Black History Month 2022 - The Symposium

The African Arts & Cultural Contributor Society is pleased to invite you to our annual Black History Month festivities and especially to participate in our BHM2022-SYMPOSIUM.  Our Black-Led, Black-Serving non-profit is an Art & Cultural organization whose main mandate is to advance awareness and understanding of the richness and diversity of African culture and traditions through the promotion of a broad range of cultural, educational, and artistic activities, events, and programs. We also aim to strengthen the Black community's resilience. In 2020, we opened Issamba Centre, the only African Descent Centre in BC, the first on Vancouver Island. It is a hub for African, Caribbean origin, and of African descent, and a gateway for engagement with Black communities. 2022 is our 9th year celebrating Black History Month as an organization in British Columbia. 

We are planning a full month of virtual festivities to celebrate the diversity and accomplishments of black communities across British Columbia, Canada, and the World. As part of the agenda for this Black History Month 2022, we are focusing on “Representation”, which has been a dominant subject in our ten months-long project of convening the Black community to empower them to have a voice to influence policymaking and advance equity and social justice. Alongside the national theme “Celebrating Black History Now and Forever”.  

The Convener program initiated by the BC Government, under the BC Resilience Framework mandated AACCCS-ISSAMBA Centre as the provincial convener for the African Descent community in BC to lead engagement activities between the provincial government and the community, in addressing the rise in hate and to combat racism in our province. As part of this role, AACCCS has compiled a report with community recommendations to address racism and improve inclusiveness within the system. Join us on February 17th and 18th, 2022 as we will be launching our Report and sharing summarized recommendations