Action for Healthy Communities, The Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, and the Edmonton Multicultural Coalition, along with support from Alberta Culture, the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues and the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations have worked together in a collaboration for the last three years on various capacity building projects provided with funding from the City of Edmonton. This last year saw them host several community dialogues to determine and discuss issues and concerns relevant to ethno-cultural community leaders as they try to engage and motivate their community members to make positive change in their various communities. Some of the issues that were discussed were how to engage youth and provide them with leadership skills and opportunities, developing better communication skills within different cultures, ways in which collaboration and partnerships can be developed, looking for ways to enhance access to resources, and many others. Also through the dialogue process, members of the ethno-cultural communities in Edmonton identified the need to have better access to mainstream agencies. Furthermore, these community members identified issues they saw in their communities and a desire to explore solutions with others.
Intended Outcomes:
- New and innovative collaborations initiated within communities, between communities, and between communities and agencies; community needs are complex and to ensure they are met in a comprehensive way, partnerships and collaborations are vital.
- To encourage networking and enhance education about available resources; there are many resources available to communities in Edmonton, but many do not know what they are and how to access them.
- To provide an opportunity for people to showcase success stories from their communities and organizations; success stories show what works, and may give community members ideas on how to develop a collaborative project and find creative ways to meet needs.
- To provide a place for groups and individuals to connect, share programs, projects and ideas and learn from each other; networking and building ties with others often provides opportunities that are unexpected, but also allows access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable.
- The development of solutions to identified issues within communities; communities come with many needs and speaking with others often helps in finding new and creative ways to potentially meet those needs.
- To come together to celebrate and enjoy a variety of cultural backgrounds through dance, drama, music, art and food; fostering a multicultural environment encourages people to work in a multicultural mindset, and celebrations bring people together in a variety of ways.
For further information contact Gemma Dunn: 780-429-4962 | ecvoprograms at ecvo.ca
