Indigenous food sovereignty – a way of life

What is Canada’s food policy and how does it represent Indigenous people? Food sovereignty in Canada has gained public interest as Indigenous groups reinforce their land rights and title. “Indigenous food sovereignty has become an important and distinct category in Canadian food sovereignty,” says Tonya Smith, a research graduate at the University of British Columbia…

Providing youth and women with opportunities and resources

3E Organization is hosting Together Towards Tomorrow: Shaping the Future, a hands-on seminar that aims to engage youth and women to be proactive and learn from specialists in particular professions. It will take place on May 9 at the Surrey City Centre Library. “The 3Es mean to engage, enable and empower,” says Reena Singh, 3E…

Connect with Japanese culture

Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre is offering KIZUNA: Japanese Culture in English, a program that spans from May to July with varying themes, from language to culture, for everyone to participate in. Leading the conversation of Japanese culture course at Nikkei’s cultural centre, instructor Yoriko Gillard shares what will happen during the workshops and talk…

Scandinavian fishing stories

The Scandinavian Cultural Society is organizing its annual Nordic Spirit Heritage Images Exhibit at the Scandinavian Community Centre. The exhibit will move to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston on May 5 before returning to the Scandinavian Community Centre. This year’s exhibit will focus on early Scandinavian-Canadian fishing activities in BC. “The immigrants who…

Meaningful change

Cicely Blain is an artist at heart yet she wears many hats including consultant, facilitator, writer − not least of which is as a social activist, who played a major role in 2016 Vancouver’s ‘Black Lives Matter.’ The British consultant launches a series of talks engaging Vancouverites on social change − focusing on equality, diversity…

The Ukrainian side of Canada

Libby Griffin has a story to tell about her Ukrainian heritage, and she hopes all Canadians will listen. Ukrainian settlers helped make Canada the place we know today, says Griffin, who has long been involved with Ukrainian communities in Vancouver and in her small hometown of Voland, near Peace River, Alberta. But little is known…

A celebration of Nowruz

In celebration of cultural diversity in Canada, Coquitlam Public Library will be holding a crafting event for families on Mar. 10, 2018 at the City Centre branch. The event, Persian New Year Family Craft Program, will have fun activities all while promoting cultural learning. Aiding the search for more information on Nowruz, Parsa Kiani, 4th…

Sharing food, sharing history

Later this month, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation will be hosting Heritage Week 2018, an annual series of events that honours and shares the rich history of our city. One of the upcoming events is Sunday Morning at Punjabi Market, which will be an opportunity to learn about the history of South Asians in Vancouver, take…

Black History in Vancouver

February is Black History month, giving an opportunity to discover the rich history of Black Canadians in British Columbia. According to the BC Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS), the first recorded Black person in Canada was an African who went by the name Mathieu de Coste. Coste worked as an interpreter of the Mi’kmaq language.…

Celebrating a Scottish poet

Place Des Art will be holding a celebration of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns on Jan. 27. The event will include a supper featuring Tatties and Neeps, a Cranachan Sundae, among other Scottish dishes. Host Edward Mornan will recite Burns’ Address to a Haggis which will promptly be piped in afterwards. The event also…

Gender identity in children and youth explored

How can families, schools and society in general properly support people with Gender Identity Dysphoria? This is a question that educational psychologist Dr. Wallace Wong, of Sand Story Psychology Services, has grappled with for most of his professional career. Dr. Wong will give a lecture at the Vancouver Public Library on Thursday February 1 on…

A Ukrainian New Year and its traditions

Malanka, or Old New Year, celebrates the warmth of the sun and the long days after winter. The traditional Ukrainian Orthodox New Year, celebrated this year on Jan. 13, in accordance with the Julian calendar, connects the younger generation to their cultural roots through folk dance, choirs and orchestras. Eaten at Malanka, kutya is a…

The art of building trust

Yoriko Gillard, artist and PhD student in Language and Literacy Education at UBC, will be presenting KIZUNA: Past-Present-Future (A Tribute to Japanese Canadian Community) at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre on Jan. 13. As part of the museum’s Hastings Park 1942 exhibit program, her presentation will examine stories of dispossession and incarceration of…