Partners/Stakeholders
The Religion and Diversity Project/Religion et diversité Partners:
In our conversations and collaborations with our partner organizations it is clear that we share a sense of urgency around the need to develop strategies that better respond to increasing religious diversity. We will work with our partners to move beyond tolerance and accommodation to affect a shift in public discourse about religious diversity. Through participation in team conferences as well as ongoing communication, we will work to define core research issues, develop research questions, and enable partners to draw on our research findings in their own work. Since our partners are policy makers or are influential in policy making, developing a reciprocal relationship with them will ensure the continuing relevance of our research to the development of public policy as well as build a sense of shared ownership and networking synergy. Frequent communication with team members (including and especially the executive team) will maintain an open dialogue about ongoing shared interests. The importance of this research means that we will be, from the outset, integrally connected to our supporting communities. Our partners have been involved from the outset of this project and have longstanding links to our team members, often through collaboration in research and policy outcomes. They are key participants in both our research development and dissemination. They include:
The Canadian Human Rights Commission
The Canadian Human Rights Commission is mandated to develop and conduct information and discrimination prevention programmes, to foster understanding and commitment for achieving a society where human rights are respected in everyday practices. They will draw on our research results and expertise in their projects related to religion. We will develop a student internship programme with them as well as participate in their annual meeting with provincial human rights bodies.
The Metropolis Project
The Metropolis Project is an international network for comparative research and public policy development on migration, diversity, and immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world. They have offered us important opportunities for knowledge transfer, and will draw our research into their research and policy networks.
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (Québec)
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (Québec) is a branch of the Québec provincial government responsible for initiating and monitoring changes to education practices and policy in Québec, based on modifications to the Education Act.
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Québec)
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Québec), constituted under the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms in 1975, the Commission promotes and upholds the principles enunciated in the Charter regarding the protection and promotion of human rights, including the rights of children.
Australian Human Rights Commission
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (Australia) was established by the Federal Parliament and its goal is to foster greater understanding and protection of human rights in Australia and to address the human rights concerns of a broad range of individuals and groups. Through our research they will link with our other human rights partners on issues of religious diversity. We will work together to create a student internship, and we will partner on research strategy and dissemination.
Australian Multicultural Foundation
The Australian Multicultural Foundation has a commitment to promote awareness among the people of Australia of the diversity of cultures within Australia and the contribution of people from all cultures to the development of Australia; and the spread of respect and understanding between cultural groups. We will partner with them on strategies of discourse shifting through a round table discussion and they will use our research to inform their policy work on religious freedom. They will use our research to inform two major initiatives, and we will work together to create a student internship.
Equality and Human Rights Commission (UK)
Equality and Human Rights Commission (UK) is a statutory body created to protect, enforce and promote equality across seven protected grounds; age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The Commission addresses issues of discrimination through a diverse range of practices, including through enforcing the law and influencing the development of law and government policy.
INFORM
INFORM (Information Network on New Religious Movements) was founded in 1988 by Eileen Barker (one of our advisors) with the help of British Home Office funding and the support of the mainstream churches. The primary aim of INFORM is to provide policy developers and the public with accurate, balanced, up-to-date information about new and/or alternative religious or spiritual movements. It will act as an important liaison with UK policy makers and will host a workshop to that end. It will also offer employment/internship opportunities for our students.
The Religion and Diversity Project/Religion et diversité Stakeholders:
Our stakeholder organizations have marked religion and diversity as an emerging issue that will have a profound impact on public life and public policy in the foreseeable future. They have expressed an interest in our research results, and will explore with us the possibility of working together on focused, limited duration projects related to knowledge transfer. Our shared commitment to exploring the issues around diversity and religion and to developing sound public policy will guide our work together. We will engage in a range of collaborative activities, including a mutual shaping of research questions and development of reciprocal knowledge transfer strategies. We anticipate holding joint events around delineated themes related to our shared interests. Team members have had previous collaborative experience with our stakeholder organizations, which means that we are building on an existing foundation. Stakeholders will be involved, as their mandates and interests allow, in research design, execution and dissemination/knowledge transfer aspects of our project. In addition to our partner organizations, the following organizations have identified a significant interest in our research and its outcomes:
American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union (Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief) was founded in 1920. It is a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that works to extend rights to segments of the population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor.
Department of Canadian Heritage
Department of Canadian Heritage is responsible for national policies and programs that promote Canadian content, foster cultural participation, active citizenship and participation in Canada's civic life, and strengthen connections among Canadians.
Human Rights Without Frontiers
Human Rights Without Frontiers is a non-profit organization based out of Brussels, Belgium, that promotes human rights around the world. HRWF publishes a human rights watch newspaper, and leads independent investigations into situations considered human rights violations.
Policy Research Initiative
Policy Research Initiative conducts research in support of the Government of Canada’s medium term agenda. Its core mandate is to advance research on emerging horizontal issues, and to ensure the effective transfer of acquired knowledge to policy-makers.
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada is the Canadian federal government department commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economics, society, and culture.