diversity : In The News

The much-anticipated International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards have come and gone from Toronto. Blog TO writes of the jam-packed weekend of parties, film premieres and concerts that brought so much glitz and glamour to the GTA.

"The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) handed out trophies to its movie megastars on Saturday night, right here in Toronto. They're like a touring version of the Indian Oscars, but for the South Asian diaspora and Bollywood fans all over the world. And, they are a huge show."

"Each year, IIFA picks a new host city and puts on a weekend of "buzz" events (including film premieres, concerts, plus a lot of tie-in exhibits and screenings all over the GTA leading up to the big show). It's a pretty big deal for Toronto to host the 12th edition, after stops in hubs like Macau, London, Dubai, Bangkok and Johannesburg. It's also the first time the IIFA Awards have taken place in North America, which will no doubt raise the profile (and box office share) of Indian cinema in this market."

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original source Blog TO

Toronto will soon be home to one of the world's largest--if not the largest--international Indian cultural center. According to India's External Affairs Ministry, the center will showcase the country's rich cultural heritage and will host regular dance and music performances.

"[Toronto's centre] will rival, if not outshine, the Nehru Centre in London,'' said a top official of the Indian ministry of external affairs, who was in Toronto to participate in last week's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas � a gathering of people of Indian origin in North America and the Caribbean."

"The new cultural centre will be ready by next year to cater to the North America Indian diaspora,'' said Sangeeta Bahadur, deputy director at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, an autonomous wing of the ministry. It also runs cultural centres in Almaty (Kazakhstan), Berlin, Cairo, Colombo, Durban, Georgetown, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Moscow, Paramaribo (Suriname), Port Louis (Mauritius), Port of Spain and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), besides London ."

"We are looking for a suitable location in Toronto and once we find it, the centre will come up quickly,'' Ms. Bahadur said. "The proposed centre will showcase India's rich old heritage and traditions to the Indian diaspora and mainstream Canadians. It will regularly host Indian dance and music performances.''

"She said the centre is part of India's thrust to use culture as a tool of its foreign policy. "We want to use our rich cultural heritage to build bridges with the diaspora and Canada and the whole North American region. The Indian diaspora is our biggest asset and we want to use this asset to project India.''

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original source Globe & Mail

As reported by the Times of India, Toronto will soon welcome five Indian Cabinet members for a two-day business and networking conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Indian delegation will arrive in Toronto June 9th to attend the city's mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), a multi-sector networking event that fosters cooperation between India and Canada.

"Canadian Governor General David Johnston will join Vayalar Ravi, oversees Indian affairs minister, and his four cabinet colleagues in welcoming the Indian diaspora to the mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here next week."

"Preneet Kaur, minister of state for external affairs, Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for planning and science and technology, Sachin Pilot, minister of state for communications, Jitin Prasada, minister of state for road transport, Sam Pitroda, adviser to the prime minister, and Arun Maira, member of the Planning Commission, are other top Indian dignitaries attending the two-day gathering at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre here from June 9."

"The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas "offers unparalleled opportunities for networking, advancing linkages across multiple sectors - business, innovation, healthcare and culture; fostering partnerships in the small and medium-sized business sectors, providing ideas for cultural, generational and gender connections and nurturing the rapidly growing relationship between Canada and India,'' says the Indian high commission."

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original source Times of India

The Hollywood Reporter writes on how Toronto became the North American launch pad of Indian Cinema. This June Toronto will play host to 12th annual IIFA Awards, Indian cinema's largest award show. Toronto was chosen as the site for the three-day celebration not only because it boasts a large South Asian population, but because it is a lively city that embraces multiculturalism and diversity.

"Roy Thomson Hall, already an Oscar launch-pad for Hollywood studio pics each September at the Toronto International Film Festival, had suddenly become fan central for hard core Bollywood fans."

"They wouldn't come to Toronto if they didn't expect fans to blow the lid off of the Rogers Centre," the venue of the 12th IIFA Awards, insists Veronica Chail, the Toronto-based host of OMNI Television's national entertainment magazine show Bollywood Boulevard."

"The IIFAs are produced annually by Wizcraft International Entertainment outside India and in rising markets for Bollywood product."

"And OMNI Television, as the official Canadian broadcast partner of the 2011 IIFA Awards, plans wall-to-wall coverage of the Indian film awards to reach and grow its Canadian south-Asian audience."

"When it comes to Bollywood, you're not selling anything. You're not trying to convince anyone. The audience has a core interest," Alain Strati, vp of the OMNI Station Group, explained."

"To celebrate Bollywood ahead of the green carpet style watch at the IIFA Awards in Toronto, OMNI is launching a Best of the IIFAs series, co-hosted by Veronica Chail and Mohit Rajhans.Chail explains the four-part series showcasing Bollywood's leading men and women and greatest IIFA Award dance numbers will also showcase how Toronto embraces diversity and Bollywood."

"The world lives here," she said of Toronto's varied multicultural communities, which each September soak up TIFF's international film lineup."

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original source Hollywood Reporter

Washington Times columnist James A. Bacon explains why Americans should be paying more attention to Canada. Bacon points out that not only did Canada weather the economic crises better than any other G-7 nation, it also boasts world class creative cities and an immigration tradition that attracts the most talented professionals from across the globe.

"Unless the Winter Olympics are on television or someone is clubbing baby seals, Americans don't pay much attention to what's happening in Canada. It's as if we live in a house with a set of quiet, orderly neighbors on one side and a bachelor pad with drunken parties, girls in the hot tub and occasional gunshot eruptions on the other. To whom would you pay more attention?"

"Look what's not happening in Canada. There is no real estate crisis. There is no banking crisis. There is no unemployment crisis. There is no sovereign debt crisis. Recent reports suggest that consumers are loading up too much debt, but Canada shares that problem with nearly every other country in the industrialized world."

"Among the Group of Seven nations, which also include the United States, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy, Canada's economic activity has come the closest to returning to the pre-recession peak. The country has recovered three-quarters of all jobs it lost. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Canada will be the only country among the G-7 to have achieved a balanced budget by 2015."

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original source Washington Times

The Hindu Magazine hails Toronto in a recent Travel Section feature, describing the city as "every tourist's delight" and "the perfect mix of old and new". "Canada's most bustling city" received high praise for its eclectic architecture, multitude of attractions, and commitment to diversity.

"The first impression about Toronto is its vertical limitlessness. Everything appears to be racing up-up-upper to meet the sky. Winch your neck and all you see is a bit of blue peeping from between two tall orders of concrete and glass."

"A Canada's most bustling city, Toronto is considered its financial and entertainment capital, and Central District is the place to catch this buzz. It has the best spread of gourmet restaurants, nightlife, hotels, visual arts, fashion and more. To mention a few, there's the Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra theatres; the new permanent home of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Bell Lightbox; the happening Yonge Street�the oldest street of the city and also considered the longest in all North America; pr�t shopping hot-spot as King Street or ritzy boutiques of Yorkville and Bloor St West; the outdoorsy St Lawrence Market and Kensington Market known for fresh food products; the ever- popular Queen West, the city's one-stop trendy and hip cultural street; and of course it's got the CN Tower that lord's over them all."

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original source The Hindu

The Globe & Mail writes on Tiffinday, a new Toronto business that a offers lunchtime-only meal delivery service. Entrepreneur Seema Pabari launched her business in June 2010, delivering home cooked Indian lunches to busy Toronto office workers, she now works with two chefs and serves over 100 customers daily.

"My typical customer, which blew me away, is the young, white male working in IT, law and finance," Ms. Pabari said. "They just want good, healthy food delivered to them."

"While it speaks to the growing diversity of Canadian tastes, Tiffinday is also an example of an opportunity for entrepreneurs � businesses inspired by foreign traditions, products or services that could flourish if adapted and launched here."

"Ms. Pabari's inspiration for Tiffinday was rooted in Mumbai, where the tiffin tradition is a mainstay of that city's busy office culture. The service is known for its affordability, reusable packaging, and the dabbawalahs who deliver the meals and retrieve the tiffin boxes afterward."

"The North American palate is more diverse today than ever, said Dr. Dahl, which helps companies like Ms. Pabari's. "[Tiffinday] is going to hit a number of sweet spots. It's not surprising that it's taken off; you can import the concept that works over in India and because there are similar conditions it works over here, too," he said."

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original source Globe & Mail

The Toronto Star writes on new local community hub Crescent Town. Located at 3079 Danforth Ave, just east of Victoria Park, Crescent Town has become a gathering place for the community, in particular for newcomers to Toronto, offering a much-needed mix of health, social, youth and community services.

"The services are desperately needed. There has been a dearth of health and social programs for residents � many of them poor and newcomers. For executive director Axelle Janczur, AccessPoint is the realization of a dream. "Community hubs are about bringing a variety of services under one roof to create synergy . . . and provide better access for grassroots community groups and residents � all those who need them," she said."

"The evolution of the hubs began in 2006 when the provincial health ministry announced the need for health services in Toronto's priority neighbourhoods, where services were lacking or non-existent. In 2007, United Way Toronto joined the province to establish community hubs in poor neighbourhoods. Money to open eight hubs became available a year later. The first opened in 2009 in Scarborough."

"The centre is another step toward making Toronto's neighbourhoods stronger, said United Way president and CEO Susan McIsaac."

"We're so delighted to see a project like this one open its doors to the community, bringing renewed energy and spirit to the neighbourhood and providing opportunities for a better life for everyone," she said."

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original source Toronto Star

The Washington Post discusses Toronto's position as home to "one of the most vibrant South Asian immigrant communities in the world". The article lauds Toronto's abundance of Indian cultural programming--from the Royal Indian Treasures exhibit at the ROM to the sellout run of the "The Merchants of Bollywood", to Indian Film Academy Awards which will film here in June--and the always interesting east-end Gerrard Street Strip, "the largest marketing place of South Asian goods and services in North America".

"It may seem as though Toronto is having an Indian moment. But in fact, this head-spinningly multicultural metropolis has long boasted one of the most vibrant South Asian immigrant communities in the world. Twelve percent of greater Toronto's population is South Asian, a figure expected to double within 20 years, and Punjabi is the fourth most-spoken language in Canada (after English, French and Chinese)."

"And even though the centrifugal pull of the suburbs has thinned the Indian presence in downtown enclaves such as east-end Gerrard Street, an exploration of Toronto's South Asian offerings can spice up a Hogtown weekend even for a longtime visitor like me."

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original source Washington Post

Toronto's newest Vietnamese restaurant Ha Long Bay gets a rave review from the Toronto Star. Located in Forest Hill, the restaurant is lauded for its service, atmosphere and, of course, its delicious food.

"I respect a Vietnamese restaurant that won't serve pho. Ha Long Bay is such a place, at least at night. Even when it's cold and rainy, and a steaming bowl of noodle soup would greatly hit the spot, we can't get pho at dinner."

"It's really a lunch thing," says the waitress firmly."

"Really, though, do we need another fluorescent-lit pho joint?"

"Ha Long Bay chef/owner Lynn Hoang didn't think so. This June, in upper Forest Hill no less, she opened an upscale Vietnamese dining room with a streamlined menu of homey dishes. I respect Ha Long Bay for other reasons, like its modern decor. Tables are free of battered napkin dispensers and stacked plastic soup spoons. Instead, we get elegant celadon china and black-and-sliver wooden chopsticks. An abstract painting of the namesake body of water, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Hoang's homeland, floats over a long banquette.I also approve of Ha Long Bay's competent, encouraging service. Unlike in certain Chinese restaurants, where I've been told "That's not for you," the waitresses at Ha Long Bay encourage us to try new things, such as cuon diep ($5), or winter rolls: bitter mustard greens wrapping fried tofu. Thanks to such coaxing, I discover sticky rice pudding with coconut cream and sweet corn ($3.50), a new dessert favourite.Not that you need to be adventurous at Ha Long Bay. Hoang's cooking is soft and sweet; any heat comes on the side, in small saucers of Sriracha. Nor do you need to spend much, not with a nightly $25 three-course prix-fixe that features the restaurant's three best entr�es."

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original source Toronto Star

Toronto's International Festival of Authors (IFOA), an 11-day festival of readings, interviews, lectures, and book signings, celebrated its 31st anniversary this October. According to a review by the Guardian UK, this year's IFOA was an unqualified success, showcasing the best of Canadian and International literature.

"The IFOA is both fiercely Canadian, aggressively international, and dedicated to getting the best writers and editors together for a kind of rolling symposium. Where else could you find David Mitchell, Claudio Magris and Andrea Levy under one roof? And it's not just about big names, there's an interest in diversity, too. In the registration office at the Festival HQ there's the UK crime writer Peter James, a Dutch publisher Lidewijde Paris of Ailantus, a new imprint, and Alissa York, an up-and-coming Canadian novelist."

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original source Guardian UK

A new Conference Board of Canada study has confirmed that immigrants to Canada boost the country's innovation and, as a result, improve it's global competitiveness. As reported by the Toronto Star, the study linked Canadian immigrants to innovation in areas such as "research, culture, business and global commerce".

"Guang Jun Liu arrived in Toronto in 1990 with a master's degree in robotic control from China. Today, the Ryerson University professor is the Canada Research Chair in control systems and robotics, specializing in control systems in aircraft and mobile robots, and working with groups such as the Canadian Space Agency. According to a new Conference Board of Canada study, Liu is living proof of how immigrants can help boost Canada's stature in innovation, which ranks 14th out of 17 industrialized countries."

"Productivity and innovation are critical for economic development," said the report, titled Immigrants as Innovators: Boosting Canada's Global Competitiveness."

 "At every level of analysis, immigrants are shown to have an impact on innovation performance that is benefiting Canada."

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original source Toronto Star

MSN International News writes on Toronto's abundance of authentic and delicious Indian restaurants.

"Thanks to the sizeable NRI population in Toronto, Canadians' food experience is not limited to some certain dishes. The foodies here know the difference between butter chicken and chicken tandoori. Items like butter chicken, shrimp biryani, chicken tikka masala, chicken vindaloo, garlic naan, kebab and biryani form part of a many a gastronomer''s dictionary."

"Visiting an Indian eatery, it comes as a surprise to find it packed with people other than Indians."

"Toronto alone has some 7,000 restaurants and with a multicultural population from over 100 countries, it is a melting pot of all the cultures, which is reflected in the food habits of the people."

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original source MSN News

Last weekend marked the forty-third anniversary of Toronto's annual Caribana parade. As reported by Torontoist, as many as 1.2 million people gathered along Lakeshore Boulevard for one of the city's most elaborate and well-attended street parties. 

"The parade was punctuated by elaborate floats�delicate fabric constructions built to resemble enormous, ornate dresses�each of which was pulled by a single person. Most were done up in bright, festive colours, presumably to celebrate Caribbean heritage and culture. One of them was done up in black, with a familiar winged, oval-shaped logo on top, presumably to celebrate Batman. Between the floats was the traditional sea of colourful costumes and colourful exposed skin."

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original source Torontoist

The Huffington Post has declared Toronto "the hot new destination for all things crazy, sexy, cool". The article points to Toronto's  mix of "trendy" and unique neighbourhoods--including West Queen, Ossington and Kensington Market--as the city's main draw. Toronto is also celebrated for embracing public art projects and for its diverse culinary scene.

"Although the Toronto skyline is dotted with a dizzying array of towering glass residential developments, it is the renewal of the once dodgy but now trendy West Queen, Ossington and King West neighborhoods that have visitors buzzing about the galleries, custom clothing boutiques, restaurants and specialty stores. As a reference consider these districts to be Toronto's Brooklyn."

"Moving further along you will discover the beating heart of the city lies in Kensington Market, Little Italy, Chinatown, Little Portugal, Greektown, and Little India. It is in these neighborhoods that you will see, feel and taste the vibrant mash-up of globalization and daily life coming together."

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original source Huffington Post