Ottawa, March 24, 2009 — The Government of Canada is honouring 53 young Canadians today for their efforts to combat racism.
Eleven teams of students representing all regions of Canada are being recognized for their winning videos as part of the 2009 Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition.
Ten winning entries have been produced into 30-second public service announcements. CBC/Radio Canada started airing these announcements on March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The eleventh winning entry was recognized with the Public Choice Award, selected through voting on YouTube.
Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament (Ottawa-Orleans), on behalf of the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, today joined the award winners at the Canadian Museum of Civilization to celebrate their success. More than 500 people attended the special ceremony.
“We are a country built on diversity and tolerance. These videos display to all that young Canadians understand the need to end racial discrimination,” said Mr. Galipeau. “I would like to extend my congratulations to each of the winners and to all those who submitted videos. It is heartening and inspiring to see young people taking a stand and demonstrating leadership on this important issue.”
The winners include four teams from Winnipeg, two teams from Vancouver, and one each from Shelburne, NS, Chandler, QC, Calgary, AB, and Toronto. In most instances, each team of amateur film makers was made up of five students. There were two age categories (12-15 years and 16-20 years). An adult advisor supervised each of the video projects. In addition to students travelling to Ottawa to receive their certificates, each of their respective schools is being presented with a Panasonic Digital Camcorder.
A team representing the Chevaliers de Colomb of Gascons, QC, won the Public Choice Award.
The Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition was initiated by the Government of Canada in 1996 and encourages young people, aged 12 to 20, from across Canada to produce a short video to express their points of view on eliminating racism. More than 1,200 students participated in a total of 340 video submissions. An independent national panel selected the winning videos based on their originality, audiovisual quality, and the effectiveness of their anti-racismmessage.
Canada was one of the first countries to support the United Nations resolution making March 21 the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This day was proclaimed in 1966 to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre of March 21, 1960, when police killed 69 South Africans participating in an anti-apartheid demonstration.
For more information on the National Video Competition, please visit www.march21.gc.ca.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
Media Relations Unit
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
