Cycling4Diversity is grateful to the Abbotsford Heat and Hawkey The Hawk for their support

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by: Sarina Di Martino Derksen

 

I'm proud to announce that the 2nd annual Cycling4Diversity journey from Mission to Victoria, BC. has been successfully completed for this year. The Cycling4Diversity team left May 22nd and arrived into Victoria on May 25th. The 4-day journey saw the team travel over 200 km, visiting 9 cities and 40 presentations relaying the message to thousands of people regarding the topics of diversity, racism and discrimination. The team was welcomed by students, government officials and the general public during “Cycling4Diversity Week” in British Columbia from May 20-26th. As a member of the team, I found it humbling and heart warming to meet so many people along the way who specifically came out to welcome us and share their own stories. Their testimonies demonstrated incredible strength and resolve to be part of the solution. In other words, even though people have been hurt, they recognize the importance of rising above issues with the hopes of making our communities a better place when dealing with the racism and discrimination instead of being the product of it or striking out and abusing others. They could easily choose to harden their hearts and turn against others based on the hurt they've endured but they know that isn't the answer.

 

Cycling4Diversity was created last year by Founder Ken Herar in hopes to bring awareness and encourage dialogue regarding diversity, racism and discrimination throughout our communities. The Cycling4Diversity initiative began in 2011 to celebrate “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development” on May 21st - a day proclaimed by the United Nations. Our mission was to make a number of stops along the way in different cities to celebrate diversity and build bridges. This encouraged dialogue regarding racism, discrimination and shed light on underlying issues associated with living among different cultures and races.

 

Many people supported the concept of Cycling4Diversity last year with how we delivered the message in a unique way (travelling on a bike from city to city). It captured the imagination of many British Columbians including myself. Cycling4Diversity is one of the very few initiatives that has a multifaceted approach in dealing with the issues as well as celebrating diversity.

A number of students along the way this year asked our team, “How long have you all known each other?” The riders responded that many of us only met the morning of the ride. This proves that in order to work together to accomplish something positive, people don‘t have to know one another. That is the beauty of a number people coming together to work towards a common goal. One doesn't need to know another in order to do good.

Diversity is about working as a team, and I’m grateful I had the opportunity to work with such fine individuals who are passionate about building a vibrant multicultural society within our communities. People have asked me many times: "Do you seriously believe we will ever see the end of racism?" I have to honestly say no, I don't believe we will. I think sadly it will always be among us, however, I know that the more we talk about the issues, educate and demonstrate within our communities and homes how to relate to one another and connect, we can seriously make a difference and deal with the errors and biases that are held and passed along from generation to generation. We make a difference by continually talking about it and bringing awareness to the issues. I have often said that we have learned how to fly to the moon, cure diseases and map the gene gnome, however, we're still struggling regarding the issue of whether we're equal to one another (race, culture, religion etc). The reason I believe this to be the case is because this is a value based issue. Sure, we can all read about racism and discrimination in a text book, however, if we're not living according to values that are against racism and discrimination we will struggle and believe that we are more superior then others around us if they don't look the same or share in the same traditions we were brought up with. 

 

On the other hand, we like to believe that the world is a great place and that diversity is working, but the truth is that much work remains to be done for this statement to become a reality.  One of the problems that I see is that with everyone talking about diversity, we find ourselves focusing more on our differences than what makes us equal. This I believe could be a fault regarding the matter of diversity. I believe we should be identifying what we all have in common and by doing so, we will then be able to accept and learn to celebrate diversity. If we study relationships, we connect with one another by relating to each other and building a strong foundation. Once we're "invested" in each other, when differences come up, we're more willing to overlook them because we've connected with one another. The same is true in relating to one another regarding diversity.

 

Ken Herar said: "Diversity isn't only about celebrating various cultures but it's about creating everlasting relationships with one another. This will be the key to cultural success in Canada. It is important to recognize our differences, however, in order for cultural diversity to get to the next level of understanding amongst our growing, multi-cultural communities we need to pay special attention to this concept so that we don't grow further apart. It's time that Canadians take a closer look at their cultural diversity."

 

The Cycling4Diversity initiative is committed in celebrating diversity and discussing issues throughout the rest of the year: "Building bridges of dialogue, one city at a time" is what we plan on continuing to do throughout the year beginning this September. In addition to our annual ride that will be taking place each May, our team will be visiting schools each month to discuss diversity throughout the year. We have plans to take the initiative nationwide.