Celebrating Islamic Heritage Month

Celebrating Islamic Heritage Month

October is Islamic Heritage Month (IHM), and we are reflecting on the Muslim organizations and change leaders we have the honour of working with. Here at Inspirit, IHM is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and leadership of Muslims in Canada.

As an organization committed to addressing Islamophobia, we believe in amplifying Muslim change leaders’ voices, and that our role is to listen so they can be heard on their own terms.

Over the past few months, members of our team traveled to Hamilton, Vancouver, and Winnipeg and heard from young Muslims who are artists, entrepreneurs, community organizers, storytellers, and more. In the coming weeks, we will highlight their work and vision for a more inclusive Canada as they speak about solidarity, decolonization, community engagement, and more.

This series begins with Abeer Yusuf, a journalist in Vancouver.

You’ll also learn about other projects in this newsletter, including Sawa Theatre (Winnipeg), 14 & Muslim(Toronto), Abu (Montreal), and more.

 

Grantee InFocus: Sawa Theatre

A ChangeUp Grantee
Based in Winnipeg, Sawa Theatre is a performance arts program led by Muslim activists and leaders that seeks to foster creativity, personal growth, and friendships among newcomer youth. Their ChangeUp funded project will allow twenty participants to take part in workshops that will culminate in a series of performances next fall.

Growing Up Muslim in the Maritimes

A personal essay by Manaal Farooqi 

As 2017 comes”Before I moved to New Brunswick in 2000, I lived in large metropolitan cities that were teeming with life, diversity, and the comfort of several cultural pockets connected to my South Asian heritage.”

Read about Manaal’s experiences growing up in Sackville, New Brunswick, a small town with limited connections to her cultural communityon our website.

Doc Impact Fund Recipients

 

The Doc Impact Fund awards $25,000 to social issue documentary teams to support their outreach and engagement campaigns. We are excited to announce the successful projects:

14 & Muslim
Indictment: The Crimes of Shelley Chartier
Abu
Turning Tables

 Inspirit Projects in the News

  • The Silk Road Institute launched its theatre production The Domestic Crusaders, which Inspirit supported through a Media and Arts Impact Grant. Read about it in the Montreal Gazette.
  • Colonization Road, a recipient of our Doc Impact Grant, has added additional cities to its tour. Find out if the film is screening near you.
  • Reelworld Film Festival has announced its cohort of emerging content creators. Inspirit supported this initiative with a grant. Meet the cohort here.
  • In “8 Muslim Youth Making an Impact in Canada,” the CBC profiled Muslim emerging leaders, including two from our network of grantees, Nasra Adem and Timaj Garad.
  • A recent ChangeUp project in Sault Ste. Marie focused on dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people was featured in SooToday here and here.
  • Listen to the team behind 14 & Muslim, a Doc Impact Grantee, on CBC’s The Current.
  • A lead researcher behind Rivers of Hope, a 2018 ChangeUp grantee, wrote an essay about experiencing Islamophobia for the CBC. You can read it here.

 

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