CFN President and CEO Anila Lee Yuen recently appeared on RED FM’s radiothon at Dashmesh Culture Centre. Calgarians regularly turn to ethnocultural media for comfort and connection and listeners can hear up to 20 different languages on RED FM alone. Its main audience includes YYC’s Indian and Pakistani communities, but the station also accommodates Calgary’s Arab, Afghan, Russian, Croatian, Filipino and Vietnamese communities in Calgary, as well as others.
Calgary is home to a wide range of ethnic radio stations, shows, newspapers, TV programming and online sources, all aimed at established immigrants and newcomers from around the world, who now call Calgary home.
The importance of Ethnocultural Media cannot be overstated, as these outlets provide alternatives to mainstream media that can, at times, marginalize Canada's racial and ethnic minorities. Access to ethnocultural media underwrites the integration of immigrant communities by potentially connecting newcomers to services. Perhaps above all else, ethnocultural media can expedite feelings of belonging and by extension social participation.
Ethnocultural media not only connects culturally and linguistically diverse Canadians with other social groups, but with their own local communities as well. On a more practical level, ethnic media are important sources of information. When advice is needed on a range of issues, from health care services to migration law, ethnocultural media plays a crucial role.
CFN would like to thank the many ethnocultural media outlets throughout the Calgary area for the important work they are doing in building better community for all who call Calgary home.