EMCA Civic Engagement May 2023

On Saturday, May 13 2023, I can only think of the number 3 as we held our event – Members’ meeting, Civic Engagement and Candidate Forum. Our event had three parts and three objectives; I think it was a win-win-win.

Members, volunteers, animators, staff and supporters of the Coalition gathered together to celebrate milestones, learn about the organization’s recent activities, and have an opportunity to engage with Elections Alberta and listen to some innovative ideas by our Secretary Giselle General.

Dr. Abu Conteh, our former EMCA President, graciously presided as the Emcee for the members’ meeting. The Board Chair, Dr. HM Ashraf Ali, updated the members about the Board initiatives and the tasks accomplished by the Team Board, which included the 2023-2027 five-year strategic plan and working sub-committees that would promote work behind the scenes and accelerate the efficiency of Board meetings, new bylaws and approved Mission statement. In addition, the noteworthy Fundraising and Fund Development Committee, Chaired by Gisele General, will support the Coalition in exploring and raising funds for the Coalition.

We are now better positioned to think big and plan long-term.

This time I decided to present the Coalition differently. The colourful posters replaced the usual Powerpoint telling the stories of the Coalition – Who we are, what we do and why we do it with some memories and collective accomplishments of the Animators and EMC’s new partnerships and funding opportunities. This activity encouraged conversations among the members and allowed new members to familiarize themselves with the Coalition. The poster displays were very popular! We also collected valuable information from the members on what the Coalition should work on in the near future. As we are a member-driven organization, this input is vital.

Civic engagement and education were our next part of the event. Giselle General, our board secretary and a former political candidate in the 2021 municipal elections, shared an informative and impassioned presentation about political engagement before getting citizenship and the ability to vote. She observed that since newcomers holding Permanent Residency status cannot vote upon arriving in Canada, many believed they could not participate in political discourse. She shared several indirect but meaningful ways, such as supporting candidates they like and educating future citizens and voters, such as the younger members of their community. The outreach team of Elections Alberta, Paulina Lazarini Sanchez and Michael did an incredible job of providing information about voting, including addressing concerns regarding identification, accessibility and translation, early voting, and the behaviour of candidates and campaign teams. They also answered questions from the audience.

We had Richard Wong (UCP) and Michael Hunter (Green Party) in attendance for the Candidate Forum. Thoughtful questions were asked by the organization and the audience, allowing these candidates to show their knowledge, passion, platform and perspectives of the political party they represent.

We are grateful to our long-time supporter and member Kemoh Mansaray for being a co-moderator alongside our Board Secretary, Giselle General.

We build leaders of tomorrow. We do this through a multitude of ways that we embody every day. Through learning, direct programs to apply skills, connecting with each other and sharing our stories of struggle and success, we plan to do our part to ensure that ethnocultural organizations can build better lives in Edmonton. We have so many other activities and events scheduled for the rest of the year and beyond, and we look forward to seeing more of our members, partners and communities we serve.