Executive Director's Report 2004

Valerie Price

I am pleased to report that MARL has completed another positive year. We celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary and have been busy on a many fronts. I hope that you will take the time to read about our accomplishments in this Annual Report. In my report, I would like to focus on some of our public education activities and some future directions.

We are particularly pleased that our workshop Hate - What Have I Got to Do With It? continues to be well-received by Winnipeg high school teachers. Over the past year, we have offered 45 workshops reaching more than 1100 students. We are fortunate to have a dynamic and skilled facilitator delivering these workshops. David Dorning engages young people in lively discussions where they explore the issue of hate and their own attitudes. It is clear that teachers value this program and the work David is doing in their classrooms. Due to the success of this program, we are expanding it by developing a companion workshop that will help students learn how to respond to hate in their schools and communities. David=s work on the new workshop is well underway. We hope to be launching it in the 2004/05 school year.

During the past year our Education Committee has been considering future directions for our education programming. It is preparing a response to Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth=s consultation paper, Diversity and Equity in Education: An Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity and looks forward to participating in community consultations later this year. As we review the Department=s current and future directions for diversity and equity in education, we are looking at how we can play a role in helping the education system address equality issues, not just in the classroom but in the structure of its institutions and the training of its teachers.

We are fortunate to enjoy the continued support of members, volunteers and funders. As we move forward to meet the challenge of protecting human rights and civil liberties in the twenty-first century, we will continue to develop new strategies to meet the needs of our community. I am pleased to work with energized board directors who are committed to doing that and to renewing our membership and our committees. Thank you for your dedication and the support you give me in my work.