The J.E.D.I. Journey with Alka

The J.E.D.I. Journey with Alka - Blog Series

Through a series of monthly blog posts, Alka Kumar explores ideas, events, and engagements related to J.E.D.I. (Social Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). 

The posts connect to the CMCCF’s two-year initiative, the Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Project, funded by the government of Canada. 

Read all Alka's posts below:

Please note: New posts will be added monthly. Check back to stay up to date with Alka’s J.E.D.I. journey. 

In this first post, Alka explores what J.E.D.I. means to her and what you can expect from this brand new blog series.

In her February post, Alka explores a recent gathering between cultural community members and service providers. 

The March instalment of Alka Kumar’s blog series explores the substance and impact of advocacy days.

The April instalment of Alka Kumar’s blog series explores hope, equity and inclusion and the second year of the J.E.D.I project

The May instalment of Alka’s blog series explores expressing lived experience, the power of story-telling, and Asian Heritage month.

The June instalment of Alka’s blog series explores solidarity and ally-ship and the impacts of inequity and exclusion.

The September instalment of Alka’s blog series explores what this project means to us, and how we plan to proceed in year 2.

The October instalment of Alka’s blog series explores the nature of change, World Values Day and what it means to build community in dark times.

The November instalment of Alka’s blog series recalls her early days as a peace and conflict graduate, and explores challenging questions.

The December instalment of Alka’s blog series reflects on experiences in 2023, as well as dreams, plans and hopes for 2024.

The January 2024 instalment of Alka’s blog series takes stock of the world we face, the need for hope and the power of gratitude.

The February 2024 instalment of Alka’s blog celebrates a special evening in Portage la Prairie and looks back at the last two years.

The March 2024 instalment of Alka’s blog explores the J.E.D.I project, approaches to peace building, and what the future holds.

Coming soon…

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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