ALISON D’SA IS IMPACTING POST RECONCILIATION CANADA THROUGH HMC’S KIDS FEST

With a degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, D’Sa believes that engaging youth with the concept of multiculturalism and intersectionality at an early age is a great way for them to see that their natural ability to create diverse relationships across all backgrounds is an important skill to promote as Canadians.  Harambecouver Multicultural Carnival (HMC) was launched in 2017 as Canada’s first Multicultural Parade with a focus on diversity and reconciliation by Kayode Fatoba and Kombii Nanjalah who appointed Steven Lytton to lead them in the productions first Parade. This year D’Sa takes on HMC as their first Children’s Program Director. According to D’Sa, her first question to Kayode Fatoba during their preliminary planning was what his plans were for engaging the future generation. While he was focused on producing and growing the programming for HMC with targets for delivering the actual event, there was a need to integrate platforms that exposed children and families to this Canadian Multicultural Event. While HMC’s Kids Fest runs from August 25th to 26th, the work to make this program component a reality has been an uphill battle. However, it’s one that is producing positive results and an awareness that the leaders and communities behind this platform are open to taking recommendations that not only increase their overall ability to grow, but impact the reach of their invests in a population that’s often neglected but are the future of Canada. While Alison is currently working towards a future in teaching, she believes conversations and programs like this shouldn’t just be for the general public, it should impact vital innovation in education to produce a lot more equitable academic successes.

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