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In photos: Calgary's East African communities kick-start a new storytelling project with a sea of colour

The atmosphere took Akeir Kuol right back to East Africa — laughter, dance, sharing food and the rich mix of cultures. Sharing Knowledge was a launch event for a community-driven news project with CBC Calgary and local East African communities.

Community leaders planned event in partnership with CBC Calgary

Elise Stolte · CBC News ·
Two young girls smile at the camera wearing decorated clothing.
Blessing Jal, left, holds an instrument played when babies are crying in South Sudanese culture. Beside her, Ruth Jal holds a drinking cup called an Adungk. Behind them, Nemisa Simon balances a bread tray on her head as the three of them celebrate their culture and share stories with CBC Calgary on Saturday. (Akeir Kuol)

The atmosphere took Akeir Kuol right back to East Africa — laughter, dance, sharing food and the rich mix of cultures. 

"Welcome to Africa," said Kuol of the weekend event at the Genesis Centre. "It seems like it's not organized but it's everyone in one place together just enjoying ourselves."

"This is unity. This is about remembering and sharing our experiences. And this keeps our children excited about who we are."

Kuol was one of more than 20 community leaders and organizers who partnered with CBC Calgary to create Sharing Knowledge, a launch event for a new, community-driven news project with Calgary's East African communities.

Women in long robes and head scarves walk through a gym.
Members of Calgary's Somali community show off their fashion during a parade of cultures fashion show on Saturday at the Genesis Centre. (Positivibes Photography)
Women serve food arranged on platters.
Two restaurants teamed up to share food common to many Eritrean and Ethiopian cultures at the Sharing Knowledge event — Haniel Breakfast House, left, and EC Fusion Lounge. MJ's African Food Store and the Central Halal Kitchen also fed the crowds. (Positivibes Photography)

Roughly 600 community members came out.

They celebrated their culture, traditional clothing and food. And they shared ideas with young adults from their communities, who will be working with CBC Calgary to report on stories from their communities for the rest of the country. 

A woman pours coffee out of a large, clay urn.
Aggudo Coffee roasted the beans for their coffee in the tradional clay pot, giving the coffee a warm, earthy flavour. Community members also brought a spiced Somalian tea and a ginger tea from Rwanda. (Positivibes Photography)
Two people use string to map their journey on a map that highlights East Africa.
Anabelle Munyezamu and Patrice Gaheshi trace their roots from Rwanda and Burundi to Calgary, at the Sharing Knowledge launch event Saturday. (Submitted by Patrice Gaheshi)

Young adult participants are a key part of this project. 

They gathered story ideas at the event and interviewed community members about their fashion and food. Later, they'll meet with CBC newsroom leaders to plan the reporting project — to figure out what stories are most important to tell first, and what news and information that community members need most.

CBC Calgary will use a co-reporting model to cover those stories, partnering these young adults with CBC journalists.

The stories will be published and air on all the regular CBC platforms, and also with partner media, on CJSW's community shows and a community quarterly, Habesha Magazine.

A young man listens as a man with grey hair talks in front of a large map.
Victor Makundi from the Tanzanian community invited people to share their stories and suggestions for the community-driven news project. (Kathleen Bell/CBC)
A young boy approaches the CBC table at the event.
Sharing Knowledge is also about making connections between members of the media and communities. Newsroom leaders from CBC Calgary and its partners, CJSW and Habesha Magazine, came to answer questions and build relationships with Calgary's East African communities. (Will Tigley/CBC)

East African communities share knowledge and celebrate cultures

1 year ago
Duration 2:13
East African community members and CBC Calgary partnered to launch Sharing Knowledge — a new community-driven storytelling and journalism project. The launch event was a chance to celebrate, connect and learn about the different cultures originating in East Africa and what it's been like to create a home here.

Community members who missed giving their ideas for stories can still fill out an online survey here and follow the project through the WhatsApp group.

At the event, many East African community members were already talking about making this an annual event, perhaps with more emphasis on fashion and food.

What started as a CBC Calgary idea quickly became something much bigger. Both non-profit organizations and community associations got involved with dozens or organizers and volunteers. It included representatives tied to 10 East African counties: Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. 

Tracy Johnson from CBC Calgary looks at a garment with two young women.
Community members created an entire gallery of East African traditional clothing for the Sharing Knowledge event, highlighting the diversity both between and within countries. (Kathleen Bell/CBC)
A man and a woman stand side by side in front of a CBC-branded background.
Daniel Egubat, left, and Adi Eyassu, two community members who stepped up to help organize the Sharing Knowledge event as a chance to showcase their culture, build community and share their stories. (Positivibes Photography)

That community ownership made a huge difference, said Jean-Claude Munyezamu, a Rwandan-Canadian who founded Umoja Community Mosaic.

"Each time (there's a new event or project), African people or Black people are invited to participate. Today, we're not participating; we are contributing. Today, we're hosting, and that's very important."

The event was funded by the Calgary Foundation, Vibrant Communities Calgary, Genesis Centre and CBC Calgary, in addition to all of the volunteer hours and donations in kind from communities. 

The reporting part of this project will be funded entirely by CBC. Watch for updates at cbc.ca/sharingknowledge.

Three women wearing colourful dresses walk through a gym.
Women wearing delicate fabrics from North Sudan at the closing celebration for the Sharing Knowledge launch event. (Positivibes Photography)
A group of five people stand behind a table full of artifacts.
Members of Calgary's Kenyan community share beads, drums and traditional clothing at the Sharing Knowledge community event. (Mohamed Abazibnab)
A man wearing white robes plays a drum while several women show off their attire.
Members of Calgary's Ugandan community show off their fashion at the Genesis Centre on Saturday. (Positivibes Photography)
A young woman shows off a beaded headdress as part of her attire.
Beadwork tells a story and celebrates culture during the fashion celebration at the Genesis Centre Saturday. (Positivibes Photography)
Women hold their skirts and dance on the gym flood.
Women show off their Rwandan culture during a mini fashion show. (Positivibes Photography)
A graphic showing soccer players and women drinking coffee.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elise Stolte

Journalist

Elise Stolte has 20 years of experience telling the stories of her community and has been recognized for feature writing, social-impact and community-based journalism. Today she works as an editor and bridge to help communities tell their own stories with the newsroom. You can reach her at elise.stolte@cbc.ca.

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