Our community: murals and pop-up shows will appear in the neighborhoods of Victoria

The City of Victoria is providing just over $ 54,000 to six community projects chosen by the community through its participatory budgeting initiative.

The initiative gives community members the opportunity to vote for the projects they want to see funded.

This year’s theme is Neighborhood Spaces, with projects that encourage social bonding and community belonging, identity and expression, a connection to nature and community resilience.

The winning nominees include a mural project, a community hub, an artist billboard, live pop-up performances, and an outdoor movie night.

“This is what community empowerment looks like in action,” said Mayor Lisa Helps.

The projects include:

• Lower Yates Mural Project, $ 6,500 – Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. Youth living at the Lighthouse, a supportive housing project, will create a community artwork for Waddington Alley.

• Madrona Community Center in Dockside Green, $ 2,500 – Anne Glover. A neighborhood space will be transformed into a community hub for residents and the public, with a small free library, a community notice board and a heritage terminal.

• BIPOC Artist Billboard in Old Town / Downtown, $ 5,000 – Victoria Arts Council. The work of a local Black / Indigenous / Colored artist will be displayed on a display panel in the Victoria Arts Council building.

• Curbside Color, $ 15,750 – Greater Victoria Placemaking Network. Bright and meaningful designs by Indigenous artists will be added to two traffic calming locations on Victoria Streets to create cheerful places for residents and visitors to take a break.

• You are here Pop-Up Docs, $ 20,000 – Theater SKAM Association. This project offers live performances with digital short documentaries, shadow theaters and animated short films in neighborhoods of Victoria, exploring the history of the country.

• Picture Nights in Oaklands, $ 4,830 – Oaklands Community Association. The community will be invited to vote for a film celebrating diversity to be screened at an event in Oaklands Park.

• For more information, go to engage.victoria.ca/pb.

Anti-racist data and cultural association

The Bangladesh Canada Cultural Association is one of 70 community organizations in the province that receive anti-racism data collection grants.

The cultural association will receive $ 15,000 to organize two community engagement workshops in Saanich and Victoria to develop recommendations on how the government should use and collect race-based data. The funding will also be used to fund policies and programs related to anti-racism initiatives.

“We are committed to advancing anti-racism data legislation in partnership with communities and I am delighted to see so many organizations coming together to support this work,” said Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives. “I look forward to attending some of the community engagement sessions to hear firsthand their thoughts on how best to develop and implement legislation to support our work to address systemic racism and barriers in government programs and services. “

Organizations are holding engagement sessions that should end at the end of the month. Projects range from in-person events to webinars that will engage approximately 1,500 people.

The province is developing anti-racism data legislation with Indigenous partners, based on multi-year feedback from stakeholders, including the BC Human Rights Commissioner, racialized communities and Indigenous organizations.

For more information on what to do if you see or are the victim of a hate crime, go to resiliencebc.ca.

Oak Bay Rotary donates to Threshold Housing

The Oak Bay Rotary Club recently presented the Threshold Housing Society with a check for $ 10,000 to help young people access post-secondary education.

The company provides safe housing, support services and a community for at-risk youth, who often cannot fulfill the dream of completing high school or going to a post-secondary institution.

The service club previously helped four young people with their studies, one earning a nursing degree, while others were able to connect with the right technology to complete their homework, finish high school classes and take their developmental test. of general education, which certifies secondary school. completion.

Threshold supports young people aged 15-24 and currently operates 48 youth housing units, spread across four properties and 18 apartments.

For more information, visit thresholdhousing.ca.

Honors for the Camosun student

Katie Manomie, a student in Camosun College’s Indigenous Family Support Program, this year received the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of British Columbia for Inclusion, Democracy and Reconciliation.

The annual award recognizes an outstanding student enrolled in a post-secondary program who has excelled in their studies while contributing to the life of their institution or community by promoting inclusion, democracy and reconciliation.

Manomie, a second year student, is an Inuk woman born in Iqaluit, Nunavut.

She was part of the “Sixties Scoop,” when Indigenous children were removed from their communities in the 1960s and adopted into predominantly non-Indigenous families, leaving many with a lost sense of cultural identity.

“I feel a great sense of honor and responsibility to receive this award,” said Manomie. “I am incredibly grateful to all of the instructors, counselors and my classmates at Camosun. I have learned a lot from each of these important indigenous peoples.

“I was never taught my Inuit / Aboriginal heritage beyond what I learned in the public school system. In high school, I experienced a lot of racism, struggled to attend, and started abusing drugs and alcohol. I also experienced homelessness, which ultimately affected my ability to complete high school.

During her first semester, Manomie received an Inspire Award and Camosun’s Spirit Award for Students in Family Support. Because of how much she helps her classmates, she has been nicknamed the “aunt” of the program.

She plans to enroll in the Native Studies Diploma Program at Camosun next fall.

“I look forward to learning how to decolonize my worldviews, how to walk in both worlds and how to defend the interests of my people,” she said. “I have been able to experience my real, authentic self since I started in Camosun, and I am finally able to learn about the Indigenous ways of life. “

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