"On the way..."

"I really love sharing my culture with Canadians and
other people living in Toronto" ~Eske

Visions of Unity in Diversity is a digital storytelling project by CultureLink, funded by Inspirit Foundation.The program promotes respect for diverse religions, cultures and spirituality through exchange between youths, fieldtrips to places of worship, attending cultural festivals, sharing by various religious leaders and interaction with one another.

This is Eske's story:


Project special thanks to UforChange.

"Religious Experience"

"There are more similarities between religions than differences,
and it is ignorance and misuse that causes clashes
between different religious groups." ~Hekmat 

Visions of Unity in Diversity is a digital storytelling project by CultureLink, funded by Inspirit Foundation.The program promotes respect for diverse religions, cultures and spirituality through exchange between youths, fieldtrips to places of worship, attending cultural festivals, sharing by various religious leaders and interaction with one another.

This is Hekmat's story:


Project special thanks to UforChange.

"Preserving Culture"

"Cultures pass from generation to generation,
it is a symbol of life." ~Yan 

Visions of Unity in Diversity is a digital storytelling project by CultureLink, funded by Inspirit Foundation.The program promotes respect for diverse religions, cultures and spirituality through exchange between youths, fieldtrips to places of worship, attending cultural festivals, sharing by various religious leaders and interaction with one another.
This is Yan's story.:

Project special thanks to UforChange.

"Maracatu"

Visions of Unity in Diversity is a digital storytelling project by CultureLink, funded by Inspirit Foundation.The program promotes respect for diverse religions, cultures and spirituality through exchange between youths, fieldtrips to places of worship, attending cultural festivals, sharing by various religious leaders and interaction with one another.

This is Juan's story.:


"There are strong similarities in the way (different cultural communities) use music to strengthen their community and to experience their spirituality with the beats of the drums." 

Project special thanks to UforChange.

"Love is the most important thing in Life"

"Everyone is a human being, and that is
what is important..." ~Susan Mera

Visions of Unity in Diversity is a digital storytelling project by CultureLink, funded by Inspirit Foundation.The program promotes respect for diverse religions, cultures and spirituality through exchange between youths, fieldtrips to places of worship, attending cultural festivals, sharing by various religious leaders and interaction with one another.

This is Susan's story.:


Project special thanks to UforChange.

Learning About the Native Culture

On Monday May 13, I attended CultureLink’s Newcomer Youth Centre’s program introducing First Nations cultures to newcomer youths. I was greeted by a gentleman Cat Criger, who looked like he could have been of the same race as me. Cat works at the University of Toronto. He is an Aboriginal Elder, Traditional Teacher and Mentor from the First Nations People. It was such a privilege getting to meet with him and chat with him one-on-one.

Through our chat, I learnt that this gentleman is a first nation person and he talked about First Nations people. I learnt that the general characteristic and nature of the native people, are to be kind and very warm to all people. I also learned that First Nation people suffered under the oppression of the British Colony. I feel that their culture and my culture are very similar and I related the same to him. Interestingly, he brought a musical instrument made from a turtle shell. He showed us some very interesting aspects of turtle, like the dynamic line and stripes on the turtle’s body, being a guide on how to live with principle.

I took the opportunity to ask why he, Cat, has two braids, one on each side of his head. He explained that it is a sign of being married. Every morning, as a ritual and also as a sign of affection, his wife puts in the two braids in his hair for him. Cat also told us of his dream of climbing Mt. Everest. I felt proud of my identity and found a lot of similarities between the cultures of the aboriginal people and my own Tibetan culture. Lynda, our program coordinator also explained a bit about her own culture, which is similar to the culture in Malaysia.

At the end of the day, I felt good that I have learnt more about different cultures. It was an enriching experience.  

Written by: Tenzin Dhuedul

Edited by: Lynda Young

Cat’s profile:

Cat Criger is the Resident Elder at the University of Toronto. He is an Aboriginal Elder, Traditional Teacher and Mentor from the First Nations People. He is Cayuga (Guyohkohnyoh), Turtle Clan from the Six Nations Haudenosaunee or People of the Longhouse. Cat has been working as a Traditional Teacher and Healer for more than 16 years in the Native and multi-cultural community in Canada, the USA, England and Wales. He was taught in the old way, working for many years with the guidance of an Aniishnawbe Elder (Zaawawagaabo) and other First Nations Elders, and was taught to do traditional ceremonies, teachings, circles, one to one work and to help all people to 'walk in a good way' though life.

Source: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/student-life/aboriginal-centre/traditional-aboriginal-elder

Visit to Hare Krishna Temple

Our visit to the Hare Krishna Temple.

The main hall's elaborately beautiful display.

We went to Hare Krishna Temple at 243 Avenue Rd on April 15. Our goal is to learn about Hare Krishna, respect for pluralism and the importance of building a multi-faith society in multicultural Toronto. Before we went into the temple, taking off our shoes was necessary. The main hall was full of the special smell from special incense. There was a couple of sofas right in a corner. After we left our bags on the sofa, we looked around in temple.

Every picture tells a different story.

The temple separates into two floors. There are pictures hung on the wall all over around the first floor. Different pictures include different single stories and different meanings. And there are several holy displays in the middle of main hall. People kneel in front of them to pray for something.

We sat around Kamalini as she introduced us to the temple.

The second floor looked just like an auditorium with multiple stairs. After we took some photos, we went back to the first floor. Kamalini Devi Dasi came to introduce us to the temple and she explained the descriptions of the drawings hung up on the walls. We all sat surrounding her on the floor. She also taught us a song, which is about Hare Krishna. Here is the lyrics:
“Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

Kamalini showed up how to sing the Hare Krishna song.

Kamalini told us that Hare Krishna believers assemble every Sunday at 6 pm to chant this song in this temple. She also invited us to join them for the assembly. Then, she held a small cymbal and sounded it rhythmically as she led us in the chant. We were also supposed to let our right feet cross over our left feet and touch the floor lightly. And left feet cross right feet to opposite side as well.

We stopped singing after repeating the chant several times. We also learned that believers believe that Mahatma is a great soul. Followers believe that people should focus for Global Unity and that Krishna, which encompasses all attractive supreme personalities, is the central point of all loving feelings!

We had a little snack.

The visit to the Hare Krishna temple taught me lots of cultures and histories of India which are very different from any other countries. We experienced the dancing, the song, and a little snack from India. It was a very good opportunity for learning about pluralism. And we enjoyed ourselves!

""It is important for us to learn about respect for other religions, because everyone is equal. You may don't believe what they believe, but you should respect it. If you have a religion that you believe in, you will definitely want others to respect your religion. "

"
On a side note, I would also like this program to add some activities which are kind of like contacting with animals or watching performance of ballet. Hope we can get to do that soon!

Written by: Jessica Wang
Edited by: Lynda Young