Celebrating 30 Year of Diversity

In 1977, there was a need in B.C. for a strong, unified, provincial voice. Today, AMSSA is that voice and so much more. It is a distinguished community leader and key resource center serving more than 80 multicultural agencies throughout our beautiful province. To date, it has continued to advance the cause of multiculturalism by developing and implementing inclusive programs like Safe Harbour, Multicultural Health Fair, and the Youth Ambassador Program.

On Thursday, September 27 it is time to take pride and celebrate AMSSA’s three decades of strengthening B.C.’s multiculturalism at the 30th Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser to be held at the Executive Hotel and Conference Centre in Burnaby. The evening will feature an “Around the World” buffet, dancing, silent auction and door prizes. Special guests will include the celebrated Margaret Gallagher from CBC British Columbia as the MC, and the University instructor, writer, poet and turntablist, Wayde Compton, as the keynote speaker.  Mark your calendars for what promises to be an enjoyable evening!

Invitations will be going out in August. If you wish to be a sponsor for the event or donate prizes for the event or donate prizes for the silent auction, please contact Inna at 604-718-2780.

Hot Off the Press… the 2008 Multifaith Calendars!

The anticipation is over; the 2008 Multifaith calendars have arrived! To order yours today, call 604-718-2780 or toll free 1-888-355-5560. You can also log online to The AMSSA Store at www.amssastore.org

Annual General Meeting – Mark Your Calendars!

It’s around that time of year again for our Annual General Meeting. This year, it will take place on Friday, September 28, 2007 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Vancouver Museum.

Safe Harbour – Building Safe, Inclusive Communities

AMSSA is thrilled to see the Safe Harbour program reach even more enthusiastic supporters across the province! Safe Harbour is building a network of businesses, banks, schools, non-profit agencies, and city halls who commit their workplaces to providing equitable treatment for all, offering a temporary safe refuge for people experiencing harassment, and preparing every employee to understand and actively welcome diversity as well as assist those facing discrimination if needed. Safe Harbour locations publicly announce their commitment to diversity by placing our colourful Safe Harbour decal in their windows and sharing the goals of the program with their customers and clients.

Funding from The Ministry of the Attorney General, Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism, was distributed directly to our 21 hard-working Safe Harbour Community Organizers in order for them to recruit, organize and facilitate more training sessions, increase the visibility of the program through media exposure and networking, and follow up with past Safe Harbour participants. AMSSA has provided communities with brochures and postcards for outreach activities along with a redesigned Training Curriculum, Organizer's Manual, and Participant’s Workbook. The On-line Resource Sharing Forum allows Community Organizers to communicate with one another across the province, as well as stay current with events, conferences, workshops, and news items relevant to their agency. Our website, www.safeharbour.ca tells the public where to find Safe Harbour locations in their community – from TD Banks to tattoo parlours – and is continually being updated as more participants are trained and committing to the program.

AMSSA is now developing community and provincial communication plans to generate media publicity around Safe Harbour. This will raise the public’s awareness of what Safe Harbour means, facilitate the recruitment of an increasing number of Community Participants, allow AMSSA and Community Organizers to more easily collaborate with the media, corporate sponsors, community groups, and complimentary programs, and ensure the long-term visibility and effectiveness of Safe Harbour in BC.

Safe Harbour Youth Ambassador - Standing Up for Diversity

The youth component of Safe Harbour emerged from a model that the Skeena Diversity Team developed in Terrace, where they worked with staff to deliver Safe Harbour training to an interested group of youth at a senior secondary school. To expand the scope of the program provincially, AMSSA contracted Dr. Linda Hill of the Cowichan Intercultural Society to develop curricula and partnered with the Campbell River Multicultural and Immigrant Services Association to pilot the Youth Ambassador Program, with funding from the Vancouver Foundation. With further support from Canadian Heritage, Youth Ambassador is now expanding into a total of 20 Safe Harbour communities across BC.

The vision of Safe Harbour Youth Ambassador is of an inclusive province where youth, schools, and entire communities actively demonstrate their respect for all cultures, ethnicities, religions, classes, ages, abilities, genders, and sexualities. The program recognizes that cultural, racial and other forms of diversity are common targets for bullying and prejudice and focuses on ways that Youth Ambassadors, and the younger students whom they train, can address various forms of discrimination. Youth Ambassadors are enthusiastic role models for understanding and respecting diversity and creating inclusive, safe environments within their schools and communities. Look out for Youth Ambassadors in their ‘Standing Up for Diversity’ t-shirts in schools in your communities this fall!

AMSSA is currently holding regional meetings, which will take place throughout the month of June. These meetings include information sharing sessions with SaM Division staff, discussions of new services available in the immigrant settlement sector and updates on recent events. AMSSA will also be launching its new AMSSA-BCSAP information and referral website, which has been created to assist BCSAP service staff in information sharing and networking. The meetings will include a frontline service provider from each IICC agency to provide an orientation for all agencies to begin using the new website.