Students from Markham Win the 2005 Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition
TORONTO, March 21, 2005 -- The Honourable Raymond Chan, Minister of State (Multiculturalism), honoured the 10 winning teams of the 9th annual Racism. Stop it! National Video Competition, at a ceremony held today at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Honourable John McCallum, Minister of National Revenue is proud that one of the winning teams is from a school in Markham.The team from Markham's Markville Secondary School, consisting of three students -- Roy Wong, Ashleigh Clarke and Wei-Jen Lee -- was honoured for its video, "Stop Discrimination Cuz You Can".
"It is important that our youth can participate in activities like this one and can express their vision of Canadian society, a society open to diversity", said Minister McCallum.
"These videos enable us to see the world through eyes of Canada's youth," said Minister of State Chan.
"These young Canadians understand the pain of exclusion. They know that stereotyping can cause damage to both the individual and the community", added Minister of State Chan. "They recognize that racism is a barrier for many Canadians, and that respect and understanding are the only means to overcome this challenge."
Every year the Racism. Stop it! National Video Competition challenges youth aged 12 to 18 to take a stand against racism by creating videos that deliver strong anti-racism messages. The competition is sponsored by Panasonic Canada Inc. The videos are selected by a panel of judges who make their choices based on originality, audio/visual quality and the effectiveness of the Racism. Stop It! message.
The winning teams come from schools in Prince George, British Columbia; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Yellowknife, NWT; Toronto and Markham, Ontario; Chandler and Laval, Quebec, and; Halifax, Nova Scotia. The 2005 winning videos can be viewed at: www.march21.gc.ca.
The Racism. Stop it! National Video Competition was created to honour the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, March 21. This special day was declared by the United Nations in 1966 to commemorate the anti-apartheid demonstrators who were killed in Sharpeville, South Africa, 45 years ago. Canada was one of the first countries to support this International Day.
The Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition is funded and managed by the Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Information :
Roy Bornmann
Office of the Minister of State (Multiculturalism)
(819) 997-9900
Saoirse Carson
Manager, Communications
Canadian Heritage
(416) 973-5400
BACKGROUNDER
Racism: Stop It!
Winners of the 2005 National Video Competition
Nous sommes qui nous sommes
École Curé-Antoine-Labelle, Laval, Quebec
Carl Lebel - 17
Eve Desrochers - 16
Yan Gagnon-Labelle - 16
Laura Léger - 16
Leave Out Violence
c/o Moving Images Group
Sacred Heart School of Halifax,
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Andrew Abraham - 18
Ryan Gannon - 17
What is Racism?
Cedars Christian School, Prince George, BC
Tim Wood - 14
Colton Beeton - 13
Josh Burnham - 13
Daniel Giesbrecht -13
Craig Pudlas -13
Stereotypes
Sacred Heart School of Halifax,
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Melanie Hattie - 14
Desirée Adams - 16
Meaghean Richardson - 15
Kirsti Jangaard - 14
Hilary Lanyon - 15
Embrace it!
Balmoral Hall School, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Krupa Kotecha - 14
Teresa Kennedy - 14
Alex Campbell - 14
The Bigot Awards
Arthur A. Leach School, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sasa Janjic - 14
Leanne Farough - 15
Selma Medanhodzic - 15
Erin Roach - 14
Minahal A. Asif - 14
Racism. Stop it!
Sir John Franklin High School, Yellowknife,
NWT
Julia McIntyre - 15
Nicole Krivan - 15
Stop Discrimination Cuz You Can
Markville Secondary School, Markham, Ontario
Roy Wong - 18
Ashleigh Clarke - 18
Wei-Jen Lee - 17
Picking Teams
Silver Springs Public School, Toronto, Ont.
Ashley Tsang - 13
Carrie Han - 13
Trevor Harvey - 13
Danusha Jebanesan - 13
Matthew Sun - 13
Pensez-y!
Polyvalente Mgr. Sévigny, Chandler, Quebec
Annie Pier Audet - 14
Vicky Pelletier - 14
Charlotte Levasseur-Paquin - 14
[ Media Room ]
