MOSAIC has joined the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network, a provincial government initiative that aims to tackle racism and hate in British Columbia.
Thanks to funding from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, MOSAIC will facilitate anti-racism and anti-hate initiatives in Surrey and White Rock, as part of the provincial government’s Resilience BC program.
“MOSAIC has been active in anti-racism for decades, and we thank the Province of BC for continuing to put their trust in us as a leader in this area,” said MOSAIC CEO Olga Stachova. “We look forward to working with the community and our partners in this initiative.”
Building on the organization’s long history around anti-racism and anti-hate efforts in the Lower Mainland, the MOSAIC Resilience BC team has begun preliminary planning and outreach, and has been meeting with community stakeholders in the area.
Nova Chamberlin, who will be MOSAIC’s lead in overseeing the work in Surrey and White Rock, noted the importance of the formation of Resilience BC as an important step towards addressing racism and hate in a more coordinated and focused way at both a provincial and community level.
“The MOSAIC team looks forward to leveraging strong community ties and experience with anti-racism, inclusion and equality work to contribute to the Resilience BC Network and the Surrey and White Rock community,” she said.
The Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network was formed by the provincial government following broad community consultation, and replaces the previous Organizing Against Racism and Hate (OARH) Network, for which MOSAIC served as the OARH lead in Surrey.
Resilience BC delivers coordinated services through a “Hub and Spoke” model. This model involves a centralized “Hub” that anchors the program and provides oversight, while “Spokes” are the 34 community-based branches that facilitate service delivery in more than 40 communities throughout the province.
The Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society is the Hub, while MOSAIC is the Surrey and White Rock Spoke, acting as a leader and convener for the community.
As the Surrey and White Rock Spoke, MOSAIC is responsible for:
- Convening and coordinating an active local network comprised of relevant stakeholders (community service providers, municipal government, school districts, faith groups, law enforcement authorities), Indigenous partners, members from marginalized and impacted communities, and local experts and advocates in anti-hate work.
- Mobilizing a community response to incidents of racism and hate – this includes developing and maintaining a response protocol, collaboratively developed with network members, to respond to alleged hate crimes and hate incidences.
- Developing unique community programs such as workshops, trainings, or awareness events to address local racism and hate activity in collaboration with the hub.
To find out more information about Resilience BC, click here.
