Panel Series: Dive into the Heart of Diversity

March 6, 2023 admin

An Exploration of Canadian Census Data by exploring Canada’s Diversity Statistics, and The Vanier Institute of the Family’s Diversity Framework and Cultural Community Lived Experiences

Register for our dynamic two-part panel series exploring the recent 2021 Canadian census data and hear from cultural community members about their lived experiences.

You can register for our second panel event even if you didn’t attend the first event. Scroll down for full details of our second event.

Panel Event #1: Monday March 6, 2023

6:30 – 8:30 P.M. (C.S.T.) on Zoom

This first in a series of panel discussions on Canadian diversity will serve to set the context for an ongoing dialogue for cultural community members on how the ever-changing make-up of Canada impacts their lives and the lives of their families and communities.

Participants for Panel #1

Moderator: Louise Simbandumwe

Presenter: Kathryn Spence, Chief of the Census Program in Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Panel Members:

Kathleen Vyrauen
Erika Frey

Reflector: Sanjam Panag

This first event will include the Chief of the Census Program in Diversity and Sociocultural Statistics at Statistics Canada, who will focus on presenting an overview of the relevant census data (2021) that highlights the increasing diversity to be found in Canada in so many different domains.

For further information about the series, check out this document.

Panel Event #2: Tuesday, March 21, 2023

6:30 – 8:30 p.m. (C.S.T.) on Zoom

The second panel event will focus on the Vanier Institute of the Family’s Family Diversity Framework which recognizes that in the last two decades, we have seen a rapid change in Canadian families and have been living through increasing diversity of family structures.

We are excited to have Dr. Margo Hilbrecht of the Vanier Institute of the Family as one of our speakers. Her presentation will be followed by a lively panel discussion in which our cultural community panel members will share their observations and daily lived experiences with us.

Participants for Panel #2:

Brittany Mazur (they/them)

Brittany Mazur is a registered social worker from treaty 1 territory also known as Winnipeg, Manitoba. Brittany obtained their Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba. Brittany has extensive experience working in therapeutic counseling and has spent over seven years providing one-on-one counseling to individuals recovering from trauma and addiction. Brittany has personal experience living as a single parent to an only child within a multigeneration family for 11 years prior to becoming a part of a blended family in 2022. Currently, Brittany continues to parent their biological daughter and 3 stepchildren with their partner.

Adey Mohamed

Adey Mohamed is a Social Worker and PhD student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba. She has been involved as a community researcher with African youth since 2015. Currently, works at Aurora family therapy as a Newcomer Mental Health Facilitator and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority as Health Coordinator at Health Science Centre with shared Health at Lennox Bell Place.

Louise Simbandumwe

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 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.

Dr. Margo Hilbrecht

Margo Hilbrecht is the Executive Director at the Vanier Institute of the Family, a national charitable organization committed to enhancing family wellbeing by making information about families accessible and actionable. A family scholar, Margo completed her Ph.D. in Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo, where she studied time use and wellbeing of parents with non-standard work schedules. She has written and collaborated on academic articles and reports about gender differences in quality of life related to time use, leisure, work-life integration, and the social and health consequences of changing employment practices. Margo has more than 20 years’ experience in the academic and non-profit sectors, including as a Senior Research Associate with the Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing (University of Guelph), where she focused on parents’ experiences of telework and self-employment and their effect on the quality of family time. Then, as Associate Director of Research at the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (University of Waterloo), she conducted research with academic, local government and not-for-profit partners on wellbeing in diverse communities across Canada. Before joining the Vanier Institute, Margo was the Academic Director of Greo, a knowledge translation and exchange organization. She has an Adjunct appointment in the Faculty of Health, University of Waterloo.