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Here are your headlines…
It’s February!
It’s Black History Month!
Who’s doing what in Alberta to elevate and empower Blacks?
Alberta’s highest honour, The Alberta Order of Excellence, has never honoured a Black person…..
Coronavirus Project Cool Times and Diversity TV brings to you all organizers of Black History Month events in Edmonton to share what they have coming up…..
Now the news in detail….
1. Alberta Order of Excellence has Never Honoured a Black Person…
David Shepherd, father of the Proclamation of Black History Month in Alberta, a kind of modern day version of John Ware has used his position as MLA for Edmonton-Centre to build and support communities across Alberta including his endless support for community events across Alberta.
Charity Durowaa has built a successful business with 4 locations in Edmonton making people of African descent feel at home with the cultural food of their choice, supporting communities and more.
Regina Oluwadairo, has built a successful business in Calgary with 4 locations getting food all the way in Africa to communities in Alberta and beyond supporting and building communities in the process.
These and many others are many people of African descent worthy of Alberta’s highest honour. Alberta’s highest honour, The Alberta Order of excellence, has never honoured a Black person, worthy of note during this holy month of Black History celebration.
After sharing the poor inclusion record of the Canada Order of Excellence, we took a look at The Alberta Order of Excellence website to see how it’s doing for diversity and inclusion. For its 40 years history and 182 recipients, and the quality of members honoured so far, we could hardly see a person of African descent or more than 3 persons of Asian or Latin American descent as well as a relatively few indigenous representatives.
We contacted the Alberta Order of Excellence and they used the same line that we hear all the time, that we sent it to all the communities. We saw this as a sponsored content on Facebook. Diversity Magazine has never been sent any information.
Since you have worthy candidates in your community, you can nominate them for this Alberta’s highest civilian honour. This helps make the recognition even higher such that it will also represent about 20% of Alberta’s visible minorities. Please go to https://www.alberta.ca/the-alberta-order-of-excellence.aspx
2. It’s February! It’s Black History Month. Who’s doing what in Edmonton? Here’s what is up?
Saturday, February 27, 2021, 12 noon, by Africans and African Descendants Friendship Club of St. Albert – online.
Saturday, February 13, 11AM -3PM, 2021 Black History Brunch, by BCW in Action.
Saturday, February 6 – 27, AJFAS Black History Month events on www.ajfas.ca
Fort Saskatchewan Multicultural Association will be hosting Black History Educational Workshops at schools in Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park and Ardrossan, February 10th to February 26th ( private).
Also, they’re hosting virtual videos, highlighting the meaning of Black History Month, what it means to African / Caribbean Canadians who have risen above the challenges and have accomplished, highlighting their valuable contributions to the many fields such as, politics, education, sports, Arts and Culture. This will be shown throughout the month of February on their Facebook Page.
3. Fashion of the Week…..
This week Fashion of the Week profiles the works of Alèthe Kaboré, owner of KYN Apparel. Weeks ago, masks were made mandatory in indoor spaces across Alberta. We are happy to be joined by local Edmonton designer Alèthe Kaboré, owner of KYN Apparel to run us through some of the different mask designs that they have; Ears Savers, Mask with Ties, Masks with Elastic, and Antibacterial Masks.
For more information on different mask designs, and how to buy, please go to kynapparel.ca
4. Diversity Profile of the Week….
This week, we will introduce you to Calgary based community leader, Lyse Riza. Lyse was born in Burundi. Traditionally, Burundi is a herding society where cattle “Inka” holds a great deal of power in its culture. Such a power that it reflects in the way they greet one another – “Amashyo”, translated as “may you have herds of cattle” – or the way they name their children. Her surname Riza was inspired by the tradition. It translates as the first born female calf, given that she’s the first born-girl.
She immigrated to Canada in the Autumn of 2002 with her young family. She pursued her postsecondary education thereafter, graduated in 2008 and started a career as a public servant that same year. A mother of 3, Lyse enjoys long walks in nature, playing music, and staying active. She speaks five languages – English, French, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili.
Armed with a mission to promote Burundian rich cultural heritage, she has led, organized, planned, and coordinated musical, and theatrical performances in community celebrations, festivals, workshops, sport, and cultural events such as Marcus Garvey Youth Leadership Recognition and Awards Presentation, United Nations Association of Calgary for the United Nations’ 70th Anniversary Celebration, Global Fest YYC 2016, Canada Day Celebrations, Unity Dance Across Africa, Afrikadey Arts and Culture Society, and Caribbean Heritage Sports Competition.
An avid volunteer, Lyse has been recognized for her community service including 2018 Certificate of Appreciation For Support and Inspiration in Service to the AfroCaribbean Community of Calgary, Indo-Canadian Community Association Award for Diversity, Certificate of Appreciation as a Community Partner by the Black History Heritage Society 2019 and Diversity Magazine Unsung Hero 2020.
Hear from Lyse in her own words…
5. Coronavirus Project Cool Times:
Alberta Health has reported scams where victims are asked to provide personal information, send money or buy gift cards to secure a COVID-19 vaccine early. If you’ve received such a call, contact Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or your local police.
The COVID19 pandemic has created a tough climate for businesses to survive. Diversity TV spoke to two business owners in Edmonton about their COVID-19 experiences and how they’re coping.
6. In Diversity TV International News….
Political elites in Zimbabwe are dying in local hospitals as they cannot fly abroad for treatment due to COVID lockdown. A spokesman for the government cried foul play but was schooled of the dilapidated medical facilities in Zimbabwe which the political elites failed to develop.
7. Dish of the Week…..
Our Dish for this week will feature a local cook in Calgary. Bola, of Flavours Kitchen in Calgary, prepares for us today, the West African delicacy called Egusi Soup, eaten with fufu, rice, or other starchy foods.
Egusi soup is made from the seeds of a certain species of African melon, dried and grounded and cooked with peppers giving it its bright white colour, glittering below the oil. You can try the delicious Egusi Soup at Flavours Restaurant in Calgary, on 4129 4St. NW Calgary.
8. Announcements….
A. Are you an Internationally Educated Professional? The Global Talent Conference in Edmonton is looking to connect and inspire. This year the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC) will co-host the first Alberta Global Talent Conference with their counterpart in Calgary, the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC). The event will be virtual. This year’s theme is Redefining, Mentoring and Networking to take place on Thursday, February 25th, 2021, from 9AM – 4PM To register, please go to https://whova.com/portal/registration/globa_202102/
B. Businesses within Edmonton’s Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) may be eligible for a rebate of up to three months of their 2020 BIA tax if they were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of a credit to their business tax account. The rebate is part of the Edmonton Economic Recovery Grant, as the City makes an effort to help businesses hurt by the pandemic.
To be eligible, a business needed to have been closed for a minimum of two weeks in 2020 because of the pandemic, and earned zero revenue while closed. The rebate is only applicable to the BIA tax and not to any other type of federal or provincial tax.
The application deadline is February 28. To apply, go to www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/assessment_tax/business-improvement-area-taxes.aspx?utm_source=virtualaddress&utm_campaign=biaassessment
C. The City of Calgary is providing up to 400 more small businesses and artists with free online stores between Feb. 1 and March 31. This is part of ShopHERE powered by Google. ShopHERE’s goal is to get 50,000 deserving companies Canada-wide online so they can reach a wider audience for their products and bring in new revenue. They hire university students to build these websites for registered small businesses, including home-based companies, artists, service providers like hair salons and auto shops. Thank you for watching Diversity TV Community Newscast from Harriet Tinka, see you next week.
We now begin our Black History Month panel.
9. Diversity TV in the Community….
February is Black History Month. We invited 6 community leaders organizing Black History Month events in Edmonton to share what they’re up to for Black History Month 2021.
Here are the all star community organizers for Diversity TV Panel:
AJFAS – Domina Lufuma
NDP Health Critic – MLA David Shepherd Black Canadian Women in Action (BCW in Action) – Hope Maitwe
Fort Saskatchewan Multicultural Association – Lana Santana
Africans and African Descendants of St. Albert – Helen Agbonison
