ISSofBC’s New Welcome House building fund received a boost in the form of a $5,000 donation from Ed Eduljee, this year’s Nesika awardee in the Individual Category.
“I chose ISSofBC to receive the $5,000 award to help ISSofBC continue its excellent work in helping new immigrants like me become an integral part of this wonderful nation Canada – a nation that so generously welcomed me and gave me a new home,” said Eduljee who, as Director of Multiculturalism BC from 1991 to 1997, helped draft BC’s Multiculturalism Act.
The donation was the cash award given to Nesika Award recipients to designate to organizations that further the “advancement of multiculturalism in BC.” “(ISSofBC’s) building project is a farsighted endeavour and I hope I can in a small way encourage others to support this worthwhile cause,” Eduljee said.
The Provincial Nesika Awards honour “exceptional people, initiatives and businesses that promote multiculturalism and bring diverse cultures together.” This year’s awards – handed out by Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism Teresa Wat – were given in five categories: Individual, Business, Organization, Youth and Multicultural Excellence in Government.
Eduljee, who currently chairs the (Pacific) Regional Ethnocultural Advisory Committee (REAC) to the Correctional Service of Canada, has a long history of leading and participating in initiatives that promote, in addition to multiculturalism, excellence in governance and positive human relations.
A long-time supporter of ISSofBC, Eduljee has also served as a volunteer in various multicultural, interfaith and community organizations including AMSSA where, as president in the 1980s, he led a team that successfully petitioned the BC government to establish an advisory council on multiculturalism.
