Wed Zoom- Our Roots of Sustainability-Cynthia Lam

ZOOM ID - 604 778 0162 | Password - 202020

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"Our Roots of Sustainability" by Cynthia Lam MSW

Cynthia Lam, currently living and working on the unceded land of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh First Nations.

She is a professional social worker with a Master degree from McGill Uuniversity. 

Cynthia worked in England, but most of her professional life was in Montreal. There she founded two organizations which continue to play a pivotal role in the communities.

• The Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal in 1976
• Sino Quebec Center of South Shore in 1990

She also established “Cynthia Lam intercultural Fund” with goal to help fund programs that promoted intercultural relationships. 

Awards: 

After being honoured by a number of local, regional, and National awards, that had culminated for her in being inducted, with humility and pride, to « the Order of Canada, 2002”.

In Vancouver: 2004 to present, she has served on board and committees :

• Lower Mainland United Way
• Canadian Red Cross
• The Song Ching Ling International Children’s Foundation
• The David Suzuki Foundation / Suzuki Elders
• The UBC Faculty Women’s Club
• BCCDA: BC Cultural Diversity Association
• The Unitarian Church of Vancouver. 

Recent projects: 

With 12 years actively involved as a Suzuki Elder, Cynthia has acquired a broad range of knowledge about the climate crisis. Her efforts have turned to the immigrant communities that are growing in diversity and in number. She has led workshops in Richmond and Burnaby, and used social media, produced pamphlets and video programs. 

Different Environmental Practices, and/or the lack of, have unfortunately but evidently caused stereotypes and racial discord, against the Asian Canadian communities. 

Cynthia has been engaged among others in inter-generational work with youth, in search of our own traditional sustainable practices! 

Her long term vision is to advocate and promote intercultural/multicultural sustainability, with goals to have more immigrants communities join in force, encouraged by their own brand of Sustainability; and equally important for the mainstream society to recognize this as a positive force to reckon and collaborate with.

This is an ambitious but timely and meaningful project. Given time, resources and strategy, this environmental movement may become more diverse and inclusive (instead of white predominant only), to engage in the most urgent task, that is the protection of the planet earth against climate crisis. Equally important, this should effectively help build bridges, to shorten racial distance so to combat racial tensions.