Invitation to the Launch of our two-year community engagement project.

October 4, 2022 admin
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Events

Time and Date: Wednesday October 19, 7-9pm CDT

Cost: FREE

Place: Online

Registration Now Closed

About this Event

The Coalition of Manitoba Cultural Communities for Families Inc. invites you to the formal launch of our two-year initiative financially supported by Canadian Heritage.

The upcoming event on Oct 19, 2022 from 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. is being held to officially launch the Coalition of Manitoba Cultural Communities for Families’ Canadian Heritage funded project, `Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement.’

It is an opportunity to share our vision and the objectives (in relation to this initiative), with our communities, partners, diverse service providers, policymakers and funders.

Please note that our Annual General (AGM) Meeting will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on the same ZOOM link, and then from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. will be this formal launch of our new initiative. You are welcome to join us for our AGM.

CMCCF's `'Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement.’

The objectives we would like to achieve through this project: addressing racism and discrimination in the community setting, with the key purpose of improving/enhancing the well-being of families and communities, including systems, so that inclusion, diversity, and equity outcomes in the community settings can be more sustainable and social justice for all can be achieved. This launch, in addition to providing brief highlights of our implementation plan going forward, will also seek the input and the expertise of our partners and collaborators, many of whom are members and interest groups from a range of cultural communities, and service providers.

We would like to situate the panel discussion by looking at contexts and issues relevant to Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) from cultural community perspectives.

JEDI both internally- to examine relationships within and among different cultural communities; and externally- in relation to community interactions with external stakeholders such as, service providers, and community and government organizations, etc.

Based on the lived and living experience of our panel members, and the change-making work they do in the community, how do they imagine the changes in the community if J.E.D.I. opportunities and challenges are addressed? What would these outcomes be, and how would your community change as a result? What successes are they proud of and wish to build on?

What actions would need to be taken, and any measures that they can propose that might help community members and leaders to actively engage with this J.E.D.I. process, and build their capacities so they may lead others yet to be developed initiatives or contribute to them?

Join us as we engage in a lively dialogue with our panelists who are passionate about social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Come and share your thoughts and ideas as we launch this new project!

Our Panel Members

Louise Simbandumwe is Co-Director at SEED Winnipeg and a grassroots community activist. A former refugee, Louise is passionate about human rights and social justice.

Her volunteer commitments include, the Immigration Partnership Winnipeg Council, the Immigration Matters in Canada Coalition and the Police Accountability Coalition. She also served on the advisory committee for Manitoba’s poverty reduction strategy and the Ministerial advisory committee for Canada’s first poverty reduction strategy. Louise has a Bachelor’s in Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan and a Masters in Comparative Social Research from Oxford University.

She has developed and taught innovative courses on financial empowerment, community economic development, and human rights advocacy at the University of Winnipeg.

Sanjam Panag is a first-generation Punjabi settler living on Treaty 1 territory. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg in 2021 with a BA in Conflict Resolution Studies and Political Science.

Sanjam is dedicated to advocating for conditions that foster inclusivity and equity and forging transformative solutions to multi-dimensional conflicts.

A co-founder of the Collective of Voices, Sanjam is actively involved in the community on topics of reconciliation and allyship. She also has experience working in political settings, having worked at a Senator’s office, Ministers’ Regional Offices, and the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

Hoping to pursue a career in law, Sanjam is currently a Senior Research Assistant for the University of Winnipeg and completing the law school admissions process.

Yuly Vanessa Johnson is the Research and Data Coordinator at Manitoba Association for Newcomer Serving Organizations (MANSO). Yuly holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Booth University.

As a former refugee, she places refugees and their lived experiences at the centre of her advocacy work, she continues to push policy, program development, service delivery, and decision-making processes to ensure refugees can actively participate and influence the outcome of their hopes and aspirations.

Therefore, Yuly believes strongly in the power of justice, equality, advocacy, and empowerment.

Yuly has volunteered in several non-profit organizations in the settlement sector with immigrants and refugees in Winnipeg. In addition to that, Yuly has led different projects, such as women empowerment groups, ethnocultural dance groups, and English conversation clubs, in both Winnipeg – Canada, and back home, Buenaventura – Colombia

Ismael Ibrahim Mukhtar has been one of the key leaders of the Manitoba Muslim community for over three decades. His extensive and wide-ranging community contributions include serving as president of the Manitoba Islamic Association, vice-president of the Muslim Student Association, editor-in-chief of the Manitoba Muslim Magazine, volunteer imam, and counsellor.

Find Out More:

To learn more about our Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Project, go to our J.E.D.I. Initiative landing page here. To get involved with this or any of our other projects, activities and initiatives, fill out our contact form here or email us at hello@cmccfamilies.ca

This project is funded by:

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Purpose

The Purpose of These Peace-First: CollaborationNet Pages These pages exist to share what we have learned. Over the past year, Peace-First: CollaborationNet has operated as a time-limited demonstration initiative, which is a space to test ideas, host conversations, and discover what might grow when peace is placed at the center. Conversations took root in informal Peace-First Hubs across Winnipeg, Thompson, Brandon, and Portage la Prairie, with related gatherings in Vancouver and Toronto. Toronto now helps convene national roundtable conversations, linking local dialogue with a broader Canadian exchange. What began as small, local discussions has become more connected — not through expansion or centralization, but through coherence. Across regions, shared themes, tensions, and hopes are emerging. This webpage documents that journey. It gathers reflections, materials, and learning from Hub conversations so others can understand what has been explored and carry it forward. From the beginning, Peace-First was designed as a seed-planting initiative, formally concluding March 31, 2026. Its focus has been to explore how individuals and cultural communities understand inner peace, collective vision, community cohesion, and cultural dignity and visibility. The Hubs are volunteer-led spaces where community connectors and members gather to listen, reflect, and imagine what a peaceful geographic and cultural community might look like in practice. Along the way, we developed background papers, reflection documents, and practical toolkits shaped by lived experience in Manitoba and beyond. This page now serves as a living repository within the Peace-First Library, offering capacity-building tools, framing papers, hub guidance, and shared learning that communities can adapt to their own realities. The purpose is not to centralize authority, but to make learning accessible. Peace-First Hubs are community-led and partner-supported — grounded in relationship, not hierarchy. Supported by ACOMI, ECCM, Palaver Hut, MIA, cultural community members across the country, and allies such as MANSO, Mediation Services, CanU Canada, and PCHS, this work moves through partnership rather than control. This initiative has been made possible through the principal financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, with a supportive role played by The Winnipeg Foundation. Their investment has allowed these conversations, materials, and connections to take shape. These materials are not instructions to replicate. They are tools to adapt. This page is more than documentation. It is an invitation. Peace-First is not about imposing a uniform model. It is about strengthening conditions for dialogue, cohesion, and shared responsibility before a crisis. If this resonates, we invite you to explore further, join a national roundtable call, or consider what it would mean to host or support a conversation in your own community. Join a national roundtable call. Complete the survey. The seeds have been planted. What grows next depends on all of us.

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