Diversity Wall – Celebrating 150 years of Canada
To celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, Srishti Foundation embarked on creating a “Diversity Wall” to showcase Canada’s diversity. This was done with support from Government of Ontario’s ONT150 program.
The project involved making contact, travelling and reaching out to over 200 people of 170 different ethnic and professional groups in and around London. Participants were asked to reflect on the values that made them proud about being Canadian and the ethnic Canadian community or professional group they identified with. This in many cases made participants reflect on what Canada meant to them and what made them proud Canadians.
These sessions were conducted by our volunteers at different locations in and around the city over a 5 week period.
The individual pictures of all the participants were then printed on 12 ft x 8 ft banner, with a maple leaf in the centre representing the national flag. During Holi- Festival of Colours celebration in 2017, with over 2500 participants in downtown London, participants were asked to dip their palms in water based paints of their choice and make imprints with their palms on this banner. All this in the backdrop of the Festival of Colours – signifying unity in diversity, helped us create this diversity wall comprising pictures of Canadians and their hand prints – celebrating the diversity that makes up Canada, in its 150th year
