Since the 1960’s, immigrants and refugees from over 24 African countries have settled in the Region of Waterloo.  According to the 2001 census, immigrant population by place of birth in Kitchener alone was 3350 persons from Africa.  Immigrants in the Region of Waterloo account for one out of every five people.  Members of the Waterloo Region African community have in recent years experienced incidents of hate crimes.  Previous community meetings have revealed that many people are reluctant or unaware of how to best address these situations. Studies estimate that only one in ten hate crimes are ever reported. By working in partnership with the University of Waterloo and the KW African Women's Alliance, WWOW will foster stronger lines of communication within the community and create a formal plan of action to end hate crimes.

Project Objectives:

• To develop formal and informal communication channels between African communities and law enforcement agencies.

• To create safe spaces for African communities to develop strategies to end hate crimes.

• To provide African communities a public dialogue platform to facilitate civic engagement and participation.

• To build strong social networks to support law enforcement agencies in combating hate crimes.

• To organize workshops and a public forum.

• To educate community members on human rights and civil liberties legislation.

Project Lead: University of Waterloo, Department of Sociology
Project Coordinator
Golden Munyaka, PhD
200 University Ave. Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1
Phone: (519)888-4567 ext 38520
Email: mag@uwaterloo.ca

We wish to thank the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, who has generously funded this project.