Sunday, December 22, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Lets talk about diversity during the holiday season.
COLUMN: Holidays a good time to speak about diversity
By CONTRIBUTEDDecember 21, 2013 · Updated 11:55 AM
0 Comments There is no better time than the Christmas season to have wonderful discussions as family members from near and far gather to enjoy the festive time. As the New Year approaches, parents should take the time to speak to their children about how beneficial it is to celebrate diversity outside of their own culture and vice versa.
In some families, the children understand it, but the parents don’t. If this is the case, it’s important for the children to stand up and correct their parents in how their family can become more welcoming in establishing cross-cultural relationships. Communication is often the key element to breaking down these barriers.
In the spirit of celebration and giving, it’s also a beautiful time to develop diverse friendships. One of the things that often surprise me is I rarely see people from different backgrounds walking together in our community. And if I do, it sure brings a smile to my face. For how large our multicultural community is, I should be witnessing this more often. I recall growing up in the area and it would be a common occurrence to see many people from our diverse population together. So, why the drastic shift? Well, there are many theories and one is parents sometimes have influences on their children on who they can keep as their friends. I know it’s hard to imagine, but it’s real and must change. Segregating on racial profiling is not how cultural diversity is celebrated.
A few of the students who wrote into the Abbotsford News School Diversity Essay Contest, which we held recently, shared some examples of isolation occurring at their schools in how students interact with each other. In this day and age, there is simply no excuse, not to have a diverse group of friends. If your son or daughter doesn’t have a diverse circle of friends, maybe it’s time to sit down and discuss how this can encouraged. Pointing the blame on a certain group is easy to do, but it’s not going to help and improve the situation. My parents growing up always supported us to have a diverse group of friends to do activities with. I remember when this lady shared this unique story with me. She said: “I was visiting this country where there was no diversity and couldn’t wait to come back to Abbotsford where we are so enriched with diversity from people all over the world.”
One of ways to improve this situation is to move away from ethnic communities creating their own sports teams or leagues. It may appear to be a good investment, but in the long haul the entire community loses out and creates tunnel vision for everyone involved. Diversity is about including people into your lives, not excluding them.
Ken Herar writes monthly on diversity issues.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Abbotsford News Essay & Colouring Contest with Cycling4Diversity Foundation
The results from the Abbotsford News Diversity Challenge School Essay
Contest are in. After sifting through close to three hundred colouring
contest and hundred essay entries the judges have narrowed it down to
the top three for each category. They are two winners from Mission and
four from Abbotsford. The choices weren’t easy to make; many students
displayed strong efforts, either through their pens or crayons in
showcasing what multicultural means to their heart. The purpose of this
contest was not solely to pick winners, but to tap into our youth and
create a discussion on we can connect our various cultures, here in the
Fraser Valley together. I am proud to say, these students get what
multiculturalism means and live it through their activities. Its always
exciting to phone the parents and hear the joy in the phone notifying
them that their child was selected as a winner. The kids are equally
just as excited to hear the news.
The Cycling4Diversity Foundation team had the opportunity to visit 10 schools in the Abbotsford/Mission area speaking about cultural diversity and to encourage students to be part of this contest. Many schools had the entire class participate, which is a wonderful way to celebrate multiculturalism with your fellow classmates. The future looks bright and I was personally honoured to be part of it all for the past two months.
The winners from colouring contest are as follows ages (5-10): Tamanna Gill (Abbotsford), Hannah Barker (Mission) and Scarlett Verbeek (Abbotsford). The winners from the essay contest are as follows ages (11-13): Isabella T (Mission), Aneesha Kaur Sran (Abbotsford) and Oleg Moskvin (Abbotsford). The question we posed for the 300 word essay contest was: What does multiculturalism mean to you and your family? Here is a quick snapshot of what some of these winners had to say. Isabella T said: “ Multiculturalism means no one culture, race, religion is any more important or better, than any other culture, race or religion. We are all created equal. Different, but equal.”
Aneesha Kaur Sran said: “ Multiculturalism means that we are introduced to new activities and traditions. Multiculturalism is the state of where someone like me won’t be afraid to accept their own culture because they are afraid of what others will think or if they will be accepted. Multiculturalism means that I will be free to be myself and live my culture in my own cultural identity.”
Oleg Moskvin, who came from Russia seven years ago enjoys his Canadian multicultural experience with his family, meeting people from all backgrounds and dining at restaurants from all parts of the globe. He said: “ Having multiculturalism in Abbotsford is a great opportunity to explore different kinds of cultures. In Russia, you don’t really see any other people than Russian or Ukrainian people.”
I would like to thank the judges, who participated in this process and for their insight: Kris Foulds, Deesh Sekhon, Rick Rake, Carol Hamilton and Harwant Brar. Also, I would like to acknowledge Abbotsford Coun. Lester Barkman and Norm MacLeod for joining us at some the schools and being part of the Cycling4Diversity Foundation family.
The Cycling4Diversity Foundation team had the opportunity to visit 10 schools in the Abbotsford/Mission area speaking about cultural diversity and to encourage students to be part of this contest. Many schools had the entire class participate, which is a wonderful way to celebrate multiculturalism with your fellow classmates. The future looks bright and I was personally honoured to be part of it all for the past two months.
The winners from colouring contest are as follows ages (5-10): Tamanna Gill (Abbotsford), Hannah Barker (Mission) and Scarlett Verbeek (Abbotsford). The winners from the essay contest are as follows ages (11-13): Isabella T (Mission), Aneesha Kaur Sran (Abbotsford) and Oleg Moskvin (Abbotsford). The question we posed for the 300 word essay contest was: What does multiculturalism mean to you and your family? Here is a quick snapshot of what some of these winners had to say. Isabella T said: “ Multiculturalism means no one culture, race, religion is any more important or better, than any other culture, race or religion. We are all created equal. Different, but equal.”
Aneesha Kaur Sran said: “ Multiculturalism means that we are introduced to new activities and traditions. Multiculturalism is the state of where someone like me won’t be afraid to accept their own culture because they are afraid of what others will think or if they will be accepted. Multiculturalism means that I will be free to be myself and live my culture in my own cultural identity.”
Oleg Moskvin, who came from Russia seven years ago enjoys his Canadian multicultural experience with his family, meeting people from all backgrounds and dining at restaurants from all parts of the globe. He said: “ Having multiculturalism in Abbotsford is a great opportunity to explore different kinds of cultures. In Russia, you don’t really see any other people than Russian or Ukrainian people.”
I would like to thank the judges, who participated in this process and for their insight: Kris Foulds, Deesh Sekhon, Rick Rake, Carol Hamilton and Harwant Brar. Also, I would like to acknowledge Abbotsford Coun. Lester Barkman and Norm MacLeod for joining us at some the schools and being part of the Cycling4Diversity Foundation family.
Friday, November 29, 2013
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