2013 Grants

PLURALISM GRANTS – COMMUNITY IMPACT

Building Peace: From Tolerance to Appreciation | John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
$15,000
This project enabled a diverse group of young adults to conduct and document interviews with members of various spiritual communities in Edmonton, as part of #YEGDialogues: One Nation, Many Faiths – Talking About Religion in a Diverse Democracy (an Oral History Archive Project led by students from the University of Alberta). Participants received dialogue facilitation and media training to lead these interviews. The group then worked together to plan and facilitate dialogue circles at an “Action Forum”, a public event which was the platform for stories collected by the project.

Common Grounds Media Project | Regent Park Focus
Location: Toronto, Ontario
$20,200
The project brought together diverse young Canadians aged 18-30 with varying spiritual, religious and secular beliefs to create media products engaging both participants and community members in a dialogue about how common life experiences are reflected in pop culture, as analyzed through a lens of religious pluralism

Crowdmapping Pluralism in YEG | United Nations Association in Canada
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
$20,200
This project strengthened the ability of a diverse cohort of youth participants and communities to use multimedia, social media and web technologies as tools for enhancing the sharing, understanding, and inclusion of different religious, spiritual, and secular beliefs in Edmonton through storytelling, photography, videos, and crowdmapping. Young adults produced media pieces themed on belief and identity, that relate to places in Edmonton. Those media pieces were then “mapped” (geotagged) on an online “crowdmap” platform, and then shared with the public through the UNA’s and partners’ online networks.

Dream Catcher Project | The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Residential Project for BC Youth
Location: British Columbia
$9,999
A residential camp for youth from around BC including First Nations youth, enabled participants to share in a collaborative learning environment. Attendee program included team-building activities, dialogues, and a facilitated workshop led by First Nations communities on the theme of spirituality.

Emerging Leaders St. John’s: Inspire. Share. Impact | Community Sector Council Newfoundland and Labrador
Location: St. John’s, Newfoundland
$19,871
This project brought together young people (aged 18-30) from diverse faiths and backgrounds to build their community leadership skills, learn from one another, and collaborate on community projects that respond to the changing demographics of St. John’s.

Intercultural Ambassadors | Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
$15,000
Young adults participated in seminars focusing on improving their knowledge about different communities of belief and the complexity of what happens when there is a clash between beliefs – secular or religious – in the public realm. Participants worked to improve their own skills in communication, conflict resolution, and project management, and they worked together to vision and deliver a project related to religious diversity in Manitoba as part of Multiculturalism Day celebrations in 2014.

Interfaith Young Leaders Social Justice Fellowship | Jewish Federation of Vancouver
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
$13,010
This project brought together an interfaith and intercultural group of 16 young leaders to build bridges between communities and community organizations, while engaging in opportunities for leadership development. Fellows worked together to vision and deliver at least one community-impact project of their choosing, supported by partner organizations and their networks.

Kinship | South Shore Health District Health Authority
Location: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
$20,181
Kinship extended an invitation for young adults from Chester to Yarmouth on the South Shore of Nova Scotia to connect and share their beliefs, practices and questions as they related to finding meaning in their lives from both, or either, a secular or spiritual perspective. Drawing from these experiences and learnings, participants researched, developed, and produced a play about pluralism and diversity of beliefs.

Outta My Mind | Tangled Art + Disability
$20,200
This project presented an opportunity for youth to gather across cultural, spiritual, and ability differences for the purpose of sharing personal stories and experiences with “the sacred.” Participants gained skills in writing, performing, storytelling and collective creation in an inclusive, accessible and community-oriented environment.

Pluralism: Tell it; See it; Hear it | Atwater Library
Location: Montreal, Quebec
$15,000
With the collaboration of a team of youth (aged 18-30) referred through religious and secular partner organizations, this project probed pluralism through discussions and the creation of video vignettes of individuals in the RSS partner network. Participants showed and discussed videos in several venues while engaging the community in discussing and appreciating pluralism, spirituality, and identity, culminating in a well-publicized screening for a large audience.

Rural Youth Diversity Project | Fraser Basin
Location: Williams Lake, British Columbia
$21,140
Working directly with five different rural communities, the Rural Youth Diversity Project (the “Diversity Project”) engaged young adults aged 18-30 from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds in dialogue to share experiences, learn from one another and develop leadership skills. These young adults/youth connected with key organizations in their community to participate in locally determined actions to enhance the livability, inclusion and ultimately the pluralism of their home communities.

Spirit Swap | imagineNative
Location: Toronto, Ontario
$9,999
This project brought together youth (aged 18-30) of different spiritual beliefs and backgrounds and created opportunities for them to engage each other in a discussion around spirituality and identity, and to personally explore these themes through the creation of short videos in an accepting, safe environment.

Young Adult Project Interfaith | Abbotsford Community Services
Location: Abbotsford, British Columbia
$15,000
This project created opportunities for a diverse group of young adults to learn about each other’s personal and faith backgrounds, and to co-create cultural and educational events that raise awareness of and celebrate the plurality of beliefs – including spiritual and secular beliefs – held by young adults in Abbotsford.

Youth Help Red Cross Embrace Diversity | Canadian Red Cross Society Saskatchewan
Location: Saskatchewan
$15,000
A diverse cohort of young adults prepared a series of Community Diversity Profiles of different spiritual and religious communities in Saskatchewan through research and outreach activities. This group then summarized and presented their findings to leadership staff, volunteers, and other community groups, and made recommendations to inform the development of services delivered by the Canadian Red Cross.