About the Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Project
The Intercultural and Intergenerational Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Project is a two-year federally funded initiative (July 2022 through March 2024) designed to help members from various cultural communities in Manitoba have their voices be heard through engagements, events, and storytelling that are socially, culturally, and psychologically safe.
These community engagements are designed to give community members the opportunity to influence change, and connect with other community members and policy makers to help address issues related to social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (J.E.D.I.).
One of the hoped-for goals of this initiative is to not only influence change in service delivery systems but to develop further capacity in communities through the expansion of skills, knowledge transfer and opportunities to co-create new approaches to community services and support. In addressing J.E.D.I. challenges, we strive to also increase diversity and inclusion as we reduce racism and discrimination, leading to strengthening community well-being.
The Rationale and Focus for Our Project
The project has been designed by the CMCCF in collaboration with community members with a Reference Group established to guide the ongoing process. The ongoing design, development and implementation of the project will be continual, adaptable, and repetitive. Every engagement will provide an opportunity for realignment of future activities and outcomes.
Our activities will take place in Winnipeg, the surrounding regional area, and rurally as well. Community engagements are planned to take place throughout the duration of the project.
In addition to the evidence that cultural communities continue to face racism, discrimination, and barriers to inclusion across Canada, the CMCCF has heard repeatedly over the years from cultural community members that racism, discrimination, hate and lack of opportunity continue to negatively impact their lives as well as the lives of their family members. Due to the systemic racism and discrimination that some members of our communities face the project has been designed to lessen the burden. It is important that the “lived experience” of our community members is validated, heard, and understood as important to changing the dynamic of how racism, discrimination and hate take form.
The project is needed in our communities because it will create more trust and group cohesion in developing effective plans to address these challenges, by and for communities. The CMCCF will take a relational approach where we will use our networks to systemically build an ever-expanding circle of participation, support, and relationships of trust. This project will provide a voice to the community in conversation with service providers, policymakers, media, and the broad community related to the importance of diversity and inclusion.
The project will provide opportunities for communities to expand on their skills, transfer knowledge and learn to address community challenges with the possibility for increasing diversity and inclusion. Different communities will develop tools to collaborate together interculturally and intergenerationally. Our organization’s expertise in community engagement and facilitation will be utilized in this project by applying conversation and storytelling as a means and method for community and member transformation.
The CMCCF also believes that by increasing meaningful youth involvement within this project, as an intergenerational and intercultural process, the voices and actions proposed by youth will be taken seriously.
Overall, the expected goals of this project are to increase awareness of discrimination and racism from many cultural communities’ perspectives and by influencing the opinions and understandings of diverse service providers, policymakers, media and the broader community, action can be taken to effect positive change.
CMCCF’s First Principle which Guides this Project
In all of the work that CMCCF undertakes this First Principle serves to guide all that we do:
We believe that cultural communities which are impacted by public policy and practices must have their voices heard, in their creation and application within the communities.
Often many of our cultural communities have experienced their voices not being heard, not respected, and in fact, being marginalized, and disrespected.
As well, people and their communities face a lack of cultural and psychological safety in their engagement with human service systems creating public policies. In that regard, CMCCF’s responsibility is to bring forward this community agenda to create safe spaces for open dialogue.
In Summary
Our objectives:
- Support communities in confronting racism and discrimination, promoting intercultural and interfaith understanding and fostering equitable opportunities to participate fully in Canadian society.
- Promote and engage in discussions on multiculturalism, diversity, racism and religious discrimination at the domestic and/or international levels.
Our expected results include:
- Increase awareness of Canada’s cultural diversity.
- Increase awareness of issues affecting full participation in society and the economy, related to culture, ethnicity and/or religion.
- Increase capacity within communities to address racism and discrimination.
- Influence change within service delivery systems and within government policies.
We will be creating awareness of Canada’s cultural diversity by providing opportunities for intercultural and intergenerational aspects of cultural communities to work together towards a common goal of decreasing racism and discrimination by seeking common ground and acting together.
By designing, creating, and convening community conversations we will be developing opportunities for community voices to be heard and understood related to how they bring their awareness of how of Canada’s cultural diversity and their awareness of issues affecting full participation in society to the broader community.
By doing this our communities will be strengthening their current capacity to address and act together regarding racism and discrimination that they might face every day. The actions that are undertaken within this project will also serve to strengthen well-being for individual cultural community members, for families, and especially at the broader cultural community level.
View or download our Planning Framework and Vision document:
