Teachers at Their Best

Teachers at Their Best - Enseignants sous leur meilleur jour was launched in Toronto in October at the fabulous bilingual campus of Glendon College.  The evening was lovely, the gardens were superb and the gallery was inviting, as we ate, listened to classic French songs, spoke about the challenges we face in education, and raised a glass to the decent teachers we have all had.

Le livre met en valeur les défis du pluralisme auxquels nos enseignants font face aujourd’hui. Enseignants sous leur meilleur jour relate leurs petites victoires du quotidien. Lorsque les défis du pluralisme sont abordés avec ouverture et compassion, ces petites victoires deviennent source d’inspiration. En parcourant les pages de ce livre, on bénéficiera d’un éclairage pragmatique sur les défis du XXIème siècle.

To order the book, please go to www.ginavalle.com  

The next stop is Montreal. See you there.

Hindi, Farsi, Mandarin

Those are the languages in which the documentary The Last Rite is now available. As we enter a new Fall season, watch for the documentary being aired on television in Hindi, Farsi and Mandarin. This is diversity at its best, I say - a Hindu family sitting in their living room in Canada, learning about Muslim rites in their own language. This is the power of multiculturalism. Learning from one another, and growing more confident as a nation while doing it.

March - International Women's Month 2012

A challenge of our times is how to engage people in critical discussions when the world is moving soooo fast. During the month of March, many women & men around the globe take stalk of the gains women have made in the personal and professional sphere.  Over the course of the month, it is with great pleasure that I have engaged young women at Loretto College (www.tcdsb.org/schools/LorettoCollege.asp), professional women at L'Association des femmes d'affaires francophones de Toronto (http://www.afafcanada.com/) and ethnocultural communities at the Intercultural Dialogue Institute (http://www.interculturaldialog.com/), all in the hopes of breaking down barriers and having frank discussions.  I wish International Women's celebration could last longer than a month!  Full details of each event are outlined on the websites listed above.

June 27 - Multicultural Day in Canada

June 27 is recognized as Multicultural Day in Canada. But that is not all.  In 2011, we will be celebrating forty years of multiculturalism in Canada. Alot has happened in forty years.

On June 27, Multicultural Day, I will be sharing some insights with Ontario government employees at the Ministry of Economic Trade and Development (EDT) regarding the essence of the 1971 Multicultural Policy; why, as a nation, we needed to move from biculturalism to multiculturalism; the significant milestones to show for the relative success of multiculturalism, and what we can expect in the next forty years.

July 1st is around the corner. On that festive day of celebrations, most of us will raise a glass to this fabulous country of ours, and most of us will also raise a glass to how multiculturalism defines us a nation. Right on.

International Women's Day in Sweden

In May 2010, the Canadian Embassy in Sweden opened its new premises in the heart of Stockholm, where it will continue to conduct business as usual, and showcase Canadian talent from all corners of our country.

On International Women's Day, March 8, 2011, the photo exhibit Legacies opened at the Embassy, and provided a backdrop for a seminar on the Canadian integration model, which was attended by the Swedish Minister of Integration. If anyone in that room read the insights found in Legacies, then they will have a clear idea of what integration means for new citizens in their adopted homeland.

Given that the exhibit is also in French, it will stay on in Stockholm and participate in La Francophonie events organized by the Canadian Embassy.

March 8, 2011 is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.

Stereotypes sell . . . but we're not for sale

Can you think of anything good about stereotypes? I can't.

The Italian American community has published the book Anti-Italianism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), which documents how Italians of all stripes are stereotyped in North America. My article, Stereotypes sell, but we're not for sale, is the only Canadian contribution to this collection of essays by American scholars, media, writers.

Two steps forward. One step back. For all the gains Italians have made in North America, the mobster and the gum-chompin' bimbo still manage to portray us on television screens and publicity ads. Two steps forward. One step back.

We've come a long way . . . but not far enough - yet!

The Last Rite wins 2010 CEMA Award

On November 6, The Last Rite won the 2010 Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA)(http://www.canadianethnicmedia.com/) Award in the category of best television documentary for its sensitive and thoughtful multifaith portrayal of death and dying. The Honourable Federal Minister of Labour, Lisa Raitt, was on hand to present the award to an audience of more than 250 people. Other winners at the CEMA Awards Gala were in the categories of television (news), radio, print, internet and the distingished Sierhey Khmara Ziniak Award for exemplary work in the field of multiculturalism. From the presenters to the entertainment to the winners, it was an evening in celebration of diversity.