October 24, 2006
Presenting: Ben Viccari - A Lifetime Dedicated
to Multicultural Communications
Interesting people are everywhere. I met Ben Viccari a few weeks
ago at the initial screening of a documentary called "Small
Places - Small Homes". The documentary profiled the life of
four immigrant families who had chosen to settle in small rural
Canadian towns and spoke to their unique challenges and adjustment
experiences. During the party afterwards I was introduced to Ben
Viccari, a distinguished writer and journalist, and a pioneer of
Canadian multiculturalism.
Ben is a fascinating individual - at almost 90 years of age he
is in the process of creating his second television documentary
and involved in multiple projects at the same time. Ben has decades
of public relations experience and during the last quarter century
also became involved in ethnic publications. At present Ben is the
President of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association which speaks
to issues of immigrant settlement, heritage preservation and the
ethnic communities' role in nation building.
He is also a regular commentator on Omni Television and runs an
online publication called "Canscene" which introduces
the reader to multicultural issues in Canada. In this article Ben
shares with us his life experience throughout his early years, the
Second World War, and his almost 60 years in Canada. He also gives
us insight into his unique views on Canada's role as a potential
model nation in terms of how we deal with immigration and immigrant
settlement, notions that are very dear to my own heart.
I was amazed by Ben's energy and creativity and enjoyed the time
we spent in a little restaurant along Bloor Street, learning from
a man whose life experience spans almost a century, a man whose
energy, creativity and broad-mindedness captivate.
1. Please tell us about yourself and your background.
I am a Canadian well qualified, I believe, to speak for multiculturalism
and diversity through my mixed parentage, early education at a London
school with an international student body, travel abroad, followed
in Canada since the late 1940s by a diverse career in communications
much of which has placed me in contact with Canadians from a wide
variety of origins and backgrounds
Ben at the provincial archive, Winnipeg with the complete issues
of
the Icelandic Framfari, first ethnic newspaper published in Manitoba,
in a scene from The Third Element
2. You grew up in England as the child of Italian immigrants.
Please tell us more about that.
My father, an Italian immigrant to Britain, met and married my mother,
an Englishwoman. They had two children, my younger brother John
and me, seven years his senior. Our delight was to grow up in a
home in which husband and wife enjoyed mutual respect for each other’s
national traits. We lived in an ambiance of being loved and in turn,
loving.
In those days, marriage to a foreign citizen who was not naturalized
meant wife and children were Italian nationals and a sense of duality
became natural to us. We ate chicken cacciatore and olives, roast
beef and Yorkshire pudding and rejoiced when Dad came home with
sticks ot torrone, Italian nougat bought at Barale and Crippa an
Italian grocery in the heart of Soho. Also their tangy salami. And
while my Italian grandparents were still alive, they mailed boxes
of home made salami, soppressata and goat cheese to us.
3. Your working life originally started out in the barber
shop of your father. Please tell us more about that.
From childhood, I loved being read to and even made up my own stories.
I remember my mother recounting that I had created a fictional country
that I frequently “visited.” It was peopled entirely
by cats and I called it “Abloo Labloo Land.” Even before
I started kindergarten I knew the alphabet and could detect certain
printed words and by seven sensational papers like News of the World
were hidden away from me.
My favourite subjects were English, French and History and not
being much of a sportsman or gymnast I revelled in opportunities
to participate in school dramatics and class performances of Shakespeare.
There was a brief fling at pro theatre when at 15 I joined a troupe
of youngsters at the spacious Wimbledon home of the Thursby-Pelhams.
The husband was a prominent English lawyer and his wife born in
Mexico but raised in England had brought up her children Lola and
Marshall in a theatrical atmosphere. She had written a children’s
Christmas play in which a school is magically transported to all
corners of the world.
I played Ronnie, the third juvenile lead after Lola and Marshall
and the famous music hall comedian Harry Tate was engaged to play
the school teacher. By the time the show was sufficiently rewritten,
rehearsed and ready to go, no London theatres were available and
the idea of a West End production abandoned, but we gave a few performances
in aid of charity at town halls and other locations with stage facilities.
I remain a ham at heart and during my army years, organized a number
of shows performed by soldiers.
My reverence for the spoken and written word is perhaps what has
most governed my life. I attended Pitman’s College where I
learned typing and shorthand skills. I was disappointed that I could
never get into journalism even at the entry level of copy boy or
some other menial job. Oddly enough, my father encouraged me in
my search and never insisted on my becoming a hairdresser.
At age 17, I became a hairdresser feeling I owed it to my father
who had tried so hard to get me introductions to press people. I
was first apprenticed to a large salon at Liverpool St. Station
and then attended hairdressing schools.
My father remained a barber but had excellent management skills
and rose to be manager of the ladies and gents salon at the world
renowned Claridges hotel. In 1935, he opened a small salon of his
own and two years later a much larger business on Cork Street, in
the heart of the Saville Row district. The clientele included the
aristocracy, the greats of politics and diplomacy and many people
from the arts and entertainment world: Anton Walbrook, Valerie Hobson,
Jan Masaryk, Sir David Lean, Sir Arthur Bliss, Alexander Korda,
to name a few. The window of the salon carrried the Royal Warrant,
the official coat of arms of the House of Windsor, granted because
one of Dad’s personal clients was a Royal Duke -- I can’t
remember which one.
I worked at the entry level at the Cork Street establishment and
then found jobs in the suburbs, but my heart was never in the craft
deeply enough to take it to the art that my father and his contemporaries
raised it. Today, in the light of the fate that befell millions
it seems sinful to say that I joined the army with a sense of relief.
4. You were also fighting for the British Army during World
War II. What was your role and where were you stationed?
I was able to claim British citizenship at age 21, along with my
mother and thus eligible to join the army. Although I would have
been conscripted anyway, I was able to volunteer and so to choose
the Royal Artillery rather than the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry.)
I was one of the few people of my age to be fortunate enough to
own and drive a car, which I‘d been given for my 21st birthday,
so I automatically became a driving instructor at the helm of a
dual control vintage Rolls Royce which to my chagrin was speed-governed
to 30 mph.
That period lasted from October ‘39 to March ‘40 when
I was shipped to France with a draft of reinforcements, not to replace
casualties for this was the period of the Phony War and two mighty
armies faced each other across the Maginot Line, only firing token
shots occasionally. Many troops were already going home to England
on leave and as they trickled off, some of us were sent to the front
lines to replace them in their activity.
New Years' Day, 1948. Why Bill McVean was holding his golf club,
neither of us can remember, but in my own memory, this was and still
is a landmark of my life here -- to enjoy such hospitality so soon
after arriving in Canada.
5. Please tell us some of the stories you remember most
from your time during WWII. What was your personal experience during
this crucial time in history?
The phony war ended May 10, when the panzers came pouring into
Belgium and Holland and the front line troops were eventually driven
back to the sands of Dunkirk. In desperation it seems, the British
Army rallied the troops who were well out of harm’s way during
the Dunkirk evacuation -- mostly raw replacements like ourselves
and formed them into impromptu units like “E” Field
Battery to which I was posted as a driver.
We move up from Nantes where we were formed into a unit and headed
toward Paris, where it was assumed we’d defend the city along
with the French until reinforcements arrived from Britain. This
became impossible, we leaned later, since the troops who’d
been fortunate enough to be evacuated from Dunkirk had few arms
and there weren’t enough ready in srmy storage in England.
When we reached a certain point miles short of Paris and dug gun
pits it was with dismay that we witnessed what seemed like the entire
French Army in retreat; south they went in weary dejection, leaving
Paris to the Nazis. Then we heard the capital had fallen and Italy
had entered the war against us. We had all of us -- officers and
men -- now become true companions, and apart from a few light hearted
remarks to buoy up my spirits after Mussolini's decision, I sensed
neither prejudice nor concern at my being one half Italian.
My lot was to drive one of the two senior lieutenants in the unit
on reconnaissance of the neighbourhoods at which we would build
gun sites, contact supply depots for food and try to locate command
headquarters.
It is difficult to describe the fluid state of affairs when often,
not even our commanding officer knew nothing of the overall Army
plans. On one occasion, we thought we were being strafed by enemy
aircraft but the commotion was a dogfight and suddenly from our
cover in a small stand of trees, we saw a British fighter plane
ploughing through the earth. Two of our fellows dashed into the
open to find the pilot alive and well except for a sprained ankle.
He was dragged into cover, fed and driven to the nearest RAF airfield
remaining in France.
On another occasion, Lieutenant Jack Lowery and I were driving
on a rural road when coming rapidly toward us was a strange looking
vehicle which we suddenly realized was a German armoured car. In
a flash, we both saw a side road to our left, and swinging the steering
wheel madly, we turned into it on two wheels and drove like hell
for several miles. We’ll never know why the Germans didn’t
fire at us or attempt pursuit. Maybe they thought our light van
was one of theirs.
And so it went for eight more days. Dig in, await orders, and then
retreat until finally we arrived at Cherbourg where the guns were
loaded onto a ship. The vehicles were driven into a field outside
the city where they would be destroyed. However, as driver of a
lighter vehicle, I was one of ten who were told that remnants of
a company of Cameron Highlanders were stranded outside Caen, some
90 miles to the north of Cherbourg and we’d have to go back
to pick them up.
By now the roads were clogged with refugees moving south, thousands
on foot, some travelling on bicycles, a lucky few in vehicles, even
a hearse. The going was rough when we set out before daybreak but
we made the rendezvous just after noon only to find no Cameron Highlanders.
We drove around the area, found nobody and assumed the Scotties
had been picked by others. As a short cut, we decided to drive through
the south end of Caen, which wasn’t such a good idea since
we heard the rattle of German gunfire as the Nazis poured into Caen.
Fortunately they must have paused to regroup since we were able
to leave unhampered.
The road back to Cherbourg was even more difficult and eventful
than the road up to Caen. We did manage to find a few British soldiers
going it on foot along with the other refugees but as we crawled
back to the seaport we were machine gunned twice in 15 minutes by
a lone Stuka. Each time refugees and ourselves threw ourselves into
roadside ditches. We searched for dead and wounded but couldn't’
find a scratch.
We reached Cherbourg in the last hours of daylight and were ushered
into the hold of a cargo ship. I lay down on the bare metal and
slept like a log, waking to find myself on a cloudless June morning
in Southampton harbour
‘E” Field Battery was quickly disbanded to the regrets
of the entire group. Jack Lowery had been promoted to captain and
we were dispatched hither and yon.
Within three weeks I found myself drafted into the Oxfordshire
Yeomanry, an anti-tank regiment assigned to garrison duty in Northern
Ireland. From then on, after the few weeks of high excitement in
France, life seemed anti-climactic and I whiled away boredom by
writing an account of the three months I’d spent in that beautiful,
doomed country. After the manuscript was typed, I submitted it to
a few publishers but by then so many first-hand accounts had already
been published and other conflicts -- Greece, the Middle East --
had broken out and my MSS was stale news. But I never regretted
the confidence that completion of the 30,000-word book gave me.
Other wartime memories are legion and would take a book to fill.
My 36 months in Northern Ireland gave me some insights into the
“troubles” that began nearly 30 years later. Back in
England promoted to bombardier (corporal) I specialized in administering
spare parts supply to the regiment’s vehicles until one fortunate
day I was dispatched to the land of my fathers.
I was posted to Italy as a reinforcement but my knowledge of Italian
soon got me special status wherever I went until eventually I was
posted to the Military Mission to the Italian Army as an interpreter/translator
with the rank of staff sergeant. It was fairly routine work but
I was in Rome, a city l already knew, and one in which by now were
it not for my love for Canada, I would otherwise have found some
way to settle.
6. What happened when you returned to England after the
war?
My first job on being discharged from the Military Mission to the
Italian Army in 1946: was as a reader with Paramount Pictures’
London office, feeding the great maw of Hollywood with synopses
of new books. Then to the fast-growing J. Arthur Rank Organization
as a story analyst, where I not only read but saw new plays and
foreign-language films. I was also earmarked for a training program
with Rank’s junior production unit, Highbury Studio. My ambition
then was to become a writer-director.
Rank was seeking a vehicle for an English production featuring
Hollywood great Frederic March and his wife, Florence and I was
asked to write a treatment of a short story by Rudyard Kipling about
an American industrialist and his wife and how they become enamoured
of rural life in England. Which I did, to some praise, but unfortunately
the producer chose Christopher Columbus as their vehicle.
Disaster arrived in the form of the “Bogart or Bacon”
tax with the Labour government slapping a 70 percent tax on all
Hollywood films. Instead of bolstering the British film industry,
the tax had a reverse effect on Rank, with five British studios.
Reciprocal distribution agreements with the U.S film industry went
out the window and hundreds of men and women were fired. That included
me!
7. Why did you decide to go to Canada and what were your
experiences just after your arrival?
No job, no prospect. Rank was the only game in town and for writers,
newsprint shortage had reduced newspapers and magazines to shadows
of their pre-war selves. Travel held no terrors for me and through
meeting Canadians in England, I’d come to see the potential
of a “new”country. It was the late Alan Jarvis, an expatriate
sculptor who eventually returned to become director of our National
Gallery who finally helped me make up my mind.
8. Several people assisted you in the beginning when you
came to Canada. Please tell us about that.
I owe my first job to two people. Broadcaster and travel writer
Bill McVean and the late Harry Savage, one of the best ever Canadian
publicists.
I arrived in Canada December 15, 1947 and reaching Toronto two
days later; after finding a room, wrote to Bill Mc Vean in Woodstock
who while in the RCAF had been befriended by a family in London.
At a farewell party at my cousins’ home I met this couple
who insisted I contact Bill. The reply to my letter was a telegram
to the effect that I was invited to spend New Year’s with
him and his parents. Bill was then a broadcaster/D.J at a station
in Wingham and after some wonderful hospitality, on January 2, I
started out for Wingham with Bill but heavy snowfall forced us to
literally dig our way back to Woodstock for several few miles before
the road was cleared sufficiently.
Ben with his wife Anne at a Liberal barbecue
9. How did your career progress once you were in Canada?
How did you originally get into the media business?
Bill knew Harry Savage , a brilliant Toronto publicist and writer,
and back in Toronto, I met with Harry who gave me several contacts.
I picked the least likely job first, and landed it! within three
weeks of arriving here, I was working at Turnbull Elevator Company
Limited Company writing brochures and creating a house organ. I
was subsequently appointed its first public relations officer.
So the line passed from McVean to Savage to Gordon Turnbull, proud
of the fact that his all-Canadian company was second only in sales
here to the mighty international Otis Elevator. Gordon was, for
his background (son of a Scottish immigrant engineer) an extraordinarily
broad-minded man. When he asked me the origin of my name I felt
no discomfort at his attitude. He expounded on the need for large-scale
immigration to keep Canada out of American hands.
At the Turnbull Company, I was surrounded by engineers, not among
the most imaginative members of society, but Gordon -- himself an
engineer --asked me how I thought his company’s name could
achieve greater prestige. In the mid 50s, self-service elevators
were being introduced into large office buildings and we had to
steal a march on our competitor, Otis.
I had one of those flashes of imagination that have helped me on
many occasions. I said “Why not introduce the world’s
first elevator hostess? Dressed smartly in a distinctive uniform
like an airline stewardess, “Miss Turnbull” would stand
in lobbies of large buildings and help people adjust to self-service
travel. He mulled over the idea for five mites as I trepidated,
and then proceeded to call the general manager, the chief engineer
and one or two other executives into his office. Gordon wasn’t
feared by his staff, but as he asked me to explain my idea it was
clear to the others that he approved. And so Miss Turnbull was born.
On her first appearance she made the Toronto newspapers and television.
By the time Miss Turnbull had appeared in several new buildings,
I received a president’s award from the Canadian Public Relations
Society.
For five years, I was part of the Sidney S. Brown School of Radio
Drama. Having first attended class in 1948 because I wanted to get
a handle on radio playwriting, I found myself as a teacher and genial
assistant to Syd Brown, who remained a close friend until his death
in 1979. Together we produced Sunday night plays featuring the students,
first on CHUM, then on CKFH and finally back to CHUM. Classes were
always in the evenings and so didn’t conflict with my daytime
job.
Because of Miss Turnbull, I had also attracted some job offers,
but when General Foods Limited, Canadian subidiary of the giant
White Plains Corporation -- Jello, Birdseye, Post cereals, Maxwell
House coffee -- showed interest, I couldn’t resist and so
in 1956 parted with the Turnbull company.
My career in public relations was satisfying and eventually I was
asked to manage the PR arm of a large ad agency. I had a small but
efficient staff, but threw the job in after a year because the agency
execs wanted me to spend too much time window dressing, sitting
in at pitches instead of working with my colleagues: I’m a
hands on guy. In 1971, I was named PR Person of the Year, receiving
the National Achievement Award of the Canadian Public Relations
Society.
I’m glad to be out it though. Today, I believe public relations
has taken a turn for the worse; too much “strategy,”
not enough ballyhoo. Too much lobbying, too much evasion of the
media, not enough transparency.
10. You also transitioned into ethnic media. There was an
incident involving a couple by the name of Schneider that convinced
you of the importance of ethnic media. Please tell us about that
story.
Among the many volunteer PR services I’ve performed was helping
launch the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition at the original Four Seasons
Motor Hotel in 1961. In 1962 -- the second year, I hit on the idea
that since so many exhibitors were immigrants, the ethnic media
in the Toronto area should be alerted.
Three months after the exhibition, there arrived a letter from
Poland addressed to Maria Schneider c/o the hotel. Maria, a watercolorist,
was one of our exhibitors. The fact that she was exhibiting and
where was picked up by a newspaper in Poland and thus two friends
were reunited after 23 years. On the day Warsaw was bombed by the
invading Nazis back in 1939 Maria and the friend had been forced
to cancel a luncheon date. Maria and her husband escaped and found
their way to Canada.
I was also chair of public relations for Villa Colombo, the Italian
home for the aged which opened in 1976; we pioneered telethons for
such enterprises and Rossano Brazzi, the star of Summertime and
South Pacific, was host for three years running. My wife Anne and
I rejoiced in our friendship with Rossano and his wife Lydia. He
was the complete opposite of the suave Latin lover and full of fun.
In 1979, when I represented the Region of Campania (Naples, Vesuvius,
Capri, Ischia, Sorrento ) on a promotional week in Toronto I was
fortunate enough to meet Sofia Loren, a great and warm presence.
She was here to promote her book and the PR man for Bantam asked
whether I could arrange for her to visit Villa Colombo. This also
suited the Campania people since Sofia was a native of that region
and they arranged by telephone for a pewter statuette commemorating
her visit to be made and flown over within 48 hours!
As a PR consultant I’d entered into a partnership which had
proved incompatible and when Johnny Lombardi introduced me to a
group financing a new Italian weekly, I was happy to accept their
offer to become publisher and managing director. It was 1980, and
CFMT-TV, Canada’s first multilingual/multicultural television
station had opened the year before. With CFMT plus Italian radio,
a new paper didn’t stand a chance and we fought an uphill
battle for most of the year, but were finally forced to shut down.
11. What is the role of ethnic media in Canada? How has
it changed over the years?
Back in 1951 when Canadian Scene was established by a group of dedicated
volunteers, there were about 50 ethnic newspapers and one or two
isolated radio programs -- that’s all. Most of these papers
were Eastern European and German, with a smattering of Italian since
there had been a substantial Italian immigration prior to World
War I.
According to my estimate, there are some 1,000 media representing
non-English, non- French and non-Aboriginal communities. By media
I mean newspapers, magazines, and individual radio and television
programs -- plus the growing number of internet publications.
The role they play is threefold: (1) acting as a bridge between
the newcomer and the community at large, (2) providing ethno- specific
community news and (3) providing motherland news.
12. Please tell us about your experience with Canadian Scene.
What other projects have you been and are you currently involved
in?
One of the most rewarding periods of my life was being in 1986 offered
the position of managing editor of Canadian Scene, a free news and
information service for Canada’s ethnic media. I was also
in effect the executive director with a staff of one, the highly
efficient Naomi Macdonald who was our office manager. We were publishing
in 13 languages by the time of our unfortunate demise and mailing
in English to those for whom we couldn’t afford to translate.
I was responsible for persuading the Board back in 1986 that with
mailings of our twice-monthly bulletins to such media as Dutch and
Czech and Slovak with small representation. We went into Chinese,
Urdu, Punjabi but felt the need for even more translations. I lucked
into the job after the untimely demise of Doug Amaron , a highly
praised retired Canadian Press executive.
Other projects are: My 70-second commentaries for OMNI for the
past 10 years.
Membership in the Canadian National Exhibition Association as the
official representative of CEMA and member of marketing committee.
Was president of the Canadian Public Relations Society (Toronto
Inc.) (1961-62)
Was president of Toronto Press Club (1981-82)
13. Please give us an overview of your Canscene online
publication.
We tagline it Canada’s Multicultural Scene and that’s
what we are, although being such a film buff, I can’t resist
giving substantial coverage to such multicultural events as the
Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
I’m also big on human rights and small “l” liberalism.
I make it quite clear that I don’t like the politics of George
W. Bush and Stephen Harper. And I feel that Canada should amicably
cease formal relationships with the British Crown and stand on its
own as a republic, but with a governor general as head of state
and not a president.
My cyber mentor and web designer Bill Andersen was experimenting
with
inks and so -- with apologies to Andy Warhol he did this and gives
me
permission to use it if you can see any use for it.
14. You are also the president of the Canadian Ethnic Media
Association. Please tell us about this organization, its mission
and activities.
It was founded 28 years ago as the Canadian Ethnic Journalists’
and Writers’ Club and as such is the oldest surviving Canadian
organization of is kind. We were founded by Sierhey Khmara Ziniak
who quit the existing association because it admitted only publishers
of newspapers ant not editors or wits. Sierhey had the foresight
to include radio and television people.
My involvement dates back to 1986, when I was a vice president
of the Toronto Press Club occupying spacious premises. Ziniak approached
us for permission to hold its monthly meetings on our premises.
Judy Creighton, then president, and I had a tough fight to convince
the Board, but we won.
As the Press Club’s token “ethnic” I attended
most of the new group’s meetings and on becoming an ethnic
publisher in 1980, joined.
Our mission is to create greater awareness of ethnic media and
their potential in immigration settlement, heritage preservation
and their overall role in nation building.
15. You recently completed your first television documentary.
Please tell us about that project.
It was named The Third Element -- Canada’s Diverse Media
and it followed the growth of these media from the 19th century
to the present. We shot in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and Toronto.
It was filmed with a grant from Omni Independent Producers’
Initiative which as a special fund set up to encourage documentaries
on films.
I would like to emphasize that I owe this film’s success
to executive producer Lalita Krishna, award winning Canadian documentarian
who has some truly outstanding docs to her credit. I got the grant
as a writer based on an idea , but I had to find somebody who knew
how to actually budget, plan and get film edited and produced, and
I was indeed lucky that she was the first person I discussed the
project with. I went home with several VHS recordings of her films
and after viewing them, called the next day and we were in business.
Lalita engaged Karen Shopsowitz -- another award -winning documentarian
as director.
The Third Element has been broadcast on OMNI TV eight times in
its original English version and half a dozen in the Italian voice-over
version.
16. You are currently working on another documentary. Please
give us more information about that.
The ‘M’ Word ---- a study of where Canadian multiculturalism
is today and what Canadians believe are its strengths and shortcomings
and what it will man to Canada in years to come. We emphasize that
Canada’s idea of multiculturalism is different from that of
other countries, some of which are suffering a backlash of anti-multiculturalism.
We’e underway, with Lalita as director and myself as writer-producer.
That’s all I want to say until we get to the editing stages
and can look at the project as a whole.
17. How do you find the energy to be involved in so many
different projects?
I guess it’s in the genes. Or ego. All I know is I don’t
need to psych myself into doing what I do. And I’ve been fortunate
to have liked what I’ve been doing -- except in those pre-war
hairdressing days. My wife is a highly energetic person, too, but
in different ways from mine. I tend to let ideas take over; she
is totally organized.
18. As a British born individual of Italian descent and
as a Canadian immigrant, how do you feel about Canada in general?
What is your view of Canada as a multicultural society?
I made a wise choice in coming to Canada. Since I had enough money
for a return passage, you might say it was speculative venture,
but the people I met soon had me convinced that my future lay here.
Now there is no alternative I would consider with children here,
plus grandchildren and great grandchildren the youngest of whom
we hope will grow up with a clear idea of their Canadian identity
and heritages (Canadian, Italian, British, Dutch, Ukrainian, Mexican-Irish)
I am more than fortunate in having Anne as a a wife who shares
my Canadian-ness and has done so for almost forty years.
I am not what a British travel writer once called Canadians “gleefully
pessimistic.”
I believe in Canada and its eventual emergence not as a “middle
power” but in the words of the Canada 25 movement, as a “model”
power. In years to come, if we can keep our faith and not throw
ourselves into lockstep with other countries, if we can enhance
our faith in the values we say we cherish.....if we can lean to
define our identity in terms of our diversity -- integrating into
and contributing to society and learning to stand alone with the
courage of our convictions --- then we shall have achieved the society
that others will envy and emulate. So let’s not be defeatist
- we’re part of the way there already.
Thank you, Ben, for sharing with us your life story and your unique
insights on ethnic media and a multicultural Canada. I wholeheartedly
share your thoughts that we have a very unique paradigm here that
gives people from all over the world of all different backgrounds
a chance to find new roots and start a meaningful new life while
being able to preserve their traditions and cultural heritage.
Related Articles:
An interview with Lenny Lombardi,
a pioneer of multicultural radio
Celebrating diversity
with my multicultural team members
Some personal history
questions of my own
My post-Mexico
reflections: Time to get involved
An interview with Skills for Change,
a Toronto immigrant settlement organization
An interview with Farzana Hassan, a
progressive voice in Canadian Islam
Voices of diversity: Two Toronto
women create a Holocaust documentary
Expatriation coaching - Whether
or not to immigrate to a new country
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