[KWPeace-groups] Saturday March 21 2020 at Kitchener City Hall

CROSS CULTURES crosscultures at bellnet.ca
Sat Feb 29 19:27:30 EST 2020


niemoller silence 5 x 3 5 JPEG

*open invitation*

come join us and be part of our

/*TWENTIETH*/ annual commemoration of the

*UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY*

*for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination*

*Saturday March 21 2020*

a full day public event with something for everyone
/*noon - - ->*/
at *Kitchener City Hall*

*discrimination requires dialogue and education*
*we do not limit the day to racism*
*we invite presentations that address any form of discrimination*

~ * ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~* ~

*Cory Bilyea   &   Myeengun Henry
*

*Indigenous Rights*

cory bilyea headshot

*Cory Bilyea* is a Haudenosaunee woman. Currently she is in her final 
year at Conestoga College in the Journalism program and looks forward to 
a rewarding second career as a freelance photojournalist. Cory has lived 
a life full of abuse, neglect, racism, and discrimination just for the 
colour of her skin. She has spent most of her adult life studying, 
learning and practicing Indigenous culture. Photography is her first 
love and she has spent many years photographing powwows, nature, 
weddings and family portraits

Myeengun Henry

*Myeengun Henry*is the former Chief of the Chippewas of the Thames First 
Nation and has been very fortunate to have studied Anishnabe culture 
with various elders and today he is a conductor of ceremony and 
practitioner of Aboriginal traditional medicine and the Anishnabe 
language. He has conducted many weddings, funerals, and naming and 
healing ceremonies. He is currently the Manager of Aboriginal Services 
at Conestoga College and host of Nish-Vibes an Indigenous radio program

* ~ * ~ *  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~* ~ *
feature:
*international highly acclaimed award winning
*
*s p e c i a l   n e e d s*
*theater production*
"*al hikaya rouh*"

el 7ikayah ro7 on stage 5

*proud to host this international theater production from Egypt !!*!

seven of the cast are incredibly talented special needs performers, who 
through art have flourished - honoured by many entities including the 
UN, professionals in the field from Europe and many others

* ~  * ~  *  ~  *  ~ *  ~ *  ~ * ~  * ~  *  ~  *  ~ *  ~ *  ~

*Social Justice & Anti-Racism*

*Selam Debs*

*meditation & talk*

selam debs head wrap

is the owner & director of Juici Yoga studios in Waterloo and the 
creator and founder of Selamdebs.com

‘Selam’ in Arabic & languages spoken in Ethiopia / Eritrea means PEACE

She is an Ethiopian-Canadian who was born in Amman, Jordan, grew up in 
the projects of Regent Park & Scarborough

She is a mother of a teen boy, singer, songwriter, poet, writer, 
thinker, activist, a yoga & meditation teacher - yoga & wellness 
professional, a Lululemon Ambassador, a Holistic Life Coach, Reiki Master

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

*Suzanne Berliner Weiss*

"*Holocaust to Resistance: My Journey*"
published by Fernwood in October 2019

Born to immigrant Jews in Paris in 1941 and targeted for death by the 
Nazis, Suzanne Weiss found refuge with a farm family 1943-45.
After losing her parents in the war, Suzanne was adopted by a New York 
family in 1950.
Suzanne began a life of social activism in 1958, initially as a 
supporter of women’s rights, civil liberties, and freedom for African 
Americans.
The following year she joined the socialist movement.
In the decades that followed, Suzanne Weiss worked variously as 
secretary, printer, railway worker, and in oil and chemical refineries 
and was active in railway and oil worker unions. After graduating from 
York University in 1998, Suzanne worked in gerontology until retirement.
In recent years, Suzanne has been active in Palestine, Latin American, 
and Indigenous solidarity and for climate justice.

She has spoken widely on these issues to faith communities, community 
and activist groups, and university gatherings

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

*E Grace H Ibrahima*

E Grace H Ibrahima

Grace is the author of:*/Mercy, One Life, Mercy Stories /*& /*All Will 
Be Well* - a story of grief acceptance and freedom. /Grace Ibrahima grew 
up in Trinidad, with very little formal education. As a young woman, she 
applied, and was accepted to a nursing program in England. She graduated 
from both Nursing and Midwifery school. While there, she met and married 
a man who would help her to change the course of her life. They later 
immigrated to Canada with their two sons, and she continued her nursing 
career. Years after arriving in Canada, she enrolled at McMaster 
University in the Addiction Studies program and was the recipient of the 
1998-1999 (MAPS) McMaster Part- time Student Centennial Award. She 
invested her monetary prize and partnered with the university to educate 
students from Eastern Europe about the devastating effects of addiction. 
Grace’s turbulent life’s journey was featured in the Waterloo Region 
Record, Waterloo Chronicle, Financial Post, CTV and Vision TV

  * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
*/55 minute film followed by an interactive discussion/*
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
*KADAPUL*
*Deepa Mahanati*

deepa mahanti bw

“ It is more than just a Film ..” It is a medium and the impact of 
cinema that we can ascertain positive mindsets especially towards women ..”
It deals with the real identity of women - through trials and 
tribulations- we still stand strong and powerful . It is a true 
validation to self . It is a movement of mindset - that defines beauty

Be it Puri (Odisha) or North America - the problems and the movement is 
the same ..My Grandmother - an illustrious social activist, an 
educationist, a writer (Bengali and Odiya) and a poet ..Ahem .. it does 
run through the glory of time .. Several decades later .. I find a 
striking resemblance of myself to her 😊. Does it sound familiar ?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

*panel on discrimination*

*each approaching it from a unique perspective:*

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * 
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Colleen Sargeant James headshot
*
*
*Colleen James*
will be looking at *educational reform*
*and a discussion around the current trends in intercultural education*
Colleen is passionate about helping others learn. A full-time professor 
at Conestoga College’s School of Business, she challenges her students 
to discover the leader within and that learning is a lifelong journey. 
Having more than fifteen years of experience promoting inclusive 
environments in the public, private and not for profit sectors, Colleen 
has blended her passions of education and diversity understanding to 
provide training to organizations, companies and individuals.. The 
result is the creation of meaningful discussions and necessary tools to 
help generate innovative solutions towards diversity, inclusion and 
creating a shared sense of belonging.  Colleen has completed training in 
leadership and inclusion, holds an Honors B A degree from the University 
of Toronto, is a graduate from Leadership Waterloo Region and is 
currently completing her Master of Education in Educational Leadership 
and Policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). 
Colleen is engaged in her community, and sits on a number of committees 
and collaborative projects.

*Narine Dat Sookram*

*IMG_9640*

    will be speaking about *discrimination in employment and the
    workplace *a diversity & inclusion activist who is with the Ontario
    College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers and currently
    works as a Job Developer where he has helps job seekers find
    meaningful work. The Community Champion was named one of RBC’s Top
    25 Canadian Immigrants in 2013 and the Waterloo Region Record’s Top
    40 under 40 in 2010. He is the founder of the Caribbean Dreams
    Concert, the Caribbean Spice and “Let’s Chit Chat with Narine Dat”
    radio shows and the co-founder Roytter, a social media application


*Shiv D Talwar*
The Author

"*discrimination kills slowly but surely*"

Shiv D Talwar was born in 1937 in pre-partition India. Life took him to 
greener pastures in the United States, Britain and Canada, where he 
received a PhD in Civil Engineering in 1973 from the University of 
Waterloo. Shiv moved to Waterloo, ON in 1966 with his wife and two 
children and stayed put. He retired early (1996) from teaching Civil 
Engineering at Conestoga College in Kitchener, ON to dedicate his life 
to the cause of education to cultivate unity in diversity. Towards this 
end he organized the Spiritual Heritage Education Network Inc. (SHEN, 
est. 2000, http://spiritualeducation.org). The change in the direction 
of Shiv's life was propelled by his calamitous experience of identity 
tribalism on religious grounds during the partition of India in 1947

*Marinus deGroot*

**marinus deGroot -cropped**
*
*
*The greatest danger is a Gog vs. Magog style bifurcation*

talks about causes and commitments. It was through happenstance, not 
conscious choice, that he became involved with arts, culture and 
heritage with a local / regional focus. This is part of the reason why 
his bias is towards a personal, biographical approach, as opposed to 
rational "prioritization". But with a growing sense of urgency arising 
on so many fronts, especially what is called the “climate emergency”, 
one is drawn towards re-examining long-held interests and preferences. 
Marinus is going to propose that convergence, rather than increased 
specialization, holds the most promise

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
*Bethany Pearce*
supervisor - Older Adult Neighbourhood Programs & Services
City of Kitchener
*Social Isolation of Seniors*
an interactive discussion to address barriers which include:
* transportation * affordability and accessibility * access to information
* language & cultural differences
chosen isolation -psychological, physiological, circumstantial
(mental health issues)
*in the Conestoga room to encourage more private conversations*

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Roberto Angelis
*Roberto Angelis Lyra*
author, artist, activist
presents:
“*Re: Le-gîon & The Other Side of Suicide*” /aka/
“*The Black Book!*”

a cult survivor become warrior, he's written a sensational 
autobiography, and will be sharing part of his journey

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

IMG_3596 mohamed el hadary
*Mohamed el Hadary
*
*comedy monologue*

program host for Arabs FM,

LINC instructor
former TV host & editor in chief
(Egypt and Gulf region)

*&*

will be joined

for a
*hand puppet show (aragoz)*

by

*Kholoud al Khalidy*

kholoud




  * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
*Trevor Ryland*
will be displaying some of his beautiful and colourful paintings

trevor ryland 1


trevor ryland 3


trevor ryland 2



trevor ryland 5


* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

*Lee deSilva*
*singer / performer*

*IMG_1603*
*
*
Lee was born in a small island called *SriLanka*, formerly known as 
Ceylon. He started his music career when he was in his teens. His first 
major event was the Observer Talent Contest, which he came the runner 
up. Then he joined with one of his good friends, Mr Sunil Perera, with a 
two piece band and performed in some social events, then he was a 
vocalist for “Melowdy Makers”. Lee performed with Mr.Sunil Perera and 
the Gypsies for some events during his time. After 50 years in the music 
field “Gypsies: are still one of the top bands in SriLanka.
After playing rugby for one of the top clubs, Lee had a bad leg injury 
after which both of his legs were not usable for a few months. He had to 
give up his music career as well as the rugby. That is when Lee decided 
to leave SriLanka, and with $5 in his hand he moved to Belgium, not 
speaking Flemish, he did odd jobs till his visa expired. He next went to 
Paris, France where he also did not speak or understand the language, 
but did odd jobs again while studying French, and singing for the 
Americans and other social events. A couple of years later he came to 
Ontario, Canada. He sang for the Middleson Choir in Toronto, and with 
the help of one Mr Nihal Fonseka, a Tenor at the Toronto Opera Company 
who had also sung in the UK and USA, Lee had the opportunity to take 
part in a few operas as a back up performer. Lee also took part in 
“*/Canada Got Talent/*” in Toronto. He was finally discovered by one Mr 
NarineDat Sookram who invited him to the Caribbean Dreams Concert, where 
he returns to perform for several years now. Lee is an award winner at 
the “*/Peabo Awards 2019/* as the Veteran Multicultural Singer / 
Performer. Lee’s repertoire is a mix of sons from the 1970s, soft 
ballads, country, soft rock, reggae and semi classics, and has three of 
his songs from the Caribbean Dreams concert on YouTube


*/and so much more . . . /*/*stay tuned*/
*business sponsors and booths and welcome
*

participation is always welcome
* panelist (theme discrimination) addressing it from different aspects
* speaker on specific topic
* cultural, ethic, artistic presentation, visual art show, music, 
instrument, group dance during the evening's Peace Concert
* showcase your talent, skill ... culture
* promote your organization / business / ....  have an information table

there is also an opportunity to sponsor in the printed program

*~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *~ *

please contact me

Gehan
crosscultures at bellnet.ca
founder, editor, publisher
http://www.crosscultures.ca/2020/01/20/2020-un-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination/


Cross Cultures
*magazine* - promoting mutual respect - since 1991
as well as a
*radio shows* - by the same name on CKWR 98 5 FM
the local community radio station that has celebrated 46 years on the air !



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