Released on November 15, 2013
The Government of Saskatchewan and the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan (MCoS) have partnered to proclaim November 16 to 24, as Saskatchewan Multicultural Week. The week will kick off Saturday, November 16 at Government House in Regina, with the second annual MCoS Multicultural Honours: A Celebration in Honour of Multicultural Contributions. The event, hosted by Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield, will recognize volunteers who have worked to support multiculturalism.
“As Saskatchewan’s population continues to grow, immigration from across Canada and from more than 175 countries around the globe is making us an increasingly multicultural province,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty said. “This increasing diversity contributes to maintaining a strong economy, helping strengthen our communities and ultimately enhancing our quality of life.”
This year’s theme From Many Peoples Strength: Multiculturalism Enriches Saskatchewan, is based on the provincial motto Multis E Gentibus Vires which means From Many Peoples Strength. To read about the many ways multiculturalism has enriched the cultural, economic, social and political life of Saskatchewan, visit mcos.ca/sask-multicultural-week/.
This year’s MCoS informational resource: Ways to Welcome Saskatchewan Multicultural Week, highlights multicultural values and how Saskatchewan people can adopt these values and put them into practice. It has also been distributed to Saskatchewan schools to help them celebrate Saskatchewan Multicultural Week.
"MCoS is proud to celebrate Saskatchewan Multicultural Week,” MCoS Executive Director Rhonda Rosenberg said. “The Multiculturalism Act confirms the value of cultural diversity to the province from the various First Nations cultures, to the Métis, to generations of settlers, to refugees and immigrants. MCoS reaffirms that it is important to nurture both traditions within cultures and relationships between communities. MCoS encourages everyone to practice the ideas of The Multiculturalism Act, the multicultural values outlined in our Ways to Welcome publication, and to recognize that Saskatchewan's motto: From Many Peoples Strength –means that multiculturalism helps enrich the province.”
Saskatchewan Multicultural Week is celebrated every year in November to recognize the diversity of Saskatchewan's growing population, encourage respect for the vast multicultural heritage in Saskatchewan, foster a climate of harmonious relations among people with diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and encourage the continuation of a multicultural society in Saskatchewan. This week also commemorates Saskatchewan being the first province to introduce multicultural legislation in 1974.
The cities of Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and Yorkton have also recognized multiculturalism within their communities.
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For more information, contact:
Chelsea Coupal
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5781
Email: chelsea.coupal@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-527-8152