Sharing Our Cultures Inc. Information

The Sharing Our Cultures - À la découverte de nos cultures program was established in 1999 as a result of an empirical study of the “Psychosocial needs of immigrant and refugee school children” in St. John’s (Quaicoe, 1999). During a workshop to present the study’s findings, study participants and their mainstream peers generated ideas which resulted in a drama production at the LSPU Hall and a learning resource, “Understanding children and youth new to Canada” (Quaicoe, 2001). Evaluations by teachers and students following the production suggested a format that would allow for interaction between culturally diverse school youth and visiting students. Since its inception, over 35,000 school children and youth have participated in the yearly program and events. In 2005, an intercultural rural program was launched for newcomer school youth residing in St. John’s to travel to rural communities. There, they shared their cultures with school children and youth and learned about the local cultures. Communities visited are Bay Roberts, Bonavista, Clarenville, Clarke’s Beach, Marystown, Old Perlican, Port Rexton, Random Island, and Swift Current. Since 2010, Cultural Con‘txt’, a collection of stories, poems, and drawings, has been distributed twice a year to Grade six students in the province. This resource encourages students’ literary and artistic skills, as well as discussions about cultural diversity in classrooms and homes.