2024 Impact Awards winner: Adapt Media - Jamie Thompson

Adapt Media began in 1988 with investment by Canada’s Indigenous peoples. The company’s first national advertiser 26 years ago was APTN, the Aboriginal People’s Television Network. 

Today, Adapt works closely with the Canadian government in serving Indigenous communities. 

To build on this, Adapt founder and CEO, Jamie Thompson, wanted to create a tangible gift to give back. 

This inspired the launch of iDREAM (Inclusive Diverse Racial Equity Award in Media), a non-profit charity created in 2023 to celebrate and showcase Indigenous, BIPOC and racialized artists. 

The iDREAM team works with winners to organize high-profile media campaigns—the value of which range from $250,000 to more than $1 million—to help artists gain national acclaim. 

The hope is to help rewrite the bleak statistic that Indigenous artists in Canada earn just 68% of what white counterparts make. 

As part of this, the iDREAM campaign uses hundreds of Adapt’s digital screens in convenience stores to act as an eye-catching gallery to showcase work, delighting store associates and store shoppers. iDREAM is led by a board of directors comprised of 15 members, mainly BIPOC people, who come from a range of inspiring backgrounds in media, art and music. 

Moving forward, iDREAM represents an evergreen opportunity to support and celebrate Indigenous and BIPOC people across Canada.