The Edmonton Intercultural Centre (EIC) came into existence in December of 2014. Located in the heart of the McCauley Community, in the old McCauley School building, the EIC is home to twelve (12) non-profit organizations, who share a similar mandate or vision of antiracism, inclusion, and intercultural sharing and learning. The EIC also has common rental spaces, utilized by numerous smaller community groups, who have needs both for space and for a welcoming, safe, and diverse environment. The vision of the Edmonton Intercultural Centre is to transform the McCauley School into a centre for learning, research, recreation and the arts that reflects and capitalizes on the rich diversity in the McCauley community and the City of Edmonton.

 

Vision and Mission

VISION : Edmonton , an Intercultural Community
MISSION : Edmonton Intercultural Centre fosters a dynamic model of Intercultural engagement

DEFINITION : “Intercultural”

In Intercultural Communities, there is comprehensive mutuality, reciprocity, and equality.

Our social structure and everyday interactions are defined by justice, mutuality, respect, equality, understanding, acceptance, freedom, diversity, peace-making, and celebration. Intercultural Community hopes to take us deeper than Multicultural or Cross-Cultural models of Community.

It also means that

  • … there are mutually reciprocal relationships among and between cultures
  • … people from different cultural groups interact with one another, learn and grow together; build relationships and become transformed, shaped, and moulded from each other’s experiences
  • … “Intercultural” is not a substitute for “ethnic”!
  • … the focus is on relationship building (not survival), deep connections, interactions, mutual giving, respect, and learning from one another
  • … no one is left unchanged in the intercultural process: some examine their own culture more deeply, some are changed through the interaction with others, many learn more about what it means to be in Community together
  • … racial and cultural power imbalances are addressed; people are enabled to learn from each other and lead toward the transformation of all peoples

 

Objectives

The overarching objective of the Edmonton Intercultural Centre is to provide unique educational, research, community engagement, income generating and capacity building programs and services that support intercultural learning and inclusive communities by intentionally creating relationships across sectors and within community.