Saskatchewan Association for Multicultural Education

The Saskatchewan Association for Multicultural Education (SAME) is a provincial non-profit organization committed to developing respect and understanding among Saskatchewan residents through multicultural and anti-racist education. SAME promotes the recognition, understanding, and acceptance of diversity and social justice issues leading to action in educational contexts, primarily K–12 schools. In 1981, the Saskatchewan Multicultural/Intercultural Education Ad Hoc Committee was created. This group hosted the first Provincial Conference on Multicultural Education in 1983, following which, SAME was incorporated in 1984. SAME has published two editions of Saskatchewan Cultural Profiles that include brief descriptions from a variety of ethnic groups of their cultural life, especially how it is lived in Saskatchewan. SAME has produced several other publications available through the resource centre. The most recent resource developed is the Voices of Saskatchewan Story Kits. These kits combine familiar children’s books with recordings by Saskatchewan residents with a variety of accents; the kits are designed to familiarize young students with the diversity of sounds of spoken English and other languages. The organization loans these and other materials to educators in the province.

SAME also supports teachers and students with workshops, displays, presentations, and assistance with curriculum development and event planning. Currently, SAME offers interactive drama workshops to enable participants to explore issues such as racism, as well as DIVE (Discovering Identity Valuing Equality), a youth leadership program in which high school students design and deliver their own diversity projects. The Saskatchewan Association for Multicultural Education fosters projects, research, and publications that raise awareness about cultural identity, anti-racism, equity, and other social justice issues. It addresses social justice and community concerns by co-operating with other organizations, institutions, and agencies in furthering multicultural and intercultural education. SAME promotes awareness of the Canadian context and being responsive to changes in multicultural policies, demographics, and educational needs as appropriate.

Rhonda Rosenberg