COMMUNITY DIALOGUE SERIES TO BE PLANNED ON "RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF RECONCILIATION"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, April 3, 2013

NANAIMO, BC – A coalition of community leaders have formed a working group to begin planning a series of dialogue sessions to address the theme of reconciliation and racism prevention in Nanaimo.

This was the outcome of a dialogue session held today at Vancouver Island University. In the presence of VIU’s First Nations Elders, those in attendance addressed the theme of “Rising to the Challenge of Reconciliation: Building a Stronger Community.”

Co-hosted by Snuneymuxw First Nation, the City of Nanaimo and VIU, participants included representatives from Nanaimo’s indigenous, multicultural, educational, business and public sector communities.

Further details on the working group’s membership and next steps will be announced shortly. However, VIU has committed to hosting the first public forum on the theme of reconciliation, tentatively scheduled for the evening of Thursday, May 9, 2013.

Chief Doug White said today’s meeting “was a positive opportunity to build reconciliation and address underlying issues of racism.”

“It is clear that the incident from last week does not reflect in any way a large segment of our society,” White said. “The larger segment of our society is reflected in the diverse group of peoples – Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal - who came together today standing shoulder to shoulder, who recognize that there is need to build understanding and knowledge to eradicate the issues of racism, which are ignorance and lack of understanding. There is also recognition that this isn’t just an Aboriginal issue. The dignity of all Canadians is at stake here.”

VIU President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ralph Nilson said today’s meeting demonstrates that Nanaimo consists of a collective group of people who care deeply about the community and are committed to working together.

“As a university, VIU has a responsibility to provide space where difficult dialogues can take place in a respectful and supportive way,” he said. “We will continue to support ongoing dialogues and provide the environment where people feel safe and respected, and can express their views and engage in dialogue, as difficult as it may be. At today’s meeting, the opportunities and ideas on how to move forward were very rich, deep and thoughtful,” Nilson added. “I am very proud of the kind of integrity that I see in this community.”

Mayor John Ruttan said “Nanaimo’s success as a multicultural community is dependent on upholding values that continually move our ideas and our understanding of one another forward. Efforts that shift us towards a place of reconciliation between different cultures is, therefore, a priority. The event held today at VIU brought a renewed focus to the importance of reconciliation and the role it plays – not only in Nanaimo – but across Canada.”

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ABOUT VIU: Vancouver Island University is Canada’s west coast university. Known as a centre of excellence for teaching, learning and applied research, VIU offers a diverse range of certificate, diploma and undergraduate and master degree programs to more than 18,000 students on campuses in Nanaimo, Powell River and Cowichan, and at the Parksville-Qualicum Centre. For more information visit www.viu.ca

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Janina Stajic, Manager, Vancouver Island University


P: 250.740.6288 E: Communications@viu.ca Twitter: @VIUNews