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To most, feng shui sounds like a great idea, but difficult to learn. Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement to create balance in a living space, no matter its size. Amidst chaotic city life, taking time to make life outside of work appealing to the senses can seem a little unattainable without…
As International Women’s Day is being celebrated, and there have been many advances made for women’s rights in the past decade, there is still a lot of work to be done, say three influential women leaders. Fariba Pacheleh, Jaswant Johal and Maggie Ip came to Canada looking for a better life and to experience more…
Pushing outside the usual boundaries to find true creativity inspires Kim Sato and the street dance collective, Project Soul, as they showcase excerpts from Into the Tao at the 16th annual Vancouver International Dance Festival. The dance festival takes place Feb. 28–Mar. 19 at various venues. Project Soul aims to inspire as many souls as…
For some, strong family ties help navigate multi-ethnic cultural identities through thick and thin. As David Ng of Love Intersections, a multicultural film project that talks about language, love and diverse communities, and local poet Renée Saklikar explain, family is at the heart of their stories about unique upbringings and the change they’d like to…
Our lifestyle gives us a sense of belonging; it gives us our identity which is vital for our well-being and happiness. When newcomers arrive in Canada, they have to rebuild their friendships and connections to help them feel welcome. Queenie Choo is the chief executive officer at S.U.C.C.E.S.S., a multi-service agency assisting immigrants and Canadians.…
The 68th UN General Assembly recently coined 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP) with the goal of increasing public awareness regarding food security and nutrition. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this project was created to promote global production and make better use of crop rotations, as…
This year was a prolific year for creativity, invention and innovation. From escape room games and 3D printers to youth initiatives and philanthropic endeavours, artists, inventors and entrepreneurs, newcomers and native Vancouverites alike, have capitalized on the remarkable opportunities available. In turn, they have given back to the community they now call home. Many of…
“Canada is like a beautiful painting made up of different colours,” says Farid Rohani, a life member of the Laurier Institution in Vancouver. Tolerance, inclusiveness and openness are just a few examples of the values that always distinguished Canadian society in the world. But with immigration policy changes under the last government, giving more importance…
As for any culture, creating a new reality from a more traditional, and sometimes stereotyped, community brings challenges and opportunities. Three Muslim Canadians, Khalil Jessa, Taslim Jaffer and Özlem Sensoy, are finding creative ways to express the complexity of their identites. Khalil Jessa, founder of Salaam Swipe, wants people to meet. A native of South…
For the past 27 years, the British Columbia Writers Festival has been bringing people together through the love of reading. This year, more than 100 authors, poets, spoken word performers and graphic novelists will gather to share their stories at this 28th annual event, which takes place Oct. 20–25 on Granville Island. Two authors share…
Vancouver is home to people from all over the world, but international workers and students often stay only temporarily and are not eligible to participate in political decision-making. SFU Masters student Alexander Beyer and temporary work permit holders Eduard Barcélon, Yulia Hadi and Kirstin Kreuder open up about their approaches to politics in Canada and…
In some parts of the world, 10-year-old girls are being married off. In other parts, during times of political instability, musical, cultural and historical elements are brought together as a way of storytelling. I am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced and The Dream of Shahrazad are two films screening at this year’s Vancouver International Film…
According to Elections Canada statistics, while visible minorities remain underrepresented among electoral candidates, minorities have expanded their presence among the ranks of candidates and MPs in recent elections. In the 2011 federal election, 28 visible minority MPs were elected (9.1 per cent of all MPs) up from 2008, when 21 visible minority MPs were elected…
