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Dispersion
Episode 6 - Connecting Cultures through Choir
In this episode, Lili and Marta have a conversation about passing on their Latin American and Ukrainian heritages to their communities through their work with the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre Society and the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium. This episode reveals how communities share and preserve culture through informal and formal education, and the creative ways that Diasporas have stayed connected to each other and to their homelands through the COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more about the themes presented in this episode, refer to these papers from Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies:
- Gezentsvey-Lamy, M. A., Ward, C., & Liu, J. H. (2013). Motivation for ethno-cultural continuity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44(7), 1047-1066. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022113478657
- Sökefeld, M. (2002). Alevism online: Re-imagining a community in virtual space. Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies, 11(1), 85-123. https://doi.org/10.3138/diaspora.11.1.85
Guest Bios
Lili Vieira de Carvalho is the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre Society’s Executive Director. Lili was one of the founders of VLACC and its vice-president from 2012 to early 2019, while also chairing the Programming Committee. Since incorporation, she has been involved in all levels of the organization’s activities, from marketing and communications to fundraising efforts. She’s also the spokesperson of the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver’s Citizen Council. Born in Brazil, Lili immigrated to Vancouver in 2008 and has over 30 years of experience in arts management. Since accepting the Executive Director position with VLACC, Lili led an 8-month Capacity Building plan that prepared the organization to expand its fundraising and planning strategies, while developing governance and volunteer recruiting and retention. In that same period, she collaborated in doubling the organization's budget. Recently she led the work of integrating VLACC's new website with a donor and member management database while planning for 2021's program line-up.
Marta Baziuk is Executive Director of the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC), a project of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta (Toronto office). HREC was founded in 2013 with the mandate to promote knowledge and awareness of the Holodomor through a range of research, education and outreach activities, engaging academic audiences, educators and the broader public. HREC initiatives include a publications program, annual research grants competition, visiting scholar and post-doctoral fellowships, conferences, and development of pedagogical materials. Marta has more than 25 years of experience in international development and the not-for-profit sector. In the early 1990s, while representing the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in Ukraine, she worked with local activists to establish the first nationwide election monitoring organization, the Non-Partisan Committee of Voters. As Ukraine Program Officer for Winrock International, Marta oversaw the establishment of a national network of women’s centers that offer job skills training programs, domestic violence hotlines, and other services.
She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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