Group 1 Report. Written by: Mitchell Desjardins, Pia Elrod, Gwen Kitiwano & Saad Ibrahem

Transcription

1 Group 1 Report Written by: Mitchell Desjardins, Pia Elrod, Gwen Kitiwano & Saad Ibrahem

2 Table of Contents I. Summary Report... 2 II. Report... 4 III. References... 6

3 Summary Report GROUP 1 MEMORANDUM To: Dr. Timothy Kaposy, Professor of Niagara College From: Gwen Kitiwano, Mitchell Desjardins, Maria Elrod & Saad Ibrahem Date: November 14, 2013 Subject: Report on multiculturalism The purpose of this report is to elaborate on the topic of multiculturalism and how it impacts communities. More specifically, St. Catharines community. Multiculturalism is defined as a community that consists of diverse cultures. It is strongly promoted in Canadian societies with the intention of creating a wholesome environment. MULTICULTURALISM Multiculturalism has always been one of Canada s strongest traits. We are known for our wide range of cultures situated within our country. Between the 1970s-1980s, the multiculturalism policy was officially adopted by the Canadian government. The federal government of Canada puts an emphasis on the social importance of immigration in order to, keep the population mindful of the various cultures that exist in the world. Multiculturalism is not only limited to those in Canada, it is encouraged throughout the world. There are an abundance of events that occur in different countries that attract people from all over the world to one location in order to celebrate together. For instance, the Carnival in Brazil, Oktoberfest in Germany, the Lantern Festival in Taiwan and many more. Multiculturalism promotes the ideology of peace. That the global population is capable of accepting and learning from their cultural differences in pursuance of a better world. GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,

4 KEY INFORMATION Multiculturalism is highly encouraged in Canada. Statistics Canada predicts that by 2031, nearly half of the Canadian population over the age of 15 will be foreign-born or at least have one foreign born parent. St. Catharines has a multicultural center located downtown in order to provide services to new immigrants. This past year at the Folk Arts festival, there were 27 open houses that displayed 27 different cultures. Folk Arts is dependent on government funding. FOLK ARTS FESTIVAL Although multiculturalism is apparent in St. Catharines, it is scarcely celebrated. Despite the fact that they do have the Folk Arts festival, it only lasts a mere two weeks out of the fifty-two that we have in a year and it is the only big multicultural celebration that takes place in the city. To clarify, the Folk Arts festival is an annual celebration with the intention of exploring and highlighting the diverse cultures that exist within the city of St. Catharines. Customarily, it occurs during the middle of May to the beginning of June but, this varies depending on the year. This year, the Folk Arts festival ran with a budget $100,000 less than the previous year which resulted in a shorter celebration at Montebello park. Rather than having their usual two day weekend celebration at the park, it had only lasted six hours. According to Burch, Multicultural Centre executive director, tens of thousands of people participated in this year s festivities. Primarily, the heart of the Folk Art s festival are the open houses which are hosted by the international communities found within St. Catharines (i.e.: Greek, Chinese, Hungarian, etc). Burch trusts that due to Folk Art s success, the celebration will continue to prosper into the future. GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,

5 Report MULTICULTURALISM IN ST.CATHARINES St. Catharines is a diverse city that has an underdeveloped downtown area. The lack of jobs and the lack of successful businesses that generate economic growth is a problem in the city core. Therefore, many young people in seek of a better life choose to leave the area. In this project, we are focusing in the Folk Arts Center as a way to promote multiculturalism in the city and make everybody feel welcome. The Folk Arts Center is a non-profit organization established in 1970, located in downtown St. Catharines. It is a multicultural centre where immigrants can get help to adapt faster to Canadian society. They celebrate multiculturalism by doing a festival once a year in which they try to represent each culture and share it with the attendants. The Folks Arts Centre has all the right ideas but they could use them in a more successful way. By fomenting tourism and culture awareness, more people will be attracted to the area and will see St. Catharines as a more modern, open minded, and welcoming city. The current issue with St Catharines is the lack of a multi-ethnic outreach program, as well the absence of sustainable tourism. St Catharines is seen as a primary white society, yet there is an abundance of immigrants that are not seen active in the community. The people of this city are currently ignoring these people, but the government has put no efforts to involve these neglected people nor have they addressed this issue. The solution to this problem is the Folk Arts center, but their resources are not being used to the fullest to serve this ongoing problem. The Folk Arts center would like to help, but with the current issue of government funding they are unable to supply a multi-ethnic outreach program that speaks to this neglected group of people. The recourse Folk Arts has to offer include: English classes, job search programs, settlement service, skills training programs and even youth services for children to teenagers. They have the programs to service to the issue, but there is a deeper level of government neglect that needs to be addressed. Many of the issues resulting in a community being ignored are closely resulted in the feeling of separation, which is an issue throughout St Catharines. Our downtown core is known to be a ghost town rather than most cities that have a booming downtown core with a large multicultural sector. These cities like Toronto have a much realized multi-ethnic community and because of this they have many immigrants coming to this area, which creates jobs and replaces the growing population. This shows that having a well-developed multi-cultural GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,

6 community creates a sustainable economy. Thus the solution of St Catharines issues, but it would take years for any noticeable changes in the community. The Folks Arts festival has created community awareness towards the subject of multiculturalism. The festival is a celebration of culture that showcases food, rituals, music and dance, as well art. This festival raises money for these cultural houses within St Catharines and these houses donate a small portion of the profit to the Fort Arts center. Though the issue is that the donations they do receive is not enough to support all the programs Folk Arts wishes they could provide to the community. A solution could be as easy as a large government funding, but that issue current is a municipal level and cannot be solved that easily. With a growing community that is more modern, open minded and welcoming we can create a multi-ethnic society, which might solve many issues within St Catharines. The city of St Catharines needs to support Folk Arts to help not only the community, but as well the economy. A stable multicultural center within St Catharines can offer more opportunities for anyone no matter race, religion, gender or age. Our economy needs to be stable as a city to ensure everyone can live a full and happy life. If we as a community can come together regardless of origin we can help each other out and successfully live as a city should, which is in harmony. Not only would helping out Folk Arts benefit St Catharines on a community level, but the government would make a return on any financial contribution they provide to this program. They could help ensure stability in tourism and a growing populations. Altogether we need to help Folk Arts solidify these programs to help the outreach to a neglected group in our community. GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,

7 References Fraser, D (October 24, 2012). Niagara's changing language landscape. from St.Catharines Standard Web Site: (2013). from Folk Arts Multicultural Centre Web Site: Interview with the MC of Folk Arts, Tracey Desjardins GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,

8 GROUP 1 REPORT - NOVEMBER 21,