This is the Coalition’s core program and is funded by Family and Community Support Services (FCSS). It is an intercultural and intersectoral initiative bringing together members and leaders from ethno-cultural communities to participate meaningfully in the economic and civic life of their neighborhoods and communities.

Who are Community Animators: Community animators work with people and groups so that they participate in and manage the communities in which they live. Animators come from the Latin word “animere” which means to breathe life into something. A community uses his/her skills and talent to enable people and groups to learn from each other and take action on their needs and aspirations

Program Objectives:

  • Build and sustain a pool of skilled community animators who can engage from immigrant and refugee communities to articulate their needs and aspirations and find ways to meet these needs and fulfill their aspirations.
  • Strengthen the leadership and governance capacity of ethnocultural organizations to bid for participation in the civic and voluntary sector in a formal way.
  • Build incrementally a body of knowledge based on experiences of program participants that would inform the design of culturally responsive community engagement processes.
  • Enhance the cultural competence and participatory capacity of mainstream organizations to initiate and support intercultural collaborations with immigrant and refugee communities.

Program activities

Community Leadership and Capacity Building Training and Workshops

Objective: Build and sustain a pool of skilled community animators who can engage from immigrant and refugee communities to articulate their needs and aspirations and find ways to meet these needs and fulfill their aspirations. Animators being trained up through the ATN program work perpetually to strengthen the leadership and governance capacity of ethnocultural organizations to bid for participation in the civic and voluntary sector in a formal way.

One-on-One Support for Grant Writing

EMCA addresses the community needs identified by the Animators by providing assistance in grant writing and Budgeting. The Animators have applied for the Emerging Immigrant & Refugee Communities (EIRC) Grant, Alberta Culture Days Grant, and New Horizon Senior’s Grant. Two animators were awarded the EIRC grant 2023 for a total amount of $9750. EMCA has been offering explicit instructions and support to animators during the execution stage of awarded grants.

Specific Tasks for the Animators – 2023

Empowered with adequate training and resources, Animators actively contribute to community development. To apply the knowledge gained from workshops, EMCA assigns specific tasks to Animators, which they are required to complete within a designated time frame. For example, Animators were tasked with organizing and facilitating Focus Groups in their respective communities in 2023, focusing on the theme of “Puberty, Menopause and Beyond: Women’s Sexual Health.” The aim was to explore prevalent stigmas and taboos surrounding the topic, identify perceived barriers or challenges related to access to sexual health education and resources for women/girls in Canada, and gather insights on desired changes or improvements in Canadian society to better support women’s sexual health. EMCA provided assistance by offering an online platform and formulating questions for the focus group.

Community Research and Education

Objectives: Build incrementally a body of knowledge based on experiences of program participants that would inform the design of culturally responsive community engagement processes and enhance the cultural competence and participatory capacity of mainstream organizations to initiate and support intercultural collaborations with immigrant and refugee communities.

Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) Exhibition

The Coalition, in partnership with the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton will be showcasing art by five ethno cultural artists from October 3rd to November 4th in the Community Gallery. For details, please refer to the poster.

The Coalition and the artists truly appreciate the opportunity given by AGA to showcase the artworks at their prestigious Institution. Please click for detail message.

EMC Organizational Development workshop series 2020

The Coalition organized a series of “Organizational Development” workshops on a variety of topics which helped build capacities of community members and organizations from Ethnocultural communities on every Thursday from 2nd July 2020 to 6th August, 2020 [5:30 pm – 7:00 pm].

These workshops were free to the registered participant. The session’s resource materials are provided with the zoom recording as follows:

  1. Program Planning :
  • Introduction of Program Planning
  • Why Program Planning?
  • How to do Program Planning?
  • Tools for Program
  • Planning

Resources of the workshop

  1. HR fundamentals for Non-Profit Organizations :
  • Understand the key human resources functions and how they support an organization’s strategic goals
  • Gain a practical view of how to leverage HR functions to create an engaging and productive team
  • Understand the key employment laws in simple language
  • Obtain the fundamental and hands on knowledge of recruiting talent, and managing common day-to-day employee issues

Resources of the workshop

  1. Budgeting made easy :
  • Basic financial terms
  • why a budget is important
  • 5 tips for developing a budget.

Resources of the workshop

  1. Grant Writing:
  • Summary of some grant programs available
  • Setting Yourself Up for Grant Success
  • Planning for Success
  • Language Use in the Grant Writing Process
  • Rules for Writing

Resources of the workshop

  1. Website Development:
  • Importance of Website Development
  • Current Challenges faced by the organization
    • Website Templates
    • Consulting and Planning
    • Blog Design
    • Design and Development
    • Website Marketing
  • Budgeting
  • Implications (Financial and Management)
  • Technical Tools
    • Responsive
    • Dynamic
    • SEO
  • Review and Evaluation (Return on Investment)

Resources of the workshop

  1. Social Media Marketing:
  • Importance of Social Media
  • What is Social Media Marketing
    • Strategy
    • Branding
    • Technology
    • Experience Design
    • Digital Marketing
  • Financial Implications
  • Social Media Marketing Plan
  • Technical Tools
  • Evaluation

Resources of the workshop