Red River College’s Disability and Community Support program and its Diversity and Intercultural Services department came together this week to raise awareness of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

On Wed., Dec 3, students and staff gathered in the Library hallway at the Notre Dame Campus, where they offered passers-by holiday baking. Others fanned out across campus, distributing stickers and bookmarks with powerful messages.

The bookmarks were made to address how societal attitudes can present a barrier to those faced by people with disabilities in achieving full acceptance and integration in society. They offered ideas for appropriate and respectful language related to disabilities, while also addressing less respectful terminology.

“The goal of the event was to raise awareness about local issues such as Manitoba’s Accessibility legislation,” says Cheryl Martens, lead instructor of Disability and Community Support. “By connecting with the RRC community face-to-face, we hoped to focus on awareness on a local, global and personal level.” Read More →

Did you know that one out of two Canadians will be touched by a disability, either personally or within their immediate family?

Help Red River College reaffirm and draw attention to the rights of the more than one billion people throughout the world who are living with a disability. Join us at noon on Wed., Dec. 3, for a Disability Awareness Lunch Hour Blitz at the Notre Dame Campus, where you can visit a display in the library hallway, or chat with students from RRC’s Disability and Community Support program.

Did you know?

Internationally: More than one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, are living with a disability. Canada is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which affirms that all people with disabilities have human rights and freedoms.

Locally: Manitoba has signed into law Bill 26, the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. This legislation ensures there is a plan to eliminate barriers that currently exist for 200,000 Manitobans with disabilities, allowing them to experience their human rights with the same expectations as other citizens.

Personally: Join us in taking a stand against the “R” word (retard), and “Spread the Word to End the Word”. Most people don’t think of this word as hate speech, but that’s exactly what it feels like to millions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as their families and friends. Make a personal pledge to remove this form of hate speech from our collective vocabularies.

Sponsored by the Disability and Community Support program and the Diversity and Intercultural Services department.

Already a model of the potential for success through partnerships with community organizations, Red River College stands to benefit even further from a new pilot project aimed at strengthening communities through social innovation research.

Announced today by the Hon. Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), the new Community and College Social Innovation Fund will increase colleges’ capacity to engage in collaborative projects with community organizations and businesses to address such social issues as poverty, crime prevention, community safety and economic development.

“Our government understands that local community organizations are essential in addressing social issues like economic development, poverty, education and integration in Canadian communities,” says Holder (shown above, fifth from left). “The Community and College Social Innovation Fund will connect the innovative talent of researchers and students at colleges and polytechnics to meet the research needs of local community organizations to build stronger, safer, healthier communities.”

Administered through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the fund allows colleges and polytechnics to partner with community organizations and businesses to apply for funding of up to $200,000 (plus an additional 20 per cent to offset overhead and administrative costs) to undertake collaborative projects that address community issues.

The new fund will provide $15 million over three years in support of social innovation projects, which could take the form of products, processes or programs that create positive social outcomes for communities.

“Social innovation requires breakthrough ideas, applied research and community collaboration,” says David Rew, Interim President of RRC. “We welcome the government’s recognition that colleges like RRC are instrumental in making meaningful contributions to advancing solutions to issues that face communities, not only in Manitoba, but [throughout the globe].” Read More →

This week, Red River College joins the growing number of individuals and organizations across Canada taking steps to cut waste and improve the environment.

From Oct. 20-24, RRC will mark Waste Reduction Week with a series of initiatives aimed at encouraging the College community to rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle — whether on campus or at home.

Waste reduction is a year-round effort at RRC, where each month we collect and recycle over nine tonnes of paper, food and beverage containers and cardboard. The diversion rate at RRC is over 50% — an impressive figure, considering Winnipeg’s residential diversion rate is only about 28%.

Here are three ways you can get involved: Read More →

Photo courtesy of Imagination Foundation

Now that’s what we call thinking outside the box!

Red River College’s Early Childhood Education department, in partnership with IKEA Winnipeg, will join with children’s organizations around the world this week for the 2014 Global Cardboard Challenge — an event that encourages kids to harness their imagination and creativity while turning everyday household items into treasures.

Inspired by Caine’s Arcade — a short film about a young boy (shown above) whose cardboard creations triggered a worldwide movement celebrating the “power of play” — the event is organized globally by the Imagination Foundation, a not-for-profit dedicated to raising the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

On Friday, Oct. 10, the College will play host to 60 children from four local child care centres, one Aboriginal Head Start program, and one Winnipeg school. Each group of kids will be paired with a team of adults, comprised of one IKEA staff member and two second-year ECE students.

“The idea to plan a Global Cardboard Challenge event was conceived in the classroom after ECE students viewed Caine’s Arcade,” says ECE instructor Karen Riediger. “Over the last few weeks, participating preschool and grade 5 children have already been busy discussing, imagining, sketching, measuring and experimenting with tape and cardboard. When they arrive at RRC they will be able to put all of that effort and imagination into action right away!”

The event is a perfect fit for corporate sponsor IKEA, Riediger notes, given the company’s belief that children are the most important people in the world.

To help ensure the Cardboard Challenge is a success, organizers are accepting donations of the following supplies:

• Wrapping paper and paper towel tubes (no toilet paper tubes, please)
• Rulers, tape measures and yard sticks
• Tape of all kinds (electrical, packing, Scotch, masking, painters, hockey, etc.); partially-used rolls of tape are also welcome
• Tarps and/or drop cloths

Donations can be made to Mary in Room A109, anytime before Oct. 10. For more information, contact Karen Riediger by email or at 204.632.2962.

Mark those calendars! RRC’s Diversity and Intercultural Services department is busy making plans for the College’s annual Welcome Party for Immigrant and International Students, taking place Friday, Oct. 24.

This year’s event runs from 6–9 p.m., in the Voyageur Dining Room at the Notre Dame Campus. Guests can celebrate diversity at RRC while extending a warm College welcome to students from around the globe.

As always, guests are encouraged to share their own traditions by coming dressed in cultural clothing. The party is a College-wide and family-friendly event; as such, everyone’s invited to bring family members, children and friends.

This year’s event features live music and entertainment, including performances by Caribbean band Rockalypso, African drummer Evans Coffie, and Cuban dance group Yoslai de la Rosa.

Guests can also take part in fun activities for children — including arts and crafts, face painting and balloons — or participate in educational games and cultural teachings brought to you by RRC’s Aboriginal Student Support and Community Liaison Department.

As always, expect lots of dancing and sampling of global cuisine! (Don’t forget to bring a donation of non-perishable food items for the RRC Students’ Association Food Bank.)

Please register by Friday, Oct. 17, at http://blogs.rrc.ca/diversity/welcomeparty/

Read More →

Would you like to expand your worldview by mentoring a Red River College student who’s new to Canada?

The College’s Intercultural Mentorship Program pairs immigrant and international students with Canadian-raised students or staff for friendship, language practice and intercultural exchanges.

For immigrant and international students, the program provides an opportunity to get to know Canadian culture, while sharing some of their own unique experiences with their Canadian-raised counterparts.

For Canadian participants, the program provides an opportunity for developing leadership and mentorship skills — and building intercultural competencies — while learning more about the world outside their door.

The College is currently recruiting volunteers for this year’s program. The time commitment is a mere 10 hours, spread over the course of an academic term. (The program runs twice a year, during the Fall and Winter terms.)

Participation is voluntary, though some academic programs also partner with RRC’s Diversity and Intercultural Services office to offer the mentorship program as a graded assignment option.

The deadline for volunteers is Wednesday, Jan. 21. Click here to apply; for more information, contact Michelle Johnson, Mentorship Program Coordinator, at mmjohnson@rrc.ca or 204.632.3847.

From left: Apprenticeship and Certification Board Chair Leonard Harapiak; Minister of Jobs and the Economy Minister Theresa Oswald; RRC alum Nina Widmer (Bricklaying Apprentice); Reg Toews, Coordinator, Red River Technical Vocational Area High School Apprenticeship Program; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

More than 230 youth will gain awareness and exposure to the skilled trades through the province’s new Building for Tomorrow summer program – a series of educational camps and work experience programs delivered by Red River College and a network of other business, community and educational partners

“This summer, many of our children will have new opportunities to have fun while learning about a potential future career in various trades, including construction and transportation, trade and technology, hospitality and the culinary arts,” said Jobs and the Economy Minister Theresa Oswald. “Our government is focused on helping families and youth in exploring the many paths to good jobs and rewarding careers right here in Manitoba, and starting that conversation while kids are still in school.”

The province will support more than a dozen new camps during the summer, including RRC’s Girls Exploring the Trades and Technology (GETT) camps, which gives girls aged 12 to 14 the opportunity to design and build their own go-carts, while learning about the importance of science, math and industrial arts-based courses in high school.

Other camps include:

• RRC’s Portage Campus will offer two one-week programs, introducing 32 Aboriginal youth (Grades 6 to 8) to various skilled trades; Assiniboine Community College will offer 15 participants introductory experiences in carpentry or culinary arts.

• Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Association Inc., in partnership with RRC, will offer 15 Aboriginal youths (Grades 9 and 10) with opportunities to experience different trades, with a special focus on the culinary trades, while learning about the apprenticeship training model; participants will receive certified food-handler training and workplace hazard information system training.

• University College of the North will provide 80 Aboriginal youth in Flin Flon with the basic skills needed for a successful career in the skilled trades.

• Career Trek Inc., in partnership with the Manitoba Construction Sector Council and Winnipeg Technical College, will provide 24 Grade 9 youth with exposure to the carpentry trade.

Read More →

From left: Levinia Brown, RRC elder-in-residence; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; MMF President David Chartrand; Joan Ledoux, Minister of Education, Louis Riel Institute.

As part of its commitment to improving opportunities and outcomes for Métis people in Manitoba, Red River College has entered into a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Manitoba Metis Federation and Louis Riel Institute.

Signed this morning at RRC’s Roblin Centre, the new MOU creates a joint working group with representation from all three organizations — one that focuses on education, business and growing industry partnerships to increase economic prospects for Manitoba’s Métis populations.

In addition, a new $400,000 bursary for Métis students was announced — one made possible through matching $200,000 investments by the MMF and RRC.

“[Today] signals an extremely satisfying phase of accomplishments for Red River College,” says RRC President Stephanie Forsyth. “Driven by the mission of the College and that of our Strategic Plan, [this] announcement reflects our goal of serving the educational needs of Aboriginal students.”

“The collective efforts of those involved … will benefit Métis people in Manitoba [by] improving access to training and employment opportunities,” says David Chartrand, President of the Manitoba Metis Federation. “We applaud Red River College for their leadership and contributions towards today’s announcement.”

Students from the broadcasting stream of RRC’s Creative Communications program have earned a pair of prestigious national awards for their efforts on both a student newscast and a record-setting televised fundraiser.

For the second year in a row, RRC’s Broadcast Journalism class, shown above, won the Best Student Newscast (Video News or News Magazine Show) award from the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada (BEAC), beating out competitors from more than 20 post-secondary institutions across Canada, including Ryerson and Carlton Universities, as well as BCIT, SAIT and NAIT.

The award recognized the students’ work on Red River College TV News, a weekly assignment in which students create and produce an evening newscast while working to the same deadlines and conditions as a typical newsroom.

“They start the day at 8:00 a.m., and create a full local newscast with news, weather, entertainment and sports,” says Joanne Kelly, Broadcast Journalism instructor at RRC. “The students do everything on their own. They run the control room, produce, write and report, and do all on the on-air. The [BEAC] judges have said our show could stand up against most professional local newscasts.”

Members of Kelly’s Live TV Production class were also recognized by BEAC, earning the Best Student Special/Live Remote award for this year’s nine-hour telethon benefitting the Winnipeg Humane Society. As with the newscast, RRC students handled all behind-the scenes tasks — including production, camera work, editing and directing — as well as on-camera duties such as reporting and hosting. They also earned a record $72,000 for the Humane Society in the process.

Both entries are also up for the President’s Prize Award (Best of Video and Audio). Students will pick up their awards during the annual BEAC conference and award ceremony, taking place this year in Niagara Falls from May 23-25.

“We are not only so proud of our students for their talent, hard work and teamwork,” says Kelly, “but we are so proud to help raise the awareness of our incredible program across Canada.”

Click here for more information about the Creative Communications program at RRC.