The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) is pleased to announce it has received financial support of $75,000 from the Canada History Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage for its 6 Degrees Dictionary.
The 6 Degrees Dictionary offers a user’s guide to inclusion. We have taken 12 words, the currency of so much disagreement and misunderstanding, and recast them to provoke and inspire.
The first iteration of the dictionary was presented at this year’s 6 Degrees Toronto, an annual three-day forum in Toronto that brings together thousands of thinkers, doers, civic leaders, students, artists, and more from around the world for conversations on how to build inclusive societies. The funding from Canadian Heritage will enable the ICC to continue the conversation with even more people, giving all of us better language to raise the level of our civic dialogue.
“Our government is pleased to support projects like this one that provide an excellent opportunity for Canadians to learn about and participate in important civic discussions,” said the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism. “This year, as we mark the 30th anniversary of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, we are proud to reiterate its commitment to promote inclusion, and to show how diversity is a great source of strength and pride.”
“The ICC’s 6 Degrees Dictionary project has national and international implications. We need to know what we mean when we talk about immigration and belonging. This is essential for building inclusion,” said ICC Co-chair and Co-founder John Ralston Saul. “We are delighted that the Department of Canadian Heritage is supporting it. And we are very excited about the building of this dictionary, not only in French and English, but also in German and Spanish, given our current projects in Berlin and Mexico City.”
The Institute for Canadian Citizenship is proud to play a role in the ongoing project of welcoming new citizens, and encouraging them to participate. Canada has been an immigrant nation since well before Confederation in 1867.
The UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (“Global Compact for Migration”) is an initiative by UN member states to co-operate in addressing the circumstances that are forcing unprecedented numbers of people from different countries to leave their homes. It also seeks to find ways to reduce the terrible risks associated with these journeys, which have led to an estimated 60 000 deaths over the last 20 years. One key aim is to help receiving nations create conditions that will allow newcomers to succeed.
The Global Compact for Migration is neither a treaty nor a convention, and it is not legally binding. But that doesn’t make it any less important. Canada should be proud to be among the 150-plus signatory nations today in Morocco. We are already leaders in many immigration best practices and we might be able to help. In fact, the standards invoked in the UN compact are already largely in place in Canada, and we have everything to gain from this international consensus. Such a humanistic approach to solving the great crisis of our age is in keeping with Canadian values.
