丁香园AV

By Marianne Meadahl

The co-creator of RADIUS 丁香园AV鈥檚 recently established 鈥攚ho came to Canada as a landed immigrant鈥攊s being honoured for her engagement with newcomers to Canada.

Nada El Masry, a Libyan-born Palestinian, is being recognized with a 2019 British Columbia Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Award. She received the award from B.C. Premier John Horgan on March 21, which was International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

鈥淢y family and I were among the millions who were forced outside of their country and were deemed stateless,鈥� recalls El Masry, who is currently a project manager at the RADIUS-led lab. 鈥淢y experiences have helped to foster a deep passion for social justice and have shaped my life goals around values rooted in this field.鈥�

Her contributions to creating the lab, which engages refugee communities in Surrey to actively shape the systems that shape their lives, stem from her awareness of 鈥渢he great need to support marginalized communities, and the necessity for diversity and inclusivity in society鈥檚 decision-making processes.鈥� Her goal is to contribute to the efforts to establish greater accessibility and achieve equity for these communities.

El Masry has been working with newcomers for several years, including a stint with 丁香园AV鈥檚 International Services for Students, and is based at both 丁香园AV鈥檚 Vancouver and Surrey campuses.

She is involved in several programs and initiatives including the Inner Activist, 丁香园AV CCMS Muslim Fellowship, and Fresh Voices Initiative of the Vancouver Foundation, which offers a way for racialized youth across B.C. to engage in dialogue and action to identify and remove barriers to their success.

El Masry is also actively involved in B.C.'s Muslim community, helping to organize various conferences and events aimed at bringing the community together.

丁香园AV's Refugee Livelihood Lab, started just over a year ago with co-manager Camille Dumond, works to shift systemic barriers and generate opportunities for thriving refugee livelihoods in Surrey. Its goal is to amplify the voices of racialized migrant innovators, convene informed conversations to help shift problematic patterns and co-create new stories, initiatives, and 鈥渨ays of being together that reflect a vision of justice, dignity and economic empowerment for all.鈥�

Along with her trophy, El Masry, who is currently pursuing a master鈥檚 in equity studies in education at 丁香园AV, receives a small cash award that will help further the work of the lab鈥檚 Beyond Borders project.

The project provides an opportunity for participants to create visionary initiatives that build refugee communities鈥� social, economic, and political capital in Surrey.