Exploring Cultural Diversity in Kitchener-Waterloo

The Change

It used to be that when immigrants came to Ontario, they would move to the GTA for some time before moving anywhere else. That’s not the case anymore! KW has become a “secondary gateway” region for new Canadians. That means our diversity is growing at a rapid rate…which is exciting for many reasons. It boosts our economy, diversifies our talent, and increases our cultural value for starters.

This shift has happened so quickly.

Do we as residents of this region realize what’s happening? Do we realize the phenomenon of this cultural shift in our community?

The Goal

This cultural awareness project is a way to explore and increase awareness of this phenomenon in a musical form. Starting with the Turkish and Syrian communities, I will learn from individual members about the beauty of their culture, tradition, and musical flavour through a survey and capture those thoughts in a song. I will be working alongside musicians from these communities to create this music.

The community songs that will be created will be original, compelling pieces of music that will strengthen community in the Region of Waterloo through social awareness and mutual understanding through celebrating our diversity.

This project’s significance lies in the opportunity to increase the cultural vibrancy of our Region and produce high quality, community-engaged music that will be made available broadly.

Whether you have newly arrived in Canada from Turkey or Syria, or have been in Canada a long time, I invite you to get involved.

You Can Help

By filling out this survey, you can help us understand your culture and help inform the lyrics and songs created