For the Digital Storytelling project, this group focused their efforts on engaging the micro-community around the Bike Messenger Emergency Fund, which is a resource for bike courriers to access support if they are injured on the job. The 50-60 bike courriers working in Montreal are self-employed and don’t have access to benefits if they have to miss work due to an injury.
The students launched an Instagram series of 15-second videos under the popular bike messenger hashtag #messlife. These videos feature the POV video taken from a GoPro camera that was strapped to a bikers helmet as they navigated the streets of Montreal. In addition, the students interviewed bike messengers and created a series of podcast interviews to tell the stories of bike messengers who have been injured on the job.
The students brought their digital campaign into the physical world by making “spoke cards” (below). These laminated cards are placed in the spokes of a bike wheel and are a common way of promoting and communicating information among bike messengers.
Lastly, they created a website aggregating this media, specifically optimized for mobile devices since this community is usually on the go.
