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ABOUT US

MISSION

At Mosaic Institute, we believe that everyone has a right to be free from prejudice & discrimination. 

We equip people with the tools to dismantle prejudice in their own communities through four pillars:

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Our office, located in Tkaronto/Toronto, is located on the ancestral and traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat (Wyandot), and Mississaugas of the New Credit.

 

Mosaic's team, distributed across what is now known as Canada, celebrates the ancestral and traditional lands of the Algonquin, Anishinaabe, Blackfoot, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat (Wyandot) Mississaugas of the New Credit, First Nations.

POLICY

We amplify the voices of people in Canada through our programs, research, and dialogues to inform policy changes that address inequities and prejudice.

RESEARCH

We conduct community-grounded research through our postsecondary fellowship and student research programs that identify prejudices and recommend actions.

DIALOGUE

We facilitate community led in-depth conversations using our Model of Dialogue to work through conflict, foster understanding, and find paths forward.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

We work with and deliver workshops and resources for educators, community leaders, youth, organizations and policy makers to dismantle prejudice.

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  • Reached over 200,000 people in Canada and around the world

  • 75+ undergraduate and graduate student interns

  • 90,000+ people reached by UofMosaic Program

  • 100,000+ people reached by Next Generation

  • 10,000+ people reached by our public engagement initiatives

  • Won the Canadian Race Relations Foundation Community Award of Excellence (2012)

  • CharityVillage Awards Winner "Best Nonprofit Employer (Under 20 staff) Workplace Mental Health" (2021)

Mosaic Institute was founded in 2007 to train people of all ages to address the root causes of prejudice and become leaders for a more peaceful and just world. Over the past 15 years, we have:

HISTORY

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Charity Village Awards Winner 2021
Best Nonprofit Employer (Under 20 staff) Workplace Mental Health

OUR FOUNDER

My desire to dismantle prejudice stems from my experience growing up in an Armenian family in Toronto, with my parents and sister. Because of the perpetrated mass atrocities and genocide against Armenians, and ongoing issues between modern day Turkey and Armenia, I was conditioned to dislike Turkish people. I saw the same prejudice among other ethnicities in my adopted country of Canada, where immigrants, in addition to the challenges of establishing their new lives, faced exclusion, at times subtle and at times overt.

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A message from Vahan Kololian, the Founder and Board Chair of the Mosaic Institute.

As I matured and my world evolved, I eventually had a “lightbulb moment” where I knew I didn't want to hate Turks. I then wanted to do something that would help others in their journeys of understanding and societal change.

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In the early 2000s, my wife Susie and I created dialogue groups between Armenian and Turkish university students in Canada and the United States. The unique nature of these initiatives eventually led to our creation of the Mosaic Institute in 2007. This was our way to contribute to a more peaceful, inclusive, and just society and to help others of all ages have their “lightbulb moments”.

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This foundation of respectful dialogue is an essential part of who we are and how we go about our work today – focusing as well on education, policy, and training to offer tangible solutions and meaningful skill-building to advance social change. Mosaic has evolved over the last 15 years to become a leading voice with the know-how to help create a more equitable and prosperous society for everyone. These polarized and increasingly divided times we live in now make it clear that this work is more vital than ever.

 

Canada, comparatively, has stood as a beacon of inclusion in the world. Today, Canada is facing the tough truth about its past with Indigenous peoples, while at the same time maintaining a largely unchanged and potentially expanding immigration policy. To unlock the true potential of these efforts, imagine what we can achieve as a nation as we promote respect and inclusiveness.

 

We need to continue to work together. Thank you for doing what you can to dismantle prejudice.

OUR TEAM

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Amal Absiye

Program Manager (Community), Next Generation

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Wendy Ashworth

Youth Lead

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Alexis-Carlota Cochrane

Program Manager, UofMosaic

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Rachel Mansell

Vice President,
Programs & Operations

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Leigh Naturkach

Executive Director

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Nafisa Nawal

Youth Lead

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Nayani Nandakumar

Education and Training Specialist

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Stephanie Ta

Program Manager (Youth), Next Generation

OUR BOARD

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Vahan Kololian

Chair of the Board

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Janice Price

Board of Directors

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Yusra Siddiquee

Board of Directors

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Dundee Staunton

Board of Directors and Vice Chair

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Kathleen Vesely

Officer (Secretary of the Corporation)

OUR ADVISORS

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Dany Assaf

Advisory Council Member

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The Honourable Baljit S. Chadha, P.C.

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Bernie M. Farber

Chair, Anti-Hate Network

President & CEO, Balcorp Inc.

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Blake Goldring, C.M., M.S.M., CD

Executive Chariman, AGF Management Ltd.

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Susie Kololian

Co-Founder & Partner, Variant Path

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Don Morrison

CEO (Retired), Research in Motion

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Reeta Roy

CEO, MasterCard Foundation

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Gaëtane Verna

Executive Director of Wexner Center

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The Honourable Yuen Pau Woo

Senator

MOSAIC CIRCLE

*in memory of

Mohammad Al Zaibak

Peggy Bennett

Debra Campbell

Charles Coffey

Phil Fontaine 

Helena Gottschling Zabeen Hirji

Margaret O. MacMillan John Monahan

Jim Muldoon*

Gordon M. Nixon

Raheel Raza

Ed Safarian*

Randy Vander Starren

OUR DONORS

We couldn't do this work without the support of our amazing donors. Thank you all so much for your kindness and generosity in supporting our mission of dismantling prejudice across Canada.

BMO Financial Group

Royal Bank of Canada

York University

Griggs Family Foundation

Decision Point Research

Chadha Family Foundation

Economical Insurance

Aventine Investment Council

Anonymous

Dany Assaf

Robert Babinski

Debra Berman

Kevin Braiden

Michael Butler

Joan Butler

Debra & Barry Campbell

Maureen Campbell

Julia Connell

John Coulton

Chaim Cutler

Douglas Davis

Susan & Laurence Dime

Louis & Maureen Favretto

Melody Favretto

Steven Flanders

Michel Fortier

John Freyseng

Lucy Fromowitz

Vinitha Gengatharan

Sandip Gill

Blake & Belinda Goldring

Helena Gottschling

Susan Guichon

Damian Gunartane

Duncan Hamann

Keith Harradence

Mohammed Hashim

Beth Henning

Barbara Hislop

Jane Humphreys

Richard Ivey

Nancy Kennedy

Carolyn Keystone & Jim Meekison

Bill & Sue Kidd
Vahan & Susie Kololian
Tanya Kololian
Donald Lang
Elizabeth Levitt
Michael MacMillan & Cathy Spoel
Rachel Mansell
Sasha & Michael McCue
Rohit Mehta
Michelle Meneley
John Monahan
David Moorcroft
Kenneth Morell
Leigh Naturkach
Anton Nicolaides
Susan Ormiston & Keith Harradence
Olga Osmushina
Gilles Ouellette

Chris Paliare

Donna Poile

Frances Price
Janice Price
Baljinder Rakhra
Ken Rawana
Marisha Roman
Reeta Roy
Lena Sarkissian
Krikor Shahinian
Abigail Shakespeare & Sarah Woodland
Gwen Shakespeare
Sarah Shakespeare
Anthony Sigel

Dundee & Patricia Staunton
Kathleen Vesely
Michael & Jade Warf
The Honourable Senator Yuen Pau Woo
Tom Wright
Kathryn Wyatt Cottingham
Bill Young

CONTACT US

The Mosaic Institute

2 Bloor Street West, Suite 3405
Toronto, ON, M4W 3E2

Tel: 416-644-6000 Ext 680

Fax: 416-644-6001

Email: info@mosaicinstitute.ca

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