VNITY STANDS WITH HARAMBECOUVER AND DTES WORKERS ON AFRICAN GREAT LAKES SETTLEMENT AND STOP WORK ORDER.

Vancouver’s growing Multicultural Carnival organizers and marketplace look to Government for support from society bankruptcy and labour issues.

In what is the first of it’s kind for the growing organization, the advocacy movement of VNITY as an umbrella organization to represent the workers of the Multicultural Carnival is stepping in to do the work that Great Lakes Canada, the Canadian chapter of African Great Lakes Networking Foundation was appointed and estbalished to do. Chaired by Steven Lytton, the platform would become unable to appeal to it’s mother organization causing the collapse of the govenance structure at the expense of the programming Workers and Creative market. Lending it’s support and resources to the workers of African Great Lake Networking Foundation’s Harambecouver as well as the DownTown EastSide workers of whom have have been forced to take a serious financial burden within their support of African Great Lakes Networking Foundation’s PanAfrican Carnival Programming. 

The results of continuing negligent practice practices by this organization within the Canadian market has created a growing concern for artists, contractors, labourers and other concerned citizens, while opening up legal liabilities that might become a nightmare for the organizations’ negligence Insurance provider. While Skynation has engaged the city in their role in this continued unsafe practice, conversations with cultural services would reveal they did not support the programming in the first place. While a growing number of workers have taken to advance conversations with local MPs within a need to escalate these issues to the Deputy Minister of Labour, Trevor Hudges, Vancouver Councillors and MPs, increasing public awareness of a #STopWorkOrder on the organization's African Carnival, of which it's privately trying to present at the expense of the Canadian Multicultural community of whom are still outstanding. Many believe the continued practice of this organization of whom continues to peddle that this event is fully government funded at the expense of contractors and marginalized workers is a risk to the Canadian economy. 

“We can’t be paying into a society for other people of whom do not represent Government interests or the program communities interest to do as they wish with funds that are not theirs to begin with in the first place”, said a production worker frustrated on the current turn of events. With a number of workers coming forward to engage the society privately, the Founder and Executive Director, Kombii Nanjalah would issue claims to them that the programming is as good as dead. When these individuals of whom are from the program community specifically try to stand up to her and rebuttal the fact that they are not dead and in fact they do need their expenses settled accordingly outside the court of law, they are met with insults, character defamation, and outside being blocked on various communication channels. Having an Executive Director claim vendors, artists, and various stakeholders were not present at the “African Carnival” citing it had no connection to “Harambecouver” of which was rebranded during the dissolving of the organization’s PanAfrican Carnival makes it seem as though this organization is trying to pull a wool over people’s eyes.

 From claims that vendors who were integral to the public demonstration of Multiculturalism were not present at the event, to claims that she will rename it a different name and do as she pleases without accountability to her current board of Directors, to her Chair, to her President of whom would engage the community under her chapter organization Great Lakes Canada, became paramount reasons to escalate matters to agents who are able to enforce the rule of law to create a much more professional practices.

 The failure of her board of directors to appeal this Executive Director of whom was petitioned to either settle the labour wages of it’s various workers, or see the resignation of it's diverse agents of whom we’re appointed into specific key roles required for the sustainability and health of this Canadian centric programming meant the organization by dissolving these branches of which were meant to advocate for Harambecouver, the production was also indirectly being dissolved. While many Canadians had lost thousands of dollars to the organization's African Carnival, where in it’s first year, local fashion and food vendors of whom invested thousands into food sponsorship as part of a promise of the 2000 people confirmed attendance by the founder was communicated that no one was actually present. From University Fashion Week presenting emerging designers while integrating Harambecouver's multicultural  mission into it's programming, it seemed the extent of the investments of the production community stopped within the organization of whom were unable to support the programming of which they had budgeted at $300,000 but would apartment spend $15,000 on a black history month event for less than 100 people. Through an FOI, producers were able to confirm that the outsourced value of the black history event saw revenue going into the organization of which which further open the organization to scrutiny.   

The grotesque oversight of which was communicated by this ED would result in new productions production agreements being signed at the expense of these agencies. Within the production community of “Harambecouver” noticing a range of mismanagement issues to rebrand and reprogram the organization’s African Carnival into a new presentation called Harambecouver, the lack of confidence and various failed agreements from Great Lakes Canada became asymptomatic of a lack of organizational capacity and other organizational issues. While the organization might run various established chapters in other parts of the world and probably reputable across the African continent, the Canadian workforce of whom were contracted, and subcontracted as part of Harambecouver’s growing multicultural programming would slowly start to require legal support as well as a negotiated settlement in which their assets, intellectual properties, financial investments are subjected to the exploitation of another of whom is suppose to support the growth of Canadian industries. According to undisclosed sources, the daughter organization Great Lakes Canada, would have it’s President and Vice President step down immediately, while petitioning to remain anonymous within various liabilities associated to the unresolved work Great Lakes Canada. 

While the President is communicating their cooperation with media in supporting the advocacy efforts of VNITY’s during this time of ensuring the support and growth of this growing multicultural marketplace, the dissolving of the organization, communication with law enforcement, as well as production of resignation letters detailing their distance from the Executive Director within various organizations talent acquisition strategies of which misinforms it's BOD of the true health of the organization has resulted in these executives also fighting for their innocence. While there’s been an internal call for the organization to assume liability for it’s commissioned production and stop it’s dangerous talent poaching and outsourcing practices as it's become highly unhealthy with some issues of which has also been escalated to health authorities. The need to settle it’s debt with its workers, unsuccessfulness of private negotiation for over a year while this organization attempts at representing an already dissolved African Carnival in Vancouver after the mounting expenses has resulted in the need for this public release. The city of Vancouver already has an African Descent Festival of which was communicated to the organization created competition outside of the hidden liabilities associated with the organization.

With a number of agencies needing to issue emergency funding to support this organizational mismanagement issues, African Great Lakes Networking Foundation forcing some sole proprietorships, creatives, vendors, contractors and more to go into extreme conditions which does impact the sustainability of Harambecouver’s growing economy as well as fiscal operations is not acceptable. As a multicultural platform, there's a wide range of leadership organizations that have the capabilities to support this programming into securing a much healthier production budget. Imagine an organization that was responsible for paying your rent, leaving you to find a way to support your self while profiting off your labour within choosing not to assume any liabilities for their contracting of you as an worker. Ironically the theme of the second year's programming was Mental Health and while the organization claims to be representing a "mental health" theme as part of their representation of the dissolved "African Carnival", the fact that such an organization that seems to care so much about mental health would not pay an a single hospital visit to their workers of whom would become hospitalized due to their inability to compensate and settle their liabilities makes it an even bigger issue in questioning what mental health really means to such an organization.  

Harambecouver executives having to meet with workers, meeting with artists in their homes, to let them know that due to various unsafe bad faith players, the resulting programming has would not only be cancelled for the following year, the various issues would require advocacy and calling for government involvement should not be the job of production executives. If your job is to perform, you should be at City Hall or a Lawyers office fighting to get compensated for your performance and also should not be unable to engage the agency of whom are liable for your employment. While some workers being referred to social services due to the inability to receive necessary funds as promised, as well as a range of unsafe, unhealthy, and unethical management practices has not only put the lives of countless workers at risk; the callous attempt of not acknowledging, reimbursing the thousands of dollars from middle class savings and tax payer funds is not excusable. While a #StopWorkOrder has been placed on the organization's continued program by the program creator and a slow but growing member of the production community, the call for the non support from Vancouverites for this organizations's African Carnival is one that allows for transparent productions that's not at the expense of a market that should be growing based on necessary investments. Harambecouver will be having it's first annual general meeting, as it moves into a second dissolution it growing into VNITY as an umbrella organization able to advocate for it's growing multicultural marketplace.  From workers in the DTES associated with this production, to fashion designers, models, vendors and interested volunteers, who have been affected by this mismanagement, the call is for a Meeting on the 24th at Thornton park, while this might be the end of Harambecouver, the interest of the production community to keep it going and evolve it within Vnity's support is also leading to a metamorphosis. Speaking to Parks Board, dealing with Lawyers, chasing down a Vancouver’s society’s Executive Director should not be the responsibility of the market place and it’s workers or the volunteers of whom are contributing what they can so they do not have to take on the various bureaucratic issues. And with a single bus-fare costing $6, 10 meetings is already $60 in transportation costs outside of the lost wages already invested into the production. DTES workers need to be compensated for their work and for this organization to be held accountable, it should take investing a growing amount of funds into more legal fees, for said organization to dissolve causing even more liabilities. According to anonymous sources, the City of Vancouver had denied road closure permitting for the Parade of which was not communicated to the production company until weeks before introduction to the table, the Executive Director had communicated that they had an Events Coordinator  hired and had done a great deal of work before looking to outsource to a different company. 2000 people attendance to their African Carnival was also a lie. Given the various issues being been brought up against the organization, this press release also serves as a direct warning to all Board of Directors unaware of their liabilities within advancing this production forward. Knowledge of the mountain legal issues against AGLN and their continued support of the organization could and should be at said directors own discretion and as the President of whom has since stepped down from the organization stated, the liability belongs to African Great Lakes Networking Foundation. From a need for better working conditions to raising capital, advocacy, advancement of the carnivals economy is why the Annual General Meeting of which will constitute the dissolution of Harambecouver  and emergence of VNITY be communicated. Hearing the local community converse on what they want to see, having this feedback as part of the necessary documents that's part of evolving this growing production are all part of the overall goals going into this General Meeting. From lack of adequate traffic management planning, noise considerations and entertainment licensing considerations, volunteer recruitment on-boarding and management, Space, insurance, employment, and a range of vendorship marketplace opportunities, engaging the community at large allows the ability of VNITY getting formalized approval that there's an interest in this production community in working with an organization emerging from it's assets for long terms.  

After a production manager died from overdose this year, the Executive Director would be invited to speak on Mental Health and sit down with the production community of whom were forced to deal with the financial burdens of the organization's uncommunicated internal negligence alone. many associated production companies and organization have since started working to provide direct resources to and emergency support the various workers taken for a ride by this organization. You see Government needing to step in and health authorities calling for Government to investigate what is happening within this labour market and why many are calling a Stop Work Order against this organization. It’s important to understand that the need to stop the advancements of future productions from this organization until various auditing, training, and various restrictions are placed is it understanding it's level of operations or it's requirements to settle it's debt is because the working class of which this organization is attempting to acquire services for are already marginalized. Loosing $500 when you’re already broke for an opportunity for make $650, of which you end up losing the entire $500 puts you further in debt as those are discretionary funds  might have been needed for other future expenses. As VNITY and it’s growing stakeholders have placed the support of Harambecouver workers and the DTES as part of it's mission amongst it's growing advocacy initiatives as an organization, the primary escalation of the organization to Government to appeal to Kombii Nanjalah of whom has decided to not heed private inquiry from University professors, Community activist, her own chapter President and Vice President to Stop Work and prioritize the settlement conversations is part of the reasons for this Annual General Meeting. While the organization would outsource billable work hours of which is owed to the DTES workers as part of it's representation of the African Carnival, VNITY is standing firm against such practice as the communities associated with growing this industry and production should be supported to make back the lost earnings of which are still outstanding from the organization. The ability to provide a source of employment to a community of Vancouverites of whom show grit, push daily to not give up even when the city’s growing demand for affordable housing options start to cave in, a city where it's Creatives  are forced to look to other hospitable and livable cities to occupy; the lack of understanding of  the importance of settling employment expenses by this Vancouver society at a rate that's even under living wage agreements does call for the creation of an organization that's able to support this programming in lot healthily.  

At a rate in which the various contractors of whom we’re commissioned for the production are without pay after paying out a great deal of funds to produce this program, would cause a number of organizations to question if the establishment of the organization to serve public interest or Executive Director interest. You want to support this person because she comes off great, comes off caring, comes off supportive of you growing as a professional, with claims of supporting growing companies, but maybe that’s there’s a need for the organization to become a lot more internal focused in the various issues of limiting it's capacity and communicate the growing liabilities to it's board of directors of whom stand liable within growing legal issues. The growing debt of African Great Lakes Foundation from previous years does mean as funds would come in as promised to Harambecouver, there existed inconsistencies within what was communicated to it’s workers and what the workers would receive. With some individuals losing thousands of dollars, African Great Lakes Networking Foundation is being called to stop it’s Canadian programming effective immediately and settle its payments of marginalized workers who have started engaging various members of community leadership to bring awareness to the various mismanagement, unhealthy, and unsafe practices that have led to the resignation of the President of it's Canadian Chapter, Great Lakes Canada within it's Head Quartered organization also operating out of Vancouver.  While this release as well as the Annual General Meeting will publicly communicate all that's been internally happening within the production, VNITY has commenced conversations with various agencies towards starting to secure the various legal aid and government support required to advance individual claims within small courts while investigating other options on top of simultaneously working to establish it’s own organizational capacity to advance the clearing of year 2 expenses with support from Government and other private sector partners open to continuing programming under a new more reputable and involved organization. 

 Having a more integrated approach to dealing with this issue collectively, the true spirit of the Multicultural Programming of which was easily received by the various community stakeholders that were part of presenting this growing production means the children of whom are impacted, the program managers of whom now represent the Multicultural Kids Fest of which would attract a range of create young talents to the stage are being exposed to a Canada that's able to settle it's internalized issues amicably. As a community of whom have invested in this programming at the expense of his type of disappointment within a need to prioritize better management systems to present this type of event a lot more cohesively, hearing the progressive spirit in many stakeholder community looking to work with VNITY is increasing the organization's momentum and operational planning. To support the advocacy of unpaid expenses while working to advance this programming so something that Canadian children are not only starting to look forward to but can continue looking forward to is why there is a need for this community awareness.  While a grant from Taking IT Global would support some Harambecouver expenses to advance a community open house to engage one another about the continuation of the event, the growing understanding of the lack of organizational support for the production would result in the market place and creatives showing up within the organization signalling to the project managers of they were not supporting the production of which would impact the overall production value of the presentation. As opposed to relying on this organization, of whom are now peddling (Harambecouver as an African Carnival) after the community would slowly start to secure organizations looking to support the need to keep the production sustainable, communicating this awareness campaign to the general public allows the opportunity of retaining the historical contributions of the growing stakeholder community of the production while retaining the investment requirements of growing the production community of whom have been part of growing and expanding this significant community program.

 members of the public are being asked to lend their support to the growth of VNITY as it works to become the advocacy body of this growing programming and it’s Multicultural Carnival marketplace that's starting to impact Canadian Children of whom are getting exposed to the platform as an character they identify with as part of their Canadian exposure and upbringing.