Diasporas@Toronto Conference Report
2013
Ever since its inception in 2007, the Mosaic Institute has been engaging Canadians from ethnocultural communities with connections to entrenched conflicts overseas in discussions, dialogues and voluntary service projects to advance the cause of peace.
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
