Cross Cultural Awareness Learning Project

CCAL is Aboriginal Awareness learning from the unique perspective of Aboriginal women through storytelling. Storytelling is an important tool used to educate, enlighten and entertain. Aboriginal people are not a product of their shared history but rather a thread still connected to that history—CCAL provides the opportunity for women to share how that history has affected, and continues to affect, their lives.

Developed in partnership with BC Hydro, CCAL has been created to offer to corporations and organizations looking to hire Aboriginal people and/or corporations and organizations working within Aboriginal communities. It has been designed to create mutually beneficial relationships with the Aboriginal community to enable efficient, effective and respectful business relationships. Our goal is to increase the awareness of the experiences of Aboriginal people, increase the knowledge of Aboriginal peoples’ issues, and furthermore increase understanding of Aboriginal peoples. Stories centre around key themes: land and language; education; family and parenting; and health and wellness.

CCAL is an organic program that is tailored to the storyteller and to the particular organization’s needs. The program is delivered through a partnership between the Minerva facilitator and the corporate “host”. The “host” will help to frame the storytelling and present the “business case” to their employee participants. The program can be delivered in a 2-hour session (touching on one or two themes), or can be extended to provide an enriching day-long experience.

In the fall of 2010, the Minerva Foundation in partnership with BC Hydro will be hosting a “Gala” of CCAL for 20 – 25 guests from various partnered organizations/corporations or potential partners. This is a great opportunity to discover a new, and arguably more effective, way of educating your employees on Aboriginal issues in British Columbia. This presentation will introduce you to an experience that is essential for any employees working with Aboriginal communities or co-workers.

For more immediate information about the CCAL presentation, please contact Lisa Tallio, COS Program Director, at lisat@theminervafoundation.com or 604-683-7635 ext. 222.

When I moved to Canada in 1998, I was pregnant and all alone. I was scared as to how I would take care of my daughter without a decent standard of education. I realized that without English I would be useless so I focused on improving my English by attending ESL classes at Vancouver Community College. When my English level improved, I was confident enough to go for science courses. And in 2003, the Minerva Foundation offered me the Minerva Foundation Award For BC Women in recognition of my excellent grades at school.
This scholarship changed my life as it offered me the opportunity to take post secondary course. Then when I entered the Licensed Practical Nursing Program in 2006, I faced financial problems. Again, it was Minerva that helped me with funds to solve my financial problems. Now I am working as an LPN and have solid hopes of furthering myself in this field.
Thanks so much to Minerva for giving me a life of hope. Thank you so much Minerva for helping me by believing in my abilities.

Sasiratha Uthayakumar, LPN