411 Dunsmuir St. Vancouver, BC V6B 1X4 Phone: (604) 684-8171 Fax: (604) 681-3589

Multiculturalism at the 411 Seniors Centre

The 411 Seniors Centre Society subscribes to the principle of multiculturalism and strives to ensure that its programs, policies and services are responsive to the interests and concerns of its diverse membership and client community. Some of the Society’s initiatives in this regard are:

Equity Policy:  The Society has drawn up an Equity Policy that clearly expresses its commitment “to the elimination of discriminatory behaviours, policies and practices that prevent, undermine or limit the full and equal participation of all who use our services, and all who pursue the mission of the organization.”  This policy identifies specific objectives and strategies “to ensure that full and equal participation is possible at all levels of the organization.” 

Programs and Services:  The 411 Seniors Centre continually develops and offers programs and services that reflect the needs of and that are responsive to, the diverse senior’s population it serves.  Among the programs and services offered are: English as a Second Language, Spanish French and Mandarin language classes, Painting and Calligraphy Classes, Multicultural Choir, Tai Chi, multi-lingual Information and Referral Services, and much more

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Multicultural Celebrations:  Throughout the year, the 411 Seniors Centre organizes special events to honour and celebrate the cultural diversity of our community’s seniors, and to promote multiculturalism amongst seniors.  An indoor community celebration is held every year in February to mark Multiculturalism Week in British Columbia.  An outdoor event, Celebrating Multicultural Elders, is held to coincide with Canadian Multiculturalism Day during the summertime. Events are held to commemorate Black History Month and March 21st International Day to Eliminate Racism. Events present a range of activities including: a variety of ethno-cultural displays, music and dance performances, food sampling, discussion forums, historical displays and lively cross-cultural interaction.

Anti-Racism Resources:  The 411 Seniors Centre has recently published a comprehensive, senior-focused anti-racism toolkit as a resource for senior and senior-serving organizations in their fight to combat racism in society.  The toolkit, Entitled Embrace Diversity, provides background information on and practical strategies for undertaking anti-racism campaigns.  It includes posters and a brochure that may be freely reproduced and distributed. Please contact the 411 Seniors Centre to request a printed copy of the publication or click here Toolkit to download a printable copy of the toolkit.
Through this toolkit, the 411 Seniors Centre Society joins in the national and international fight against racism as expressed annually in the observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21st.  

Special Projects:  In line with its organizational mission and values, the 411 Seniors Centre Society continually undertakes special projects in response to the needs of the diverse senior’s populations. 
For more information on Multicultural Projects, Programs or Activities please contact the Events and Activities Coordinator at: 604.684.8171 ex 233 or via email at bosullivan@411seniors.bc.ca

 

• Multicultural Volunteer Project: a peer-outreach health information program for ethnic senior volunteers.   Chinese, Punjabi and Spanish-speaking seniors were trained, in their own language, by bilingual/bicultural trainers about the physical and mental health benefits of active living, community involvement and senior-appropriate exercise.   These senior volunteers then disseminated this written and verbal information to their peers, again, in their own language and in culturally-appropriate ways.
  
  
• Elders Mosaic Project: seeks to foster and promote multiculturalism and cross-cultural understanding, and eliminate racism amongst seniors through collaborative activities with multicultural organizations, senior-serving organizations and other relevant community organizations.
  
  
• Multicultural Seniors Advocacy Project: seeks to build support networks and provide language-specific, culturally sensitive advocacy training workshops to ethnic minority seniors.  Volunteer seniors from the Punjabi, Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking communities were trained to deliver self and peer advocacy training workshops for seniors from their own ethnic communities.  A total of ninety participants attended six community workshops (two for each community), which were conducted in their own language using translated training materials.
   
  
• Elders Diversity Exchange Project:  provides opportunities for diverse and often marginalized ethnic minority seniors to celebrate their unique contributions to society and to share their cultures, skills, stories and experiences.    Among the project activities was an interactive Multicultural Arts and Crafts Fair held recently at the 411 Seniors Centre.  The fair featured arts and culture displays and demonstrations by seniors groups from the Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Latin American, Burmese, Taiwanese, Latin American and African communities.
  
• Community Outreach and Collaboration:  The Society’s multicultural and diversity thrusts and activities are developed and pursued in collaboration with established and emerging ethno-cultural seniors organizations, multicultural umbrella organizations and government agencies.  The Society is an active member of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC, the Vancouver Multicultural Society and the City of Vancouver Cross-Cultural Committee for Seniors.  Recent multicultural projects involved partnerships with the Vancouver Coastal Health Multicultural Public Health Program, SUCCESS, the Multicultural Helping House Society, the Vietnamese Canadian Seniors Society and the Senior Chinese Society of Vancouver, among many others.