2009 RISE Celebration
The 2009 RISE Celebration is the 6th annual event recognizing immigrants for their contributions to our community and recognizing Edmontonians who have made a difference to immigrants.
The celebration will be held at the Citadel Theatre in the Maclab Theatre & Pavilion on Thursday, May 7. We will recognize our fellow Edmontonians, share an intercultural music experience, and honour some of our neighbours with awards.
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized?
Nominations are now open!
Information for Nominators
Nomination Form
Submitted by Katrina Paufler
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Safe Harbour Training Workshop
The next Safe Harbour Training Workshop for local Edmonton businesses and community organizations is scheduled for Monday, March 16 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.
There is still room for representatives from businesses and agencies to get involved so if you know of anyone that can be referred, please pass their contact information on to me and I will follow up.
Thank you.
Submitted by Laurie Hauer
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Safe Harbour: Respect for All – Media Launch
A Safe Harbour: Respect for All Media Launch will be taking place on Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 10:30 AM at the Millwoods Edmonton Public Library (located in Millwoods Towne Centre).
There is excitement in the air regarding this event, and I am inviting you to join in on it! If you can, please join me at the Millwoods Library that morning.
As well, I would like to feature 2 immigrant stories as part of that morning's event. These stories can be personal stories of arriving and settling into Edmonton, and then an expression of how he/she/they feel about Safe Harbour.
If you know of clients (and their family) who you feel would be comfortable speaking in front of others (including the Press) and can share their story and their support of Safe Harbour, I would love to speak with them.
Please assure them that I (and the communications company who is assiting me with the media launch) will support them and help them prepare for presenting their story. I will also meet with them to share information on Safe Harbour's goals so they are equipped to speak briefly about it.
If you need any further information, please let me know.
Thank you for all of your support! And please let me know if you are able to attend the media launch on the 18th.
Submitted by Laurie Hauer
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Congratulations!
Congratulations to Luella, Wendy, Yosief and Mirela for their AAISA Accreditation!
- Luella Gaultier - AAISA Mentorship Accreditation
- Wendy Chin - AAISA Level 3 Practitioner Accreditation
- Yosief Ukubalident - Level 2 AAISA Practitioner Accreditation
- Mirela Pirvu - Level 2 AAISA Practitioner Accreditation
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Payroll Graduation article
Submitted by Colin Scheyen
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Jim’s Comments
Some staff who did not attend the January staff meeting have asked about the comments I made at the time about my departure from EMCN in the spring. Here are the points I made about what I have especially valued about our work
here:
Five goals of my work over my time hereSubmitted by Jim Gurnett
Appreciate the courage of staff to explore these things with me, since they are not always easy
Quite different than old model of delivering services to take care of peopleSome have embraced some or all of these goals, some have been uncomfortable with one or more.
- Excellent respectful services—quality is important but so too is ensuring the people involved with us have control and jurisdiction of what happens—the heart of the Service Commitment—we don’t decide for anyone but honour their choices and decisions on an individual basis and we develop areas of activity that reflect what we hear from people and learn from them, not what we decide is needed
- Working from assets—we don’t see our work as charity and putting bandages on broken people to fix them up but as building on the assets of every individual and family and community group, putting the focus on their strengths and nurturing them
- Holistic integrated practice—don’t offer a menu of discrete services but a collective kitchen, a place where we understand people as complex living entities not machines, always in movement, perhaps in several directions at once, not tidy or consistent, needing to have access to a range of services in an integrated way because each aspect of a life has influences on many other ones, all happening at the same time
- Interculture—all this needs to happen in a social context that appreciates and values diversity in a dynamic and democratic way, no superior way, not a simple mosaic of defined pieces glued together but a continuously changing flow of perspectives, learning and teaching all the time
- Heart of the activity is the pursuit of social justice and equity for all, honouring of the principles of human rights, not providing social services
Appreciate that all have at least permitted EMCN to operate with these foci over the years but my departure will provide opportunity to reassess if these are things the organization really WANTS to mark its work or not.
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Global Poverty Study
Information Session and Lunch & Learn seminar
March 10, 2009
The Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC), in partnership with the Wild Rose Foundation and Angus Reid Strategies has conducted a province-wide survey on Global Poverty. We asked Albertans about global poverty and how important it was to them. The results might surprise you!
Join us on March 10, 2009 to hear the results of our survey and take part in a province-wide discussion to develop a strategy to engage Albertans and the rest of Canada in the fight against global poverty!
Edmonton
Strathcona Library Program Room
8331-104 Street
11:30 - 1:30
Calgary
Calgary Area Outdoor Council
1111 Memorial Drive NW
11:00 - 1:30
After a presentation of the survey results, there will be a Lunch & Learn seminar designed to stimulate discussion and provide tools to our membership and the general public on how to utilize the results of the survey.
A tasty lunch will be provided for all registered participants. Please complete the attached registration form and either fax the form to ACGC at 780.988.0211 or email it to admin@acgc.ca by March 5, 2009. These sessions are free for members of the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (2 person limit per organization). There is a fee of $25.00 for non-members. Please join us for this wonderful event!
Can't join us at the Lunch & Learn? Learn about the survey results by attending our webcast presentation. Information about the webcast will be available shortly!
Register now!
Submitted by Jim Gurnettc
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Armchair Discussion – National Capital Region
Thursday, March 12, 2009
1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. (ET)
The Theory and Practice of Citizenship in the 21st Century
Speaker: Daniel Weinstock
Canada Research Chair in Ethics and Political Philosophy at the Université de Montréal
The Canada School of Public Service is pleased to welcome Daniel Weinstock as a presenter in our partnership with Metropolis, an international network for comparative research and public policy development on migration, diversity, and immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world.
Until recently, debates about immigration and naturalisation were conducted on very different terms in the developed countries of the global North. On the one hand, "countries of immigration" such as Canada, the United States and Australia possessed fairly open policies that did not place significant hurdles on immigrants seeking naturalization. Immigration policies were premised on a fairly optimistic vision of the integrative capacity of these countries' cultures.
On the other hand, European countries did not think of themselves as countries of immigration at all and thus placed significant obstacles in the way of foreigners seeking to acquire citizenship. These policies were premised on an assumption about society's capacity for integration of culturally different peoples diametrically opposed from those made in countries like Canada.
Daniel Weinstock will trace the evolution of debates on both sides of the Atlantic, and suggest that we are now witnessing a period of convergence that may lay the groundwork for a new international dialogue on migration.
You are invited to attend this Armchair Discussion on-site at 65 Guigues Street (Ottawa) or participate online via live Webcast (video and audio feed offered online).
Registration Deadline: March 11, 2009 – 11:30 a.m. (ET)
For further information on the Metropolis Project: www.metropolis.net
To register:
- I wish to attend this session in Ottawa | March 12, 2009
- I wish to take part in this session via Webcast | March 12, 2009
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Homeward Trust Edmonton is Moving
Effective March 23, 2009, the new address will be
HOMEWARD TRUST EDMONTON
6TH FLOOR, 10242 – 105 STREET
EDMONTON, AB T5J 3L5
*All telephone numbers and email addresses will remain the same*
Homeward Trust will be closed on March 19-20, and will re-open on March 23 at the new location.
Gertrude Faryna
Administrative Assistant
T 780.496.2630
f 780.496.2634
reception@homewardtrust.ca
www.homewardtrust.ca
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Save.ca - Canada's #1 Online Coupon Site for Grocery, Household, Health & Beauty Products
http://www.save-beta.com/english/index.php
Submitted by Rispah Tremblay
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Expression Against Repression - Open Mic Featuring the People's Poets & Dear
March 07, Saturday, 2009 @ 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Join us for a night of cultural resistance to colonialism, oppression, occupation and injustice. Enjoy performances by local artists and take part by sharing poetry, song, spoken word, or any other expression against repression. All are welcome.
The People's Poets are three Edmonton MCs who rap about social justice issues, local and global. rosouljah, 4 Life and solidario joined up in the fall of 2006 with the intention of making critically conscious hip hop. They then hooked up with Edmonton's renowned cut artist DJ Dice, who has over two decades of experience in contributing to the local Hip Hop scene. Representing their Latino refugee roots from Chile and El Salvador this hip hop colectivo mixes rhymes about life experiences with social and political commentary. They are committed to building and networking at a community level for social change and development.
These RAPTIVISTS are involved in a variety of issues and movements such as affordable housing, labour education, and youth empowerment.
"We be the people's poets and we believe another world is possible."
The summer of 2006 saw Dear (Your Name Here) recording a debut album, "A Speck of White" under the supervision of producer Brian Johnson (Coldplay, John Mayer, Elvis Costello, Lifehouse). The following summer found Dear (Your Name Here) engaged in the artist's first ever solo acoustic tour, a three-month excursion. Dear (Your Name Here) then evolved to a full touring band touring Western Canada in the spring of 2008, promoting their most recent release entitled "A Speck of White," recorded with producer Mark Troyer (Kiros, Traced Image, Jay & the Lovebirds).
Location: University of Alberta, Sub Stage, U of A Students' Union Building
Address: U of A Students' Union Building
Cost: Free
Contact Email: psnedmonton@gmail.com
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Responses to Apartheid Panel and Discussion
March 05, Thursday, 2009 @ 7:00 PM
featuring Dr. Baha Abu-Laban, Dr. Anas Muwais and Peggy Morton
Dr. Anas Walid Muwais PhD is a writer, philosopher and activst. His talk is on "Exposing the criminality of the Zionist project."
Peggy Morton is a well-known jounalist for The Marxist-Leninist Daily (TML). The TML focuses on the problems facing the workers' movement and the political affairs of Alberta. She is the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada (MPLC) candidate in Edmonton Centre. From the age of 17 she has vigorously fought against war and for the affirmation of women. Former president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees for 22 years, she fights for workers' rights and advocates economic change. Peggy is also an active member of the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism, organizing against the illegal invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and against the illegal and unprecedented massacre in Gaza. Her talk is on Canada-Israel relations.
Dr. Baha Abu-Laban, an Arab-Canadian, has taught at Stanford University, the American University of Beirut, and the University of Alberta, where he is Professor Emeritus of Sociology. He is a former Chair of the Department of Sociology, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Associate Vice-President (Research). Dr. Abu-Laban is the co-founder and past editor of the Journal of International Migration and Integration (JIMI), and is also Co-Director of the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration in Edmonton.
His talk is entitled "Reversing the Tide of Israeli Apartheid."
Location: University of Alberta, Lecture 12 Tory Building
Address: Tory Building Lecture 12
Cost: Free
Contact Email: psnedmonton@gmail.com
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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From Turtle Island to Palestine: Indigenous Perspectives on Colonialism and Occupation - Panel and Discussion
March 04, Wednesday, 2009 @ 7:00 PM
Featuring Dr. Makere Stewart-Harawira, Dr. Bruce Spencer and Rebecca Sockbeson
Location: Edmonton Room, Stanley A. Milner Library (7 Winston
Churchill Square)
Address: 7 Winston Churchill Square
Cost: Free
Contact Email: psnedmonton@gmail.com
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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New film on Canada's refugee claim system to be released
A new film, Seeking Refuge, has just been completed by Karen Cho, a film maker located in Montreal. A shorter TV version of the film will be shown on CBC Newsworld on The Lens, on April 14 at 10 p.m. and on February 25 at 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.
For more information about the documentary, see the article at the end of this message. Copies of the longer version of the documentary will be available through the distributor, InformAction Films Inc. of Montreal.
Seeking Refuge
Five asylum seekers set out on the lengthy journey to be accepted as refugees in Canada. Plunging into the experiences, hopes and struggles of asylum seekers looking for protection, Seeking Refuge. From border crossings to refugee shelters, a moving look at the lives of people who navigate Canada's complex refugee determination system after escaping war, persecution, rape and political unrest.
For more details visit
"Seeking Refuge" announcement
Article on The Hour about "Seeking Refuge
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Interesting Developments
Bicycle Transportation Plan
The City of Edmonton is updating the Bicycle Transportation Plan.
Ethno-Cultural Consultation Coalition Brown Bag Lunch: Bride "Price"
A brown bag lunch presentation discussing:
- the origin of traditional marriages and the "dowry" arrangements
- where these traditions come from
- how these practices evolve to present time
- the implications on family violence
- the "price" women/children/families pay.
This year the CGN is very happy to announce that representatives from several Edmonton Community Gardens have generously agreed to speak about their gardens at this year’s meeting. This is a great opportunity for gardeners to talk about their accomplishments, share information, and learn more about our amazing community of gardens. So come on out and connect with people who love gardening as much as you do!
You can renew your Membership for the 2009 season anytime prior to the AGM, or at the door.
Membership Renewal Form
The Community Garden Network of Edmonton & Area Annual General Meeting
When: Saturday, March 21, 2009, doors open at 9 am. AGM officially begins at 9:30 am - noon
Where: St. Andrew’s Centre 12722-111 Avenue Edmonton, AB
RSVP: By March 6/09 to Ginger 780-447-9600 or info@edmcommunitygardens.org please include the organization or garden you represent.
Potluck brunch during the meeting bring your favorite dish for everyone to enjoy. Please bring your own plate, cups and utensils. Thank you.
Submitted by Helen Rusich
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Warmth and Healing Along the Way
A Manitoba Mennonite church has found a creative way to bring healing to a northern Manitoba native community using quilt tops.
by Evelyn Rempel Petkau
The story starts eight years ago in Grunthal, Manitoba, where Gertie Braun was looking for ways to use the surplus clothing from the local Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) thrift shop.
Cross Lake school teachers Karen Maclsaac and Cheryl Plaisier put the final stitches on quilts their students made, which will be given to elders within the First Nations community in northern Manitoba.
"I couldn't handle throwing them out and so I talked with the other volunteers about cutting them up for quilts;' said Braun.
Maria Funk started cutting the squares and Braun, with her industrial sewing machine, sewed the squares together for quilt tops. Over the years, she has sent their creations to various missions.
Recently, the quilt tops have brought delight to students in the northern First Nations community of Cross Lake, Manitoba. When between 80 and 100 of these heavy quilt tops accumulate, Norm Voth, director of evangelism and service ministries for Mennonite Church Manitoba, arranges for them to be delivered to Cross Lake.
Florence Benson-Umpherville, a leader in the Cross Lake Living Word Church (an MC Manitoba congregation) and principal at the local school, has discovered creative ways for the quilts to continue their journey. In her school, which has students from nursery-aged to Grade 9, she developed a character education program. As part of this program students work together in groups to finish the quilts and then send them to the Mennonite Central Committee.
Several of the quilt tops completed by the Cross Lake students found their way last spring to the remote community of Pauingassi, Manitoba, where they were used in a healing circle. Ten families met at a retreat centre and each family unit was given a quilt to complete.
"Every couple and their children worked on a quilt,” said Eric Kennedy, a member of the Pauingassi community, in a phone interview. "They were encouraged to make the quilt so that it would have significance to them.
Each one was different. A lot went into the making of each quilt. It brought families together on a project. There was interaction with each other."
While the event took place last April, Kennedy noted that these families continue to cooperate and come together in ways they didn't before. "We hope to do the same thing at a community level," he said. "We want to have someone come in and teach us how to make the quilts from scratch. We already have a heavy industrial sewing machine."
This year, Benson-Umpherville gave the quilt tops to a group of her older students, who are sewing them for elders in the Cross Lake community.
"They will each choose an elder in the community to give it to:' she explained by phone from Cross Lake. "They are not to give it to someone in their family, but will present it to someone they feel is deserving."
Braun said that, while it is hard work and takes time to put the quilt tops together, she plans to continue making them as long as they are meeting needs along the way to their final destination.
Originally published in Canadian Mennonite, January 2009.
www.Christianity.ca
Submitted by Miranda Bestman
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Sign the petition for an independent investigation into Bush's War on Terror
Dear friends,
Let's find out the truth! Sign the petition for an independent investigation into Bush's War on Terror.
Sign the petition here
This week, the US Senate is taking its tentative first steps towards establishing an independent commission into Bush’s War on Terror -- an open investigation into torture, detention, wiretapping and illegal transfers to secret prisons across the globe. This is a major development, but as expected there are very nervous and powerful interests who want to bury it.
A Commission of Inquiry is essential to unravel the full extent of eight years of cover-ups, to hold those responsible to account and to prevent such injustice from happening again. It would send a powerful message that the US wants to repair the damage done to human rights by the Bush years, while strengthening the fight against terrorism.
But without a massive global and US show of support, champion US Senators may not rally the numbers needed to have this commission established. Sign the petition -- which will be presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee before they make their decision this week -- and help get an inquiry with real teeth over the line:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror
After 8 damaging years, this campaign for justice has a lot to unearth. The hearing this week will begin a process throughout 2009, and as this petition grows, our voices will be submitted to decision makers at every opportunity. But it all starts with a thorough and unflinching Commission of Inquiry - not just to end impunity, but to make sure that the abductions, deaths and disappearances of Guantanamo are never repeated.
Worryingly, the so-called War on Terror is not yet over. Last week the Obama’s Department of Justice argued, as they had under Bush, that detainees at the US facility in Bagram, Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their detention. Conversely, in a major turnaround it was separately announced that the only remaining ‘enemy combatant’ on US soil is finally to be tried by a US civilian court.
These conflicting decisions reveal an Administration still making up its mind. Now is the time to draw a line in the sand with a bi-partisan Commission that puts the past behind us and empowers an Administration committed to human rights, definitively rejecting torture, refusing to arbitrarily detain and championing the rule of law in its fight against terrorism and in all its global dealings.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_war_on_terror
As long as the wrongdoing of the Bush years is kept secret and those practices unaccounted for or allowed to continue, mistrust and violence between nations will flourish. Let's plant a seed of hope, understanding a shared commitment by reading this dark page in history before we turn it.
With hope,
Brett, Alice, Pascal, Ricken, Paula, Ben, Graziela, Luis, Paul, Iain, Milena, Veronique - and the entire Avaaz team
More information on the Commission of Inquiry:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-25-voa58.cfm
What Amnesty says about a Commission: Investigation, prosecution, remedy http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/151/2008/en
Some options for the Administration
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/weekinreview/22shane.html
More about the Senate Judiciary Committee http://judiciary.senate.gov/
Submitted by Miranda Bestman
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HIV-AIDS Awareness Art Auction
7pm March 7, 2009 @ The King's University College Atrium
Raising awareness of the largest humanitarian crisis our world faces today: HIV-AIDS
Join us for an evening of poetry readings, music and a decadent fair-trade chocolate fondue. There will also be an informative presentation.
Come out and support a good cause. For more info contact Jordyn Brandsma jordyn.brandsma@gmail.com
Submitted by Miranda Bestman
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2009 Harmony Brunch Poster
Submitted by Helen Rusich
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International Women's Day March 17 2009
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Latin Elements 2009
Submitted by Ariela Cerna
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SEEMAP Café
Submitted by Helen Rusich
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NAARR Campaign Booklet 2009
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Speaking Truth Poster
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Millwoods Family Resource Centre Society - Spring 2009 PROGRAMS
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
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Human Trafficking Awareness Workshop
Submitted by Rispah Tremblay
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Rekindling Christian Imagination with David Smith
Submitted by Jim Gurnett
