One of the facets of our work has been to encourage other Canadians – including actors across government, academe and civil society – to consider ways of harnessing the knowledge, networks and enthusiasm of these citizens to help identify and act upon Canada’s international priorities.

 

Rather than merely providing a beautiful picture of ethnocultural harmony, Canada’s rich diversity can and should be leveraged in service of Canada’s interests around the globe.

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It is with that mission and purpose in mind that the Mosaic Institute was honoured to host a one-day conference on May 14, 2013, entitled Diasporas@Toronto. With the generous support of the Government of Ontario, we were able to bring together more than 65 people from more than 40 organizations at the Ontario Investment & Trade Centre in downtown Toronto. The timing was intentional: the Toronto event was held to coincide with the annual Global Diaspora Forum (GDF) hosted by the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) in Washington, D.C