Immigrant youths fighting discrimination

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be granting $905,000 to the city of Vancouver for a three year project entitled CitizenU. The project will consist of 2,000 at-risk youth, ages 15-20, from diverse ethnic backgrounds who will speak out against discrimination and bullying in their community.

The main aim of the project is to spread interfaith and intercultural understanding in Vancouver, thus reducing discrimination. The recruited youths will participate in mentorship and internship programs which focus on project development and leadership skills. CitizenU organizers say the project will provide the youths with leadership training, interfaith activities, and citizenship education.

Vancouver currently has over 400,000 Chinese immigrants and more than 200,000 immigrants from South Asia. Over 50% of the population have a mother tongue other than English. As immigration numbers continue to soar, it is important for people in the community to understand the cultural beliefs that new immigrants bring with them.