You Can Change A Life In 67 Minutes

July 18, 2023 admin
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Community Writers Project

Honouring the legacy of Nelson Mandela

In 1994 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was released from prison. I was young, but I remember the excitement and celebration that reverberated around the globe. It felt like time stood still as the warmth of hope and unity flowed across the country and the region.

Mandela was not perfect, by any means, but his commitment to advocating for justice, equity and peace was unparalleled. Madiba, as he was affectionately nicknamed, worked tirelessly in the service of others, and became a visionary champion and great humanitarian. His most impactful legacy was built on his choice to forgive those who had tortured and imprisoned him for over twenty-seven years and becoming the first democratically elected black president of South Africa.

Over the years Mandela fought against the effects of poverty in local and international communities, brought awareness to HIV/AIDS, worked alongside women towards women’s empowerment and passionately took up the cause of children’s education.

When he was elected president of South Africa, Mandela, led with compassion and grace, a feat worthy of respect, at a time when he could have chosen to focus on how he was discriminated against. There are many quotes from Nelson Mandela used today.

To commemorate his life and dedication to healing communities and building relationships among diverse cultural communities, CMCCF is continuing its mission founded in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion focused on the future of cultural communities.

We ask you to reflect on what you can do to bring diverse peoples together. Madiba may be gone, but his legacy can live on in our actions. Honour his 67 years of public service by spending 67 minutes focusing on the goal that was so dear to him: Equity For All.

Perhaps you spend 67 minutes all at once on a project, or perhaps you break it up into multiple pieces. However you do it, the intention is to make a positive difference in someone’s life.

Here are a couple things you can do:

  • Learn from someone of a different culture/background and reflect on the positive values they possess.
  • Volunteer with organizations that support diverse cultural communities.
  • Work to end the stigmas that marginalized people face by becoming a positive ally.
  • Welcome new neighbours into your community.
  • Engage in and promote events that help to build healthy relationships and families.

Together we can change someone’s life. What is your commitment today?

This article was written by community writer Tsungai Muvingi as part of our J.E.D.I. Initiative – Community Writers Project. All thoughts and opinions expressed are Tsungai’s own. You can learn more about Tsungai on our team page here. 

To learn more about our Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Project, go to our J.E.D.I. Initiative landing page here.

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Community Writers Project
Community Writers Project

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A Message to Our Community

After years of dedicated leadership, our Director Martin will be stepping down as CMCCF enters an exciting new chapter. We are deeply grateful for everything he has brought to the Coalition of Manitoba Cultural Communities for Families, and we look forward to what lies ahead together.

As we navigate this transition, we welcome your questions, thoughts, and support. For any inquiries, please reach out to Florence at floxy166@yahoo.ca — she will be happy to hear from you.

Thank you for being part of our community.

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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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