ARPA’s Active, Creative, Engaged (ACE) Communities initiative has resulted in a clearer understanding of a “process” for community change that can be applied to many issues and challenges.
Interested in this change process, the Alberta Justice’s Human Rights Education and Multiculturalism Fund (HREMF) funded ARPA to work with four rural Alberta communities from 2011 - 2013. For this particular project, the focus was supporting communities who were interested in becoming more diversity friendly.
Reflecting the mission of the HREMF, the goal of the ACE ‘Diversity Friendly’ Communities (DFC) project was to increase community capacity, using recreation, parks, arts, culture, and heritage as a catalyst, to foster equality, reduce discrimination and racism, and remove organizational barriers that exclude some Albertans. Specifically, this meant that all Albertans would have the opportunity to participate in the social, cultural, political, and economic life of their community without discrimination.
Carstairs, Grande Cache, Jasper, and Rocky Mountain House have now completed their time as the four ACE ‘Diversity Friendly’ Communities. Out of this process, these communities worked on various projects that included: 1) establishing a ‘Welcoming Newcomers’ Coordinator; 2) working with natural assets like trails to make them more accessible to all; 3) heritage-themed camping and inclusive hiking workshops and; 4) a community storybook celebrating people’s uniqueness.
ARPA’s ACE ‘Diversity Friendly’ Communities (DFC) initiative was also chosen by HREMF for a study on social outcomes due to the exceptional activity in our communities. So thanks to all of those who were involved in this remarkable work!
