Winnipeg organization hosting virtual celebration in honour of Multiculturalism Day

The Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba (ECCM) is hosting a virtual celebration Sunday evening in honour of Multiculturalism Day in Canada.

The event will be livestreamed on the organization’s Facebook page between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and features a list of keynote speakers, guests from different levels of government, and singing and dance performances.

“This is something that fits a lot with the work that we do at the Ethnocultural Council of Manitoba — that is to bring people together to learn from one another, hear one another’s culture, and to celebrate Canadian values that unite us, that bring us together, (and) to support one another,” says Reuben Garang, an organizer with ECCM.

“We identify people from different communities, people with different experience, to talk about what multiculturalism means for them and for the communities that they work for or work with.”

This year’s theme is Safety, Equity and Humanity.

Speakers include Jim Derksen, an advisor for Vulnerable Persons and End of Life New Emerging Team, speaker and community activist Michael Redhead Champagne, and Abdikheir Ahmed, the executive director of Aurora Family Therapy Centre.

“We live in a very diverse community, and we want to see people are represented in life, in places of work, in places of decision-making, that’s a very important aspect in terms of the work that the Ethnocultural Council do,” Garang says.

“More importantly, we’re learning from one another, we are removing the barriers that keep people apart and bring people together.”

This is the organization’s second annual celebration. The first was held last year at Assiniboine Park, although attendance was capped due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“One thing I would like to say to people is that we have to live diversity,” Garang says.

“In terms of policies, in terms of our actions, in terms of how we treat one another, in terms of how we interact, and the council provides that forum for people to come and learn, and to appreciate one another, and to act on things that uplift all of us as a society.”