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Progressive Filipino Canadians in Vancouver to host national conference
“Counterspin: Taking root and building a home: Deepening our understanding of genuine settlement and integration”
For immediate release
June 3, 2011

Vancouver, B.C. – June 18th and 19th will mark a momentous occasion for the Filipino Canadian community in Vancouver as it hosts “Counterspin: Taking root and building a home. Deepening our understanding of genuine settlement and integration.” This two-day national conference will, once again, heighten the unity of progressive Filipino Canadians to advance the struggle towards the community’s full participation and entitlement in Canada.

To be held at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia (UBC), this conference will further solidify the call for the community’s just and genuine settlement and integration and will be a declaration of an ongoing commitment to continue a legacy of resistance.

For over 50 years, the Filipino Canadian community has been struggling for a just and genuine settlement and integration. Since Canada opened its immigration doors to people from Third World countries, such as the Philippines, immigration policies like the Live-In Caregiver Program (LCP) and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) have systemically pushed the Filipino Canadian community into the margins of Canadian society – politically, economically, socially and culturally.

As Canada intensifies its implementation of neoliberal policies, it is our women, workers and youth who bear the brunt of these oppressive and exploitative policies. The Kalayaan Centre, Kapit Bisig Centre, and Magkaisa Centre have been at the forefront of these struggles. “The Filipino Canadian community, especially the youth, looks forward to a future where they can fully participate, engage and exercise their full entitlement in all aspects of Canadian society,” states Krystle Alarcon, conference organizer and member of the Philippine Women Centre of B.C.

“Counterspin” will focus on some key issues, including: the Filipino Canadian community as a transnational community; history of migration in Canada; community organizing and building a progressive movement; making the youth count; youth and alienation; and arts and culture as a form of empowerment. Speakers will include community organizers representing the workers, women and youth sectors, and academics Ilyan Ferrer of McGill University, Geraldine Pratt and Shauna Butterwick of UBC. Renowned novelist, writer and feminist revolutionary Ninothcka Rosca will be a conference guest speaker.

As we forge unity towards the community’s advancement and development, “Counterspin” national conference will be another milestone in reclaiming their rightful place in a multicultural and multi-ethnic Canada. All participation and involvement in this conference will be a testament of the community’s commitment in overcoming economic marginalization, combating systemic racism and social exclusion, enhancing women’s equality and human rights and making the youth count.