Paul Shore

Paul has never been satisfied with the status quo. He is committed to helping people figure out their “why”, so that we can all feel happier, safer, and more empowered. In a world of increasing isolation due to technology and general political apathy, Paul is particularly passionate about finding innovative ways to give voice to the voiceless, using media and technology to facilitate democratic reform and re-imagining how we can use public spaces to stimulate public conversations, human connections and authentic community-building.

Paul is a video-journalist and social entrepreneur. He is currently engaged in exploring new ways video and technology can be used to give voice to the voiceless and stimulate civic engagement at the local level.  

In 2014, Paul launched a passion project online called Quelque Show, a bilingual speakers corner for everyday Montrealers. During that year, Paul interviewed over 100 Montrealers in English and in French. When he asked them the question “when was the last time a politician or journalist asked you for your opinion about anything”, 97% said never.

In September 2015, his series, re-named The Street Speaks, was picked up and launched on MaTV, a community television channel in Montreal. During the show, Paul conducts man-on-the-street interviews, giving people the opportunity to openly express how they feel about a wide range of subjects, from immigration to politics, to sex and relationships, to technology and how it’s changing their lives, to what they would do if they were Mayor. The Street Speaks First of the Season is now available online, and in segments on Facebook. A second season was recently renewed. Paul, along with 2015-17 Sauvé Fellow Sabrina Sassi, is developing a model to use the video as a catalyst for a civic engagement feedback loop between everyday citizens and local politicians and community leaders.

Concurrently, Paul is Co-Founder of an early stage start-up called Snappers.tv, a platform and marketplace that facilitates live video streaming on demand, (like Uber but for Video Reporting.) The Snappers alpha version will be launched in the summer of 2016.

In the past, he was Canada Bureau Chief for the award-winning independent global news network, Guerrilla News Network for 5 years, Co-Founder of the Canadian NGO Apathy Is Boring, and has worked as a “youth engagement” consultant and producer for many foundations and corporations over the years.

Prior to making his 2002 directorial debut for Guerrilla News Network, IBM and the Holocaust, he worked in the newsrooms of CNN and Fox News as a production assistant and an overnight writer. He then worked at MTV  and was mentored by Danny Schechter (The News Dissector) as a producer of human rights documentaries  for networks including PBS and CBS.

Upon his return to Canada, Paul was a recipient of a Bravo TV Canada grant for his film “Grafitti 101: For Ages 40 and Up” and was commissioned to produce, shoot and direct a series of five mini-documentaries for CBC News entitled The Shadow Reports. 

Paul sits on the Boards of local theatre company Scapegoat Carnivale and Coop La Maison Verte, one of Canada’s oldest solidarity coops. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and is a native of (and lover of) Montreal.

Paul worked on a sex workers documentary, trained print journalists in documentary production and co-founded Apathy Is Boring, a non-partisan organization that uses sarcasm, media, art and technology to engage youth in Canadian politics. From 2004-2010, Paul led workshops on communications, video production and advocacy for Fellows and has continued to be engaged with the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation.

Testimonial: 

The Sauvé experience broadened my horizons immeasurably. It also provided me with a whole new range of issues I wanted to explore through my work. Meeting and developing relations with the diverse group of Scholars spanning the world was the highlight for me. I was not only reflecting about my place in the world, but also privy to the experiences, sometimes tragic, of some other unique and passionate individuals.