The Creative Peace Network, a group that develops and delivers innovative peace programs, is one of this year's winners of the City of Vancouver's Cultural Harmony Awards. The Vancouver-based group is a multicultural charity committed to promoting peace by building mutual respect and understanding between Palestinians, Israelis, Jews, Muslims and Arabs.
The awards, which fall into the two categories of Organization and Individual, recognize outstanding contributions by individuals or organizations in promoting greater understanding, respect and cooperation among people of different cultural groups and backgrounds. The awards ceremony took place during a City Council meeting on Tuesday.
The Creative Peace Network, which won in the Organization category, is composed of equal numbers of Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Canadian members. The group's 2006 project, called Peace It Together, brought together 30 Palestinian, Israeli and Canadian teenagers on Galiano Island, where they worked to create documentary films about the situation in the Middle East.
"Peace It Together stands for every Canadian value that I believe in: tolerance, acceptance, and doing what we can to lift the shadow of war. We are creating a place where Palestinians, Israelis and Canadians come together as one and inject a new layer of meaning to giving peace a chance. In a world filled with conflict and suffering, "Peace It Together" is a beacon of hope," said Palestinian-Canadian Adri Hamael, one of the Executive Directors of the Network.
Almost entirely self-funded and run by over 200 volunteers, the Network also runs a year-round outreach program called Learning Commons, which includes a monthly discussion group open to all members of the community who are interested in peace- promoting initiatives.
Sherman Chan won in the Individual category for his work in assisting new citizens in Vancouver. Chan, who emigrated from Hong Kong in 1987, was a social worker for nine years and is currently the Director of Settlement Services for MOSAIC, an immigrant services agency in Vancouver.
"I feel it's important for the city to recognize anyone who promotes diversity and cultural harmony. I think that's what Vancouver is all about."
Throughout his career, Chan has worked to assist immigrants and refugees by seeking out new services and advocating for those in need of legal aid. He helped establish the BC Settlement and Integration Workers' Association and serves as a lay director of the Pro Bono Law of B.C. He is also a board member of the Pacific Community Resources Society.
The jury also gave honourable mention to the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies, and Mohan Singh Matharu.
The awards were instituted in 1996 to recognize significant and sustained commitment to the promotion of cultural harmony in Vancouver. Winners are honoured with a tree planted in their name and a plaque in the Park Board's Cultural Harmony Grove on the south shore of False Creek.
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