Celebrating Citizenship with Luminato
David Pecaut Square . Toronto
Thursday June 14 2012
Luminato 2012 takes as its inspiration the ideas of revolution and transformation. As part of our extensive volunteer program, and in partnership with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) and CultureLink Settlement Services, Luminato celebrates the transformative process of becoming a Canadian citizen.
On June 14 at 10:00 AM, right in the heart of the Festival at David Pecaut Square, 50 new Canadians will take the stage and participate in a very special citizenship ceremony. Prior to the ceremony, the ICC will host one of its unique roundtable discussions which bring together new and established citizens to connect and reflect upon what it means to be an active and engaged Canadian. All are welcome and encouraged to re-affirm their own citizenship alongside these new Canadians, and enjoy a special anthem performance by festival-artists.
This very special event grew out of Luminato’s volunteer outreach program created in partnership with CultureLink, where small groups of newcomers work with experienced mentors through an intensive pre-Festival training curriculum, as well as on shift during the Festival as Multilingual Ambassadors.
Building on this successful initiative, selected Multilingual Ambassadors will volunteer at the citizenship ceremony on June 14, documenting the experience through photos and personal—reflecting their own experiences as newcomers to Canada and Toronto through the digital storytelling medium—multi-media expressions of traditional storytelling, visual arts, and photography.
“We are keen to engage newcomers in volunteering activities, such as Luminato, and let them learn about and experience active citizenship” – Fei Tang, Program Manager at CultureLink
“Volunteering is a fundamental part of the Canadian experience” – Gillian Hewitt Smith, ICC Executive Director and CEO
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