MCOD Seeks New Members

In its heyday the Multicultural Council of Oshawa/Durham was a vibrant organization that promoted multiculturalism and engaged in important community development initiatives in Oshawa/Durham but in recent years membership has dwindled through attrition.  The organization is currently being kept alive by a core group of stalwarts and believers in the role of the MCOD and the positive role it can play in helping to promote an appreciation of cultural diversity and integration of new comers into the fabric of Oshawa/Durham region according to current president Larry Johanson.

Mr. Johanson and a new board were elected in May of 2011 and saw as their role the expansion of the membership base, especially in bringing young people into the organization and giving them an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and becoming engaged in building a vibrant multicultural community in Oshawa/Durham.  The criteria for joining is having an interest in being part of an organization that promotes multicultural awareness, friendship and understanding among all groups and individuals in Oshawa/Durham.  An added bonus would be if individuals have leadership and organizational skills, or are interested in developing those skills.

Founded in 1980, the organization has been an umbrella group for various ethno-cultural groups in Durham Region to collaborate and build community, support race relations and respect for multiculturalism.  The seeds for the organization were planted when a number of ethno-cultural organizations spearheaded by the Polish Veterans' Association came together to raise funds for victims of a major earthquake that struck southern Italy.

From those beginnings the Multicultural Council of Oshawa/Durham over the course of its three decades has sponsored and completed a number of significant projects in the Durham Region.  These include:

   - Heritage language fairs
   - Symposiums on race relations
   - Briefs to Provincial and Federal Governments
   - Scholarships
   - Advisory services to boards of education and policy development
   - Multicultural picnics
   - Benefit dances to support the United Way

According to Mr. Johanson, the aim is to restore the activism and vibrancy of the Council as the need for an organization such as this one has increased with the growing diversity of Durham Region and the need to understand, serve and harness this diversity for the social and economic development of the region, especially when other regions and municipalities are doing all they can to attract and maintain new pools of talent.

If interested in joining the MCOD then send an e-mail to ljohanson@becomingachievers.com or call 905-431-6115.