About Us
The Burnaby Together Coalition was formed as part of the provincial government’s Organizations Against Racism and Hate (OARH) program, which was established in 2001.
The program was designed as a community driven initiative and primarily focused on regions outside the Lower Mainland. The intent was to empower communities and organizations to maintain partnerships and develop projects to promote multiculturalism, address racism and build inclusive communities. In 2016, the provincial government expanded the program to urban areas and at this time there are 33 communities involved.
The Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table (BIPT), which is Burnaby’s Local Immigration Partnership, unanimously appointed Burnaby Family Life (BFL) as the lead agency for this initiative. The Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table and Burnaby Community Partners have been working collaboratively since 2007 to make Burnaby a welcoming and inclusive community for all. Organization members attending the meeting on January 5, 2017 agreed to become members of The Burnaby OARH table, now known as Burnaby Together.
In March 2020, through recommendations to redesign the existing Organizing Against Racism and Hate (OARH) program to better support communities in their efforts to fight racism and hate, the Province introduced the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network to deliver coordinated services through a “Hub and Spoke” model.
In July 2020, the Spokes organizations were announced and as one of the Spokes, Burnaby Together continues to lead anti-racism and anti-hate work in the Burnaby community. Spokes have a strong understanding of racism and hate issues in their communities and have a defined course of action at the local or regional level driven by community partnerships.
Our Values
Compassion
Burnaby Together conducts its work and initiatives with compassion for the settlement and integration challenges faced by new immigrant and refugees and longer term residents
Collaboration
Members and the agencies they represent are committed to working together to achieve the goals established by the Coalition.
Consensus
Decisions will be reached by the group as a whole and will be made in the best interests for all stakeholders of Burnaby Together-Coalition Against Racism and Hate.
Commitment
Members are committed to the purpose and goals of the Coalition and regular attendance and participation.
The Coalition is led by representatives of prominent community organizations, agencies and institutions in Burnaby. Members are non-partisan and committed to attending meetings and contributing to the work of the Coalition. Members will be identified and selected through endorsement by the Coalition membership.
The members are comprised of representatives from Burnaby Board of Trade, Burnaby Community services, Burnaby Family Life, Burnaby Public Library, Burnaby RCMP, Burnaby School District (SWIS), City of Burnaby, Douglas College, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, Vancity South Burnaby, Simon Fraser University.
