Spread words of love, not hate.
That's the message that Nanaimo's largest post-secondary institution is promoting in this week an effort to tackle Islamophobia.
Yesterday, Vancouver Island University rolled out a special whiteboard dubbed the "Wall of Solidarity" as a way to stamp out negative stereotypes and portrayals of Muslims. Staff, students and the general public are encouraged to write on sticky notes positive words, what global citizenship means to them, or their positive experiences interacting with Muslims and attach the notes to the wall, which will be on display at the school's library until Feb. 12.
Yalda Ahmedi, the university's international communications coordinator and creator of the wall, said the idea behind it was simple.
"As a Muslim Canadian, I have been seeing a lot of negative reactions, social media posts after the Paris attacks," Ahmedi said. "We thought we would counteract all that negativity with some positivity. We have this wall of solidarity to basically share positive thoughts and positive messages. So we are asking faculty and staff and students to share a thought and leave a positive note."The Wall of Solidarity is a part of the university's celebration of International Development Week, which runs until Friday (Feb. 5). This year's theme is global citizenship and throughout the week there will be a number of events on and off campus. As part of IDW, the university is hosting Stories of Migration at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Tuesday (Feb. 2) in the Shaw Auditorium at 7 p.m. The event is a chance for the public to hear stories from refugees living in British Columbia.According to the 2011 National Household Survey, 3.2 per cent of Canadians identified as Muslim.Although Ahmedi has not personally been the victim of Islamapohia, she knows of others who have and has heard concerns from students on campus. Ahmedi said that given Vancouver Island University has a large international student population, it is important to engage in sensitive conversations, adding that it is the school's responsibility to ensure everyone has a safe learning environment."As an education institution, we have to be having the difficult conversations in our community that nobody else is having," she said. "I'm very proud to be working at VIU because we have been very vocal about First Nation issues and about the local socio-economical issues that we have been having in the VIU community and the Nanaimo community."
Students Anna Jung and Amanda Newman were on their way to their global studies class when they spotted the Wall of Solidarity. They both said the wall ties into what they're learning in class and that it was fun to see all the positive messages on the wall.
Since the wall went on display Monday morning, the response has been overwhelming, according to Ahemdi.
"It has been amazing," she said. "Staff and students from all sorts of backgrounds and colors and when we talk to them they absolutely agree that Islam is not about what people talk about."