On September 6, the Honourable Member of Parliament Harjit Sajjan announced $3.5 million of funding from the Government of Canada to 45 organizations in British Columbia. This funding will support multiculturalism, anti-racism initiatives and youth programs, including $84,900 for MOSAIC’s new Social & Civic Engagement for Newcomers’ project (SCENE).
This new community capacity building project will help newcomers to Canada overcome existing barriers to civic and community engagement through training and mentorship activities.
“Our government is committed to promoting multiculturalism and celebrating the unique cultural diversity of British Columbia by investing in these important anti-racism projects. It is through increasing the understanding of British Columbia’s diverse communities and their contributions in building our province and country that we can fight intolerance and discrimination. This funding will benefit many organizations, supporting them in the important work they carry out across the province building a more accepting British Columbia,” said Sajjan (view full list of projects funded).
Project participants recruited from local immigrant-serving organizations will be trained in a series of workshops focused on board fundamentals, intercultural diversity and inclusion, dynamics of power and oppression, and building strong partnerships. Upon completion of the training, participants will be given the opportunity to be matched with non-profit organizations looking to fill vacancies in volunteer pools or boards of directors.
MOSAIC’s CEO Olga Stachova stated: “We are very excited for today’s announcement. Our SCENE project will help newcomers who want to give back and be involved within our communities. Thanks to the Government of Canada’s support, we will be able to increase the diversity of voices being heard, and increase participation in decision-making processes.”
These placements will help create strong partnerships between diverse communities, increase civic participation and representation on the boards of local non-profits, increase the capacity of receiving non-profit organizations to attract and retain diverse volunteers and board members, and provide valuable experience to newcomers. The project will conclude with a conference that will bring together representatives from the non-profit community in the Lower Mainland to explore innovative strategies to diversify civic and community-based leadership.
For more information, please visit mosaicbc.org/scene.
