We are proud to announce that Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation (CanadianCMF) has been recognized for the work that we do in promoting diversity, tolerance, acceptance, and mitigating racism through unique ways. Our organization was nominated and won the 2017 Diversity Award. The Diversity Award is an annual award given by Diversity Magazine to celebrate the work of Albertans in promoting diversity and inclusion. Thank you to everyone for supporting our work. We will work hard to continuing doing more in the future.
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As many of us know, Malala Yousafzai, became the sixth and youngest person to become an honorary Canadian citizen. During her ceremoney, Malala called on Canada to play a leadership role in promoting education for girls and refugees around the world. In a historic address to Parliament, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and human rights activist heaped praise on Canada for its commitment to helping refugees, advancing women's rights and working for world peace. It was also an exciting moment for our organization, as our CFO, Asjad Bukhari, was invited to the ceremony and got to meet Malala herself! Anti-racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably. It is an active way of seeing, and being in, the world, in order to transform it. Our team members are active in society in getting Canadians to engage in Anti-racism conversations, bring understanding and asking others to participate in the movement by spreading the knowledge and acting upon it. Over the past years, we have led and participated in hundreds of Anti-Racism community led initiatives. But our work is not done! Every event brings about a new perspective. We recently participated in The Women’s Centre of Calgary's Anti-Racism workshop. Several individuals gave their real life experiences and the intersectionality of racism was a consistent theme. The event overall was great and an important part of overcoming the issue and working towards solutions. Our work is not done, but we hope every time we do a presentation or talk to others, they also take on a bit of the work. We can do this all together.
For the second year, we held another Anti-Racism Festival, and this time in Edmonton.
The 2017 48-hour Anti-Racism Festival took place during February and March of 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta. The 48-hour film challenge took place on February 17-19, 2017 and 26 teams participated (65 people). There was also a Spoken Word Poetry Jam took place on Saturday February 18. The Red Carpet Screening took place on Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at the Princess Theatre in Edmonton where 11 teams competed for first, second and third place. A total of 350 people attended the red carpet screening. Check out all the films! Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation presents the release of YYC Colours YYC Colours is a solution-based documentary that sparks discussion about racism in Calgary, and Canada in general. Over the past year, we have had the opportunity to screen this film over 100+ times nationally across Canadian schools, workplaces, theatres, and events. Almost every screening included a discussion afterwards, which was the purpose of our film - get people talking about racism. To commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we have released our film to the public - watch, learn, and engage! It's been a great past year for us. Our film, YYC Colours, has screened nationally across Canada over 150 times. Hundreds of community discussions about ending racism have begun because of it... many in schools, workplaces, government level, and friends circles. We have also had the opportunity to lead some of these discussions. Our last screening & panel discussion took place tonight at the University of Calgary. It was a full house and the crowd was very engaging. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took part in this two & a half year-long project. From starting the film idea, to creating it, to editing, releasing and all the screenings. There are too many names to name - but thank you to everyone.
Are you a student in Alberta who is studying or is interested in graphic design? We're looking for you! We need a creative student intern who can help design our annual report. This is a short internship that you can complete on your own time and be paid $1000. Student must currently be enrolled at one of the 26 publicly-funded post-secondary institutions in Alberta. (check here to ensure you are eligible.) In order to apply, you must also create an account on SCiP. Interested in the opportunity? Apply today. It's been about a year since the premiere of our solution-based documentary: YYC Colours. This documentary has been screened across Canada over 150 times. Join our final screening, along with a panel discussion on Racism & Religious Discrimination. This is an opportunity for all Calgarians to come out and engage in anti-racism and anti-discrimination, to learn, and be part of the solution.
What: Screening + Panel Discussion on Racism & Religious Discrimination in Canada When: Monday, March 20th 2017, 6:00 pm - 8:00pm Where: That Empty Space, MacEwan Students Centre, University of Calgary Panelists:
On Sunday, January 29, we heard of the terrorist attack on the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre Mosque in Sainte Foy, Quebec. At first we were shocked, and eventually disgusted at the rhetoric on social media about the vile act. People were more interested in the race and religion of the suspect than the victims and the Islamic community that was affected. For many hours, including the next day, the internet blamed the shooting on Muslims. "Allah-u-Akbar" was trending and disgustingly racist and Islamophobic social media and media reports were being made. The suspected shooter is actually a bigoted 27-year-old white man known to many as a conservative online troll and white nationalist. It became very evident how real Islamophobia is in this nation on January 29.
However - Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation as an organization work to improve race relations (which is also closely tied to religion). We understood this was a moment to get the community together, to stand against hate, and also to show the Muslim community that they are welcome and loved in Canada. Our head office is in Calgary, so we took on the role to organize a vigil in downtown Calgary on Monday night outside of City Hall. What was the result? Almost 1,000 people gathered outside of City Hall, lighting candles and holding signs denouncing the acts of violence, Islamophobia, and expressing support for the Muslim community in Canada. Young children, people of different faiths, race, cultures etc. came together to show that love and tolerance is what we as Canadians stand for. It was a cold night, but many came out to show their support. The members of the Muslim community that attended all expressed their gratitude for all that attended. It meant a lot to them. And so in that little while, we were able to bring people together. Though it is sad what happened, we hope it can encourage others to take a stand against hate. We are organizing a Candlelight Vigil & Prayer In Remembrance of the victims at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Calgary. As a community, we must stand together with the victims and one another against hatred.
Have you studied Race Relations and want to help end Racism in Canada? Come join us by doing just that! We are looking for someone who comes from a background in Race Relations to help create content for educational institutes across Canada to use when talking about racism and multiculturalism. If you qualify and are passionate to help make Canada an amazing place, we would love to have you on our team. The work required for this position can take place anywhere, and is on a voluntary basis. Contact us if you’d like to join our team, mentioning your educational background and why you’d like to be part of our team. Blog post by our Policy Analyst, Mansharn Toor, originally published on The Tempest. September will mark the beginning of a two-year inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls (MMIW) in Canada. As promised in the 2015 elections, the Liberal government invested $53.8 million over two-years for the MMIW inquiry. The long awaited inquiry will investigate the estimated 1,181 murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls, an ever growing number. The Liberal government promised the process will be inclusive, transparent, and respectful of a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples. While I commend the Liberal Party’s commitment to fill the roster with Indigenous activists and intellectuals like Judge Marion Buller, a First Nations Judge from BC; and includes former Native Women’s Association of Canada president, Michèle Audette, lawyer Qajaq Robinson, University of Saskatechwan professor, Metis Marilyn Poitras, and Human Rights expert, Brian Eyolfson, I will hold my breath before announcing complete success. Of the mandates the commissioners are responsible for (1) reporting on systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls; (2) reporting on institutional policies and practices in response to violence experience by Indigenous women and girls; (3) recommending action to remove systemic causes of violence; and (4) recommend ways to honour and commemorate the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. However, the commission cannot critically assess the role of policing and police policies that invite the racialization and sexualisation of Indigenous peoples. It is troubling that the document does not provide avenues to investigate officer misconduct. Instead, the document states that commissioners must perform their “duties without expressing any conclusion or recommendation regarding the civil or criminal liability of any person or organization.” Therefore, if the commissioner’s collect information that they believe are grounds for criminal investigation, they are only mandated to report such information to the “appropriate authorities.” As a Policy Analyst with the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation, Canada’s law enforcement is not exempt from racial profiling, discrimination, and overt use of force. This is especially true for Indigenous peoples who have a rocky history with the RCMP in Canada, and in some regions Indigenous peoples have asked for support to fund and train their own officers. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) expressed concerns following the announcement. The NWAC noted that for the families that want to open previously closed cases and seek justice, the commission has no legal authority to provide such closer to families. The association was also critical of the two-year timetable for culturally based counseling for the victims of MMIW. The issue of MMIW is closely linked to a history of trauma for Indigenous peoples in Canada, as noted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The document expresses little jurisdictional clarity for the commission to access information to assess Child Welfare and Family Services across provincial and territorial boundaries. The jurisdictional issue of overstepping provincial and territorial borders can limit the investigation into Child Welfare. This is a system that contributes to the human trafficking of Indigenous women and girls, who in a number of cases were recruited from group homes and housing that was part of Child Welfare.The racialization and sexualisation of Indigenous women and girls will continue if the systems of violence and colonialism are not appropriately remedied. Today, I would argue, women and children are at the forefront of colonial violence that threatens Canada’s national image. For instance, Canada has just recently addressed the violent history of residential schools in the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) where survivors shared their stories of physical and emotional abuse when the government placed many Indigenous children into the residential school system. This evidently continues to cause generations of trauma as noted in the TRC’s Calls to Action. Similarly, the sixties scoop, was a policy between 1965 to 1984 in Ontario, that scooped up 16,000 children from Indigenous parents (at times without their consent) into non-Indigenous homes or foster care. The survivors have launched a class action case wherein the survivors are seeking monetary relief, of $85 000, for the social, physiological, and physical impact of losing their cultures, languages, and connection to their families and communities. Indigenous peoples are continually confronting a violent past and present. The cycle of violence of colonization is also very noticeable upon Indigenous women, who have felt the brunt of colonial policies that have reduced the traditional roles of Indigenous women. Women have historically lost their right to Indigenous status if they married outside their race. Moreover, in pre-colonial era, some communities practiced matrilineal ownership, wherein communal property would follow the female line. This implied the unique political role women held in their community. However, after centuries of property rights where women were not allowed to own their land and with recent land claim agreements, Indigenous women no longer hold the once prestigious role. Indigenous women, having been so determined, continue to shape their communities despite the set back, and have been the voice behind Canada’s Idle No More movement and the calls for a national Indigenous led inquiry. Yet, Canada continues to reduce, devalue, and disavow women’s identity, and the commission on MMIW provides few avenues for reclamation due to the lack of legal mandate that falls short of actionable tasks and adds to the already rich rhetoric that Canada has a systemic racial issue, especially towards the first peoples of this land. It comes as no surprise to Indigenous activists like Pamela Palmater, a Mi’kmaw lawyer, that an inquiry that does not address law enforcement and child services, does not meet Trudeau’s election promises for an investigation that seeks “uncomfortable truths.” We had the privilege of attending the Japanese Canadian National Conference this past weekend. The conference coincided with the Japanese Canadian Young Leaders Conference, where our CEO got the chance to sit on a panel.
Important discussions around race, identity, racism and acceptance were made. The conference created a space for Japanese Canadian young people to remember the past, recognize the present, and re-imagine the future for their community, as well as others! By prioritizing dialogue and empowering young people through workshops, heritage tours, panels, and intergenerational discussions, the organization offered a unique opportunity for young Japanese Canadians to develop, inspire, and lead Nikkei communities across the country. Thanks for inviting us and we hope to see you guys again! What are we up to this summer? |
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