Building on recommendations from the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee and City programs such as the Dialogues Project, Vancouver City Council voted today to proclaim June 21st 2013 to June 20th 2014 as the Year of Reconciliation in Vancouver and expressed its support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The motion from Councillor Andrea Reimer recognized that “Reconciling past injustice, and strengthening shared understanding and awareness of history, is vital to both aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in building a successful future for Vancouver.”

Council also directed staff to work with Reconciliation Canada and the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee to increase opportunities for dialogue and increased understanding between aboriginals and non-aboriginals regarding the experience and rights of indigenous people in Canada, especially in advance of the federally-initiated Truth and Reconciliation event for BC taking place in Vancouver in September.

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Flavours from the Ukraine, El Salvador, Thailand & India will be among the new offerings when 12 new street food vendors join the Vancouver’s popular food cart program this summer, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced today. Here are some of the details as reported in the press and on social media:

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Op-Ed as published in The Globe and Mail online

By Gregor Robertson and Naheed Nenshi

If you’re one of the 80 percent of Canadians who lives in one of our country’s cities, chances are you’re fiercely proud of it. Our cities can match anywhere in the world for vibrancy, quality of life, entrepreneurial spirit and creative and civic culture.

But there’s no guarantee that will last. Canada’s cities face big challenges in the next few decades: managing growth, improving liveability, becoming more sustainable, and making city living far more affordable.

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Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson announced the members of the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability today, having assembled a diverse team of industry and community leaders with expertise ranging from non-market housing and sustainable urban planning to finance and real-estate development.

“The members of the Housing Affordability Task Force bring a broad and diverse array of experience, leadership, and vision to our work on the pressing challenge of affordability,” says Mayor Robertson. “Vancouver must be a city where our children can afford to live and raise their families. This is not a simple challenge but it is one that we have to address – and I believe this Task Force has the ideas and expertise to provide new affordability solutions for Vancouver.”

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On March 17th, the City Of Vancouver granted cultural organizations, including the Vancouver International Children’s Festival and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre,  more than $7 million in grants.

In all, over 171 organizations received  operating, theatre rental and project grants.

The funds support music, dance, visual and media arts, film screenings, theatre, festivals, multi-media exhibits and more. Many of the organizations receiving grants participated in Vancouver’s 125^th anniversary celebrations, showcasing the city’s vibrant and diverse arts and culture.

Major institutions receiving grant support include the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, the Museum of Vancouver, Science World, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

More information is available in the reports at: Cultural grants report and the theatre rental grant report.

Would you like to discuss Arts & Culture in Vancouver?
Visit the VanMayorsOffice on facebook to tell us what you think of our efforts to maintain Vancouver’s artistic venues and performance spaces.

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Join us as we celebrate the City of Vancouver’s 125th birthday on Wednesday, April 6th with a free, all-ages event at Jack Poole Plaza, site of the Olympic Cauldron.

Birthday Live will run from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and feature a fun-filled day of music, street hockey, video art, a dance party, and official ceremonies including a Coast Salish Witness Ceremony, speeches by Mayor Gregor Robertson and other dignitaries, Olympic Cauldron Lighting and a giant birthday cake.

You can even get a Sneak Peek at what it takes to make a cake for thousands of people at VCC the day before on April 5th.

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