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A Day of Belonging: May 30th event celebrated Quebec's English-speaking communities
Published on June 06, 2022
At the end of May, COM-Unity's Year 2 partner organizations came together to celebrate the wrap-up of a year of projects engaging English-speaking communities across Quebec through the arts, culture, heritage and education sectors.
Delegates from LEARN Quebec, the Black Community Resource Centre, Youth4Youth Quebec, the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network, Seniors Action Quebec, and the English Language Arts Network (ELAN) congregated Monday, May 30th at Concordia University’s high-tech 4TH SPACE event venue to share their informative and interactive presentations to audiences both in person and online.
Though the event took place during a complex political moment in the province, the energy in the room was bright and positive. This was not in the least thanks in a large part to the event’s vivacious master of ceremonies, local television reporter and media personality Catherine Verdon-Diamond.
During the live broadcast, Verdon-Diamond toured the kiosks hosted by each partner organization, interviewing delegates with candid and insightful questions, often sharing her own personal reflections as a bilingual Black woman in Quebec, and graciously navigating the inevitable technical challenges of a complex, bimodal live event.
The three-hour program designed by veteran event organizer (and ELAN member) Betty Esperanza was engaging and flowed well, making excellent use of 4Th SPACE’s bright and modular design and abundance of large screens. Among the attendees was William Floch, Secrétaire adjoint of the Secrétariat aux relations avec les Québécois d'expression anglaise, the provincial body that supports the COM-Unity project.
After more than two years of virtual meetings, it was a delight to finally share space with one another, and much excitement was shared for the third year of the COM-Unity project.
A recording of the event broadcast can be viewed at 4th Space’s YouTube channel here: https://bit.ly/3z99DVa
And now, take a look at some highlights from the event, and of each Year 2 partner organization’s kiosks and presentations! (photos by Betty Esperanza)
LEARN QUEBEC
Assistant Director Emma Legault chatted with Catherine about LEARN’s “I Belong” Project, and how Quebec youth value diverse identity and bilingualism. Then, spoken word artist and “I Belong” mentor Liana Cusmano joined via video to perform a piece, who was then joined by “I Belong” high school student Abigail Shotlander whom they mentored this year.
BLACK COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE
BCRC shared an excerpt of their video project “Untold Stories: Past, Present and Future” featuring the oral histories of multiple generations of Black Montreal Anglophone families. Catherine and BCRC Project Coordinator Sherisse Etienne discussed the generational shift in the sense of identity expressed by the video subjects, from diasporic to Canadian, and how that affected their sense of belonging. Also in attendance were project leaders from BCRC’s other projects, including award-winning author H Nigel Thomas.
SENIORS ACTION QUEBEC
SAQ shared a video trailer of their Year 2 project, “Je Me Souviens: Portraits of Who We Are” featuring video interviews with Quebec seniors from various regions. Then, Program Coordinator Katia Toimil-Bramhall, project producer Jesse Meyer and Catherine were joined via video call by directors of partner organizations from across the province. They hosted a lively discussion about the regional differences that affect Quebec seniors and emphasized how excited their networks are to be getting out and about now, post-COVID.
QUEBEC ANGLOPHONE HERITAGE NETWORK
QAHN Project Manager Dwane Wilkin and board member Sandra Stock spoke with Catherine about the importance of regional historical societies, emphasizing that Anglophone history in Quebec is history that belongs to all Quebecers. They also played a video highlighting the many projects QAHN members have undertaken this past year.
YOUTH4YOUTH QUEBEC
Executive Director Adrienne Winrow shared Y4Y’s Year 2 “You Are Here: The Belonging project” highlight reel and spoke with Catherine about their Youth Cultural Ambassador program, which fosters both a greater sense of belonging and leadership skill development for English-speaking youth in multiple regions.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS NETWORK
Guy Rex Rodgers, manager of ELAN’s COM-Unity Project, spoke candidly with Catherine about the response that his recently premiered feature-length documentary What We Choose to Remember (which emerged out of ELAN’s Year 2 project, “Waves of Change”) has been generating in the tumult of Bill 96. The documentary was made on the 50th anniversary of the October crisis, and features stories from generations of Anglophone Quebecers.
To read more about the now-finished Year 2 projects, click here!
And stay tuned for our announcement about our Year 3!