From the moment we embarked on our Master of Arts in Intercultural and International Communication program at Royal Roads University, our experiences and conversations often led us to critically analyze identity and belonging in light of preserving our African heritage while being immersed in our newly adopted Canadian culture. Having lived in Vancouver for over a decade, our curiosity has become even more profound and has made us desire to get to know ourselves more. One comment that often emerged from our conversations was We don't always have an opportunity to dissect how identity or belonging is shaped and reshaped by both cultures.
We were unfortunately left with more questions than answers, for example:
Being a minority group within a minority (Africans as a whole), we realized that we wanted to investigate what we believe are crucial questions. This open curiosity led us to partner up as part of a Public Culture course to tackle questions related to what it means to identify as a member of the Southern African diaspora community (by way of a small or large connection) living in Vancouver. Since Vancouver is a city with a myriad of ethnic diversity, we think it is important to acknowledge the groups therein, regardless of the community size.
We want to provide a venue for what we believe will be a rich dialogue. Join us on July 2nd, 2014 from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Burnaby Public Library (Tommy Douglas branch) as we unravel and explore these questions together. Our event will include a dialogue session that will enable us to explore important concepts such as identity and belonging. After the event we will use this website to illustrate our findings. All are welcome. Please RSVP for a free ticket below (quantities are limited at 50 tickets).
We were unfortunately left with more questions than answers, for example:
- "Does our strong sense of belonging to both cultures transcend the national and international borders of Vancouver or Harare and Blantyre?"
- "What does 'diaspora' mean, and is this connection applicable to our experiences?"
- "What ways can we express our Southern African heritage in a Canadian city with a relatively small African population?"
Being a minority group within a minority (Africans as a whole), we realized that we wanted to investigate what we believe are crucial questions. This open curiosity led us to partner up as part of a Public Culture course to tackle questions related to what it means to identify as a member of the Southern African diaspora community (by way of a small or large connection) living in Vancouver. Since Vancouver is a city with a myriad of ethnic diversity, we think it is important to acknowledge the groups therein, regardless of the community size.
We want to provide a venue for what we believe will be a rich dialogue. Join us on July 2nd, 2014 from 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Burnaby Public Library (Tommy Douglas branch) as we unravel and explore these questions together. Our event will include a dialogue session that will enable us to explore important concepts such as identity and belonging. After the event we will use this website to illustrate our findings. All are welcome. Please RSVP for a free ticket below (quantities are limited at 50 tickets).
“In the social jungle of
human existence, there is no feeling of being alive
without a sense of identity." - Erik Erikson