choi to the bhangra drumming of Jus Reign to a live science experiment between Michael Stevens and Jenna Marbles that saw Marbles blow a fireball into the air above the crowd.
Co-hosted by charismatic TV personality Jessi Cruickshank and Harley Morenstein of Epic Meal Time, the event closed with the world premiere performance of Lilly Singh’s online smash hit new song “IVIVI”, an ode to Toronto, that drew deafening cheers from the crowd.
Lilly Singh, ||Superwoman|| performs the world premiere of "IVIVI"
Other highlights included a fan Q&A with Bethany Mota, as well as a unique performance from Kurt Hugo Scheider, Macy Kate, Madilyn Bailey and Kina Grannis. The foursome of musicians collaborated on a song that was set to a complicated rhythm of handclaps, which they performed while blindfolded. Edmonton-born a capella singer Mike Tompkins had the fans on their feet for a high energy set, and local girl LaurDIY brought fans on the stage for a live DIY fashion challenge that saw fans create a shirt for host Jessi Cruickshank.
YTFF Collage.jpg

Fandemonium at the first North American YouTube FanFest in Toronto
This was a record crowd for YouTube FanFest - more than triple the attendance for previous events in Asia, India and Australia - which shows the incredible passion of Canadian YouTube fans. FanFest was also a hot topic on social media - the #YTFFTO hashtag trended across Toronto as fans took to social media to share the experience.
Thank you too all the extraordinary YouTube Creators and fans that came out for red carpet and show. Canada is hotbed of YouTube talent and fandom, and we are thrilled we were able to bring this to Canadian fans as a North American first!
Posted by Jenn Kaiser, YouTube Communications

Google

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