GATINEAU, March 21, 2005 -- The Honourable Raymond Chan, Minister of State (Multiculturalism), honoured the 10 winning teams of the 9th annual Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition at a ceremony held today, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization."These young Canadians understand the pain of exclusion. They know that stereotyping can cause damage to both the individual and the community," added Minister of State Chan. "They recognize that racism is a barrier for many Canadians, and that respect and understanding are the only means to overcome this challenge.""These videos enable us to see the world through the eyes of Canada's youth," said Minister of State Chan. Every year the Racism. Stop it! National Video Competition challenges youth aged 12 to 18 to take a stand against racism by creating videos that deliver strong anti-racism messages. The competition is sponsored by Panasonic Canada Inc. The videos are selected by a panel of judges who make their choices based on originality, audio/visual quality and the effectiveness of the Racism. Stop It! message.The winning teams come from schools in Prince George, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; Toronto and Markham, Ontario; Chandler and Laval, Quebec, and 2 of the 10 winners come from the same school -- Sacred Heart -- in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The 2005 winning videos can be viewed at: www.march21.gc.ca.The Racism. Stop it! National Video Competition was created to honour the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, March 21. This special day was declared by the United Nations in 1966 to commemorate the anti-apartheid demonstrators who were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, 45 years ago. Canada was one of the first countries to support this International Day. The Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition is funded and managed by the Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. The list of the 2005 winners is attached and is also available on the Internet at: www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room. - 30 - Information: Roy Bornmann Office of Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (819) 997-9900Myriam Brochu Chief, Media RelationsCanadian Heritage(613) 997-9314 BackgrounderRacism: Stop It!Winners of the 2005 National Video Competition Nous sommes qui nous sommesÉcole Curé-Antoine-Labelle, Laval, QuebecCarl Lebel - 17Eve Desrochers - 16Yan Gagnon-Labelle - 16Laura Léger - 16Leave Out Violence c/o Moving Images GroupSacred Heart School of Halifax,Halifax, Nova ScotiaAndrew Abraham - 18Ryan Gannon - 17What is Racism?Cedars Christian School, Prince George, BC Tim Wood - 14Colton Beeton - 13Josh Burnham - 13Daniel Giesbrecht -13Craig Pudlas -13StereotypesSacred Heart School of Halifax, Halifax, Nova ScotiaMelanie Hattie - 14Desirée Adams - 16Meaghean Richardson - 15Kirsti Jangaard - 14Hilary Lanyon - 15Embrace it!Balmoral Hall School, Winnipeg, ManitobaKrupa Kotecha - 14Teresa Kennedy - 14Alex Campbell - 14The Bigot AwardsArthur A. Leach School, Winnipeg, ManitobaSasa Janjic - 14Leanne Farough - 15Selma Medanhodzic - 15Erin Roach - 14Minahal A. Asif - 14Racism. Stop it!Sir John Franklin High School, Yellowknife,NWTJulia McIntyre - 15Nicole Krivan - 15Stop Discrimination Cuz You CanMarkville Secondary School, Markham, OntarioRoy Wong - 18Ashleigh Clarke - 18Wei-Jen Lee - 17Picking TeamsSilver Springs Public School, Toronto, Ont. Ashley Tsang - 13Carrie Han - 13Trevor Harvey - 13Danusha Jebanesan - 13Matthew Sun - 13Pensez-y!Polyvalente Mgr. Sévigny, Chandler, QuebecAnnie Pier Audet - 14Vicky Pelletier - 14Charlotte Levasseur-Paquin - 14
