Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development

Introduction

They are young. They belong to diverse ethnic minorities, living in multicultural spaces. Daily, they speak more than one language. Perhaps they don’t intend to change the world but nevertheless, given their choices and the way they've decided to live their lives, they are changing their surroundings thus shaping anew the mentalities of those around them.

Their stories reflect diverse journeys taken by these young people. The result is the construction of a new form of citizenship in a multicultural world.  Such is life in the Asia-Pacific countries and in Canada.

They are… DIVERSITY MAKERS.

A dot represent an production.

Diversity Makers is the result of a collaboration between the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development and Radio Canada International.

Whether they are on video or audio files, these documentaries show the lives of young immigrants or young people in a cultural minority situation that struggle to make it, often going against the traditional cultural mindsets. Theses are stories of people who are changing the world by impacting their cultural environments.

It’s the first time RCI and the AIBD cooperate on a project such as this. We are proud of the results and plan more joint ventures with our new partner.

Roger Tétrault
Interim Director RCI

Today we are witnessing the birth of a new moral concept in the world that is "Global Citizenship". Vast numbers of people today no longer consider themselves as merely the citizen of a state. They feel compassion not only for their compatriots, but as citizens of the world, they feel compassion for all the other world citizens.

This reminds us of the strength and beauty of unity in diversity although we are still far from such an ideal concept.

Canada presents a success story of unity in diversity where various cultures form part of a concerted mosaic of architectures in a society with specific approach to preserving and respecting each and every single culture.

It is a huge garden with different flowers. The beauty of a garden depends on the variety of its flowers, in size and colour,

smell and shape. That is what Canada tries to be all about.

The aim of this radio and TV co-production between AIBD and RCI is not to eliminate differences between various immigrants, but to preserve and even celebrate them as a source of joy and strength.

For the first time, AIBD and RCI are working together on such a meaningful project. AIBD is proud of the outcome of its work with RCI and would certainly look forward to working with Radio Canada International in future joint venture projects. Last but not least we would like to thank the Government of Canada and the High Commission of Canada in Malaysia for their invaluable support in making this project a reality.

Javad Mottaghi
Director, Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD)