The series "Civic Platform" has given Winnipeg communities numerous opportunities over the past few months to have their thoughts heard publicly. including their challenges and their progress in helping the city's various immigrant communities.
The most significant program by "Civic Platform" was a fundraiser put on by Islamic Relief and the Muslim Islamic Association to help the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey. The participants appreciated having a platform that allowed them to express their empathy and support for victims of catastrophes around the world, in this case, for those mentioned above. The principal sentiment was, in short, that even though we [the Muslim community] are far from you, we are always by your side.
I spoke with a number of community members at different community events, who expressed their gratitude and happiness for the existence of a forum where they feel most at ease expressing themselves and to let the larger community know what they are doing. This helps break down barriers between people and allows new Arab immigrants and others to integrate more easily into the mainstream society.
Other examples of appreciation for our coverage included words from John Wiebe, Co-Chairman of the Douglas Mennonite Church's Missions Committee. Their fundraiser to help the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria was also covered.
The Canadian Arab Association of Manitoba's president, Fouad El-Mazini, put it this way."We need to instill in our children the idea that we are a single body that supports and aids one another in times of need", in speaking of the U-Multicultural coverage of the various programs that they put on to help vulnerable children [and adults] in Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba and globally.
In conclusion, "Civic Platform" and U-Multicultural provide an important service to the multicultural communities of the province, providing them a voice and also showing to the larger community that they are wholeheartedly contributing.
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About LJI
LJI Impact is the section of commediaportal.ca where the journalists and their organizations participating in CACTUS' Local Journalism Initiative can share their greatest successes.
Through the written stories, photos and videos you see in the LJI Impact section, you'll be able to read first hand accounts about how the presence of a community journalist is making a difference in communities across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative and the Community Media Portal.
The Community Media Portal is a gateway to the audio-visual media created by community media centres across Canada. These include traditional community TV and radio stations, as well as online and new media production centres.
Community media are not-for-profit production hubs owned and operated by the communities they serve, established both to provide local content and reflection for their communities, as well as media training and access for ordinary citizens to the latest tools of media production, whether traditional TV and radio, social and online media, virtual reality, augmented reality or video games.
The Community Media Portal has been funded by the Local Journalism Initiative (the LJI) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) in association with the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération). Under the LJI, over 100 journalists have been placed in underserved communities and asked to produce civic content that underpins Canadian democratic life.
