Quilt of Belonging: A Place for All

Applied ICD

Quilt of Belonging: A Place for All, primarily created in Glengarry Village, Williamstown, ON, Canada.

The Quilt of Belonging: A Place for All is a collaborative work of art whose mission is “to recognize Canada’s diversity, celebrate our common humanity and promote harmony and compassion among people.” A richly hued portrait of the human family, Quilt of Belonging is a 120 foot (36 metres) long collaborative textile art project. Its 263 blocks portray the rich cultural legacies of all the First Peoples in Canada and every nation of the world at the dawn of the new Millennium. The goal of those who created it is to “tell the stories of Canadians of all generations throughout our history, from First Nations to new settlers to the new citizens of today, to all from coast to coast to coast who call this wonderful country home.”

The Quilt of Belonging was begun in the fall of 1998 by artist Esther Bryan. In 1995 she went on a life-changing journey to Slovakia with her parents to find the family and home her father had left behind 43 years earlier. The dream of making this artwork was born as she recognized that everyone has a story to tell, each culture has a unique beauty and that the experiences and values of our past inform who we are today. Volunteers were found from each cultural identity to create the 263 diamond shaped textile blocks. Help was provided as needed with design, research and needlework to ensure that each piece reflects the unique beauty and character of the culture depicted. In this textile mosaic, each person can experience a sense of belonging and find a place in the overall design – there is “A Place for All.” Together they record human history in textile, illustrating the beauty, complexity and sheer size of the human story.

Canada’s immigration records showed that as of January 1st, 2000 at least one person from every country of the world was living in Canada. It took over 6 years for volunteers to find a representative from each of the 263 cultural groups on the quilt. Thousands of calls, letters and countless visits were made to organizations, immigration centres, native bands, churches, embassies, and individual contacts – in short every possible source was considered. Appeals were also made in the media, needlecraft publications and numerous “in-progress” exhibitions.

Blockmakers were found to create the 9-inch diamond shaped textile “block”. Volunteers assisted them with materials, design and sewing expertise. Countless hours of research supplied information on design, fabrics and techniques and provided the historical, cultural context from which to make the artwork and develop texts for books and web-site.

Over 3 million visitors have seen the Quilt while the Quilt of Belonging companion book is available in English or French, and the 48-minute documentary is free to watch online. This artwork is also used in a variety of projects and education programs, creating an impact nationally and around the world. As of 2025, it is housed at TriSisters Art House in St Jacobs, Ontario, when not on tour.

Stories Lived, Stories Told: CMMi Podcasts

PodcastsStories Lived, Stories Told, Coordinated Management of Meaning Institute (CMMi) for Personal and Social Evolution, Arizona, USA.

The invitation reads: “The purpose of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) is to create better social worlds through better communication. This podcast is about empowering and equipping all of us in our communication to see ourselves as curious and active participants with the ability to create meaningful change in our relationships and social worlds.

Our practice of CMM is about embodying a ‘communication perspective,’ which asks us to ‘look at communication, rather than through it.’ To take a communication perspective is to consider what we’re making and how we’re making it through our communication practices. This means we look at patterns, contexts, stories, and relationships; and that we use curiosity, mindfulness, collaboration, and dialogue to create better social worlds for ourselves. So, join us as we take CMM from theory to practice, engage in collective learning together, and apply a communication perspective to make meaning in our conversations.”

A few examples:

On Relational Construction with Sheila McNamee

On Creating Relational Resilience Through Reflecting Dialogue with Deb Nathan

On Designing Complex Conversations with Celiane Camargo-Borges

You can listen to this series of podcasts on Spotify, Substack, or Apple.

 

CFP ICA 2026: Intercultural Communication Division (South Africa)

ConferencesCall for papers: Intercultural Communication Division, International Communication Association, Cape Town, South Africa, 4-8 June 2026. Deadline: 1 November 2025.

“The Intercultural Communication (ICC) Division welcomes research that applies, extends, or develops theory, method, and analysis to explore how communication intersects with culture in local, national, international, and transnational contexts. We are committed to supporting interdisciplinary research that examines culture, identity, history, and geopolitical relations, and especially invite work grounded in non-Western, decolonial, Indigenous, and underrepresented perspectives from across the globe.

This year’s conference theme, “Communication and Inequalities in Context,” calls on us to reckon with how communication both reflects and reproduces the deep structural inequalities that mark our world. For intercultural communication scholars, this theme underscores the urgency of examining how power operates across and within cultural boundaries through colonial legacies, migration policies, linguistic hierarchies, digital divides, and uneven access to resources. These dynamics are not abstract: they shape people’s lives, sense of belonging, and ability to communicate with dignity and agency.

We therefore invite submissions that interrogate how intercultural communication research can confront, resist, or reimagine these inequalities. What communicative practices foster solidarity, healing, and justice across borders? How do marginalized communities navigate cultural difference amid systemic oppression? What responsibilities do scholars bear in addressing epistemic, material, and institutional imbalances within the field itself? How can our work amplify the voices, languages, and knowledges that are often silenced?

In line with the theme, the ICC Division seeks submissions that ask bold, justice-centered questions and that push our field to think more critically about how we engage difference, power, and global inequities. We particularly encourage contributions that attend to intercultural communication as a site of both struggle and possibility in the face of rising authoritarianism, climate crisis, digital surveillance, and social unrest.”

International Translation Day Events 2025

EventsInternational Translation Day, established by the United Nations in 2017, occurs on 30 September every year. A number of organizations are planning events.

International Translation Day

The International Federation of Translators is holding a webinar this year to celebrate, with the theme Celebrating Translation, Peace and Trust. In turbulent times, where peace often hangs in the balance and global communications and relations are infiltrated by a lack of trust, the ITD 2025 theme highlights the important role of human trust. Specifically, the role of translators, interpreters and terminologists in ensuring trustworthy communication, building dialogue and trust between parties and providing oversight to AI-generated text and machine translation.

English PEN will be holding both in person and online events in London to celebrate, with a two-part conversation exploring pressing questions for the craft, business and ethics of translation: How can literary translation thrive in the face of global turmoil? And how can literary translation thrive in the face of artificial intelligence?

UNESCO and Translation Commons are organizing a joint virtual event to celebrate the International Translation Day within the context of The International Decade of Indigenous Languages. This event will explore the evolving roles of Indigenous language professionals in the digital age, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of human expertise in ensuring accurate, culturally sensitive, and trusted translations. They will navigate the ethical considerations of AI in this field, focusing on community-led approaches to leverage technology responsibly for Indigenous language preservation and revitalization, ultimately creating a future where these languages are not only thriving but also safe.

CID LinkedIn Group being Discontinued

About CID

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue’s LinkedIn group will be discontinued. Daily posts will appear instead on the Center’s LinkedIn page. Please follow that instead.

This summer CID was swamped by nearly 800 requests to join our LinkedIn group, most identified as based in Ethiopia, and most obviously fake accounts. In addition to the sorting process being terribly time-consuming, I’ve been advised that this is probably some sort of scam, likely an attempt to gain access to legitimate members, by pretending to shared interests. After discussion with several other organizations, it seems the best road forward is to simply post to the Center’s organizational page on LI, which is here, and encourage current and future group members to follow that page. That way you can still see all the posts on the LI platform, if you prefer that to subscribing directly to the website.

If instead you prefer to now switch to the website, just enter your email in the box at the top right of any page if you view the site on a laptop, or just below the current posts if you visit using a phone. You get to choose whether you receive posts daily or weekly. Despite the common misunderstanding that we send out a newsletter, we do not; rather, followers receive regular notices directly from the website.

In order to give everyone time to move from the LI group to the LI page, the group will not be deleted until October 15. But no new members will be admitted between now and then.

My apologies for the inconvenience of changing how you follow the Center. However, beyond the few minutes spent changing from the group to the page, or to another platform, given that nearly all followers just read the posts and do not offer their own contributions, it seems unlikely to be a huge problem for very many. And the protection from potential spam attacks seems worth the inconvenience.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Update 9/24: I just checked, and lots of you have already moved to follow the LI page – thanks for the quick response!

Tokyo International U: Global Teaching Fellows (Japan)

“JobGlobal Teaching Fellows (Lecturers), Global Teaching Institute, Tokyo International University, Tokyo, Japan. Deadline: 24 October 2025.

Tokyo International University (TIU), located in the greater Tokyo area, is seeking qualified applicants to teach as Global Teaching Fellows (lecturers) in the Global Teaching Institute (GTI). The purpose of GTI is to bring Japanese and international undergraduate students in contact with a diverse English-speaking faculty that will engage them in practical English communication skills through a variety of language-learning and culture-related topics. Lecturers teach a variety of courses including, for example: 1st and 2nd year required skill-based classes, and English for academic purposes (EAP), and academic literacy for international students.

Job responsibilities include teaching 10 classes (1000 minutes) 15 hours per week per semester spread across 5 days (8:45am to 5:35pm). Courses are generally assigned a standardized curriculum with required textbooks. Fellows are also expected to hold three 90-minute advising sessions per week in the Learning Commons / English Plaza, develop curricula and materials, and attend departmental and coordinator meetings. Fellows also assist with student recruitment including TIU Open Campus sessions and high school visits throughout the year as well as attend official university functions, such as graduation.

SUNY Cortland: Assistant Director of Study Abroad (USA)

“JobAssistant Director of Study Abroad, State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, NY, USA. Deadline: 3 October 2025.

The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland) invites applications for the position of Assistant Director of Study Abroad within the International Programs Office. This role offers the opportunity to join a dedicated and collaborative team of professionals committed to advancing international educational exchange and supporting student success.

SUNY Cortland’s study abroad staff manage a robust portfolio of over 40 programs in 21 countries, serving approximately 300 students annually. The Assistant Director will play a key role in coordinating part of these programs, advising students, and fostering global engagement across the campus community. The position also involves maintaining strong working relationships with SUNY Cortland’s international partners abroad to support the continued success and development of high-quality study abroad experiences.

CFP Media Ecology Association (Canada)

ConferencesCall for papers: Crossing[out] Borders in our Global Village, Media Ecology Association, University of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 25-28 June 2026. Deadline: abstract only 1 November 2025.

The annual meeting of the Media Ecology Association provides an opportunity for scholars, artists, professionals, educators, and students to exchange experiences and ideas in a friendly environment. They invite proposals for papers and panels related to the field of media ecology.

The conference theme — crossing[out] borders in our global village — is offered as a generative and open cue. Anyone attending the conference will have crossed some sort of border, and many of us do research that considers the power of relationality and purpose of differentiating. Figuratively, many of us cross borders by blending disciplinary interests or research methods. They chose this theme to suggest that all avenues are open, all topics welcome for review.

Steven Vertovec: In the Era of Superdiversity

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In the era of superdiversity: Modern migration is more complex than ever by Steven Vertovec, published by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, 28 May 2024.

The Center has previously posted about the concept of superdiversity (specifically, as one of the Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, in English, French, and German). This discussion by the Vertovec may be relevant to others. He begins:

“In today’s interconnected world, migration is more complex than ever. Superdiversity reflects the profound diversification of processes, social and legal categories, and resultant societal configurations comprising contemporary global migration. Current human mobility patterns are complicated by an array of factors including political instability, insecurity, violence, economic opportunities, family reunification, educational aspirations, and increasingly, climate change. Understanding these multiple stimuli and their linkage is crucial as we navigate this new era of human movement.”

IMéRA Fellowships 2026-7 (France)

Fellowships

IMéRA Core Fellowships 2025-6, IMéRA Institute for Advanced Study at Aix-Marseille University, France. Deadline: 20 October 2025.

For 2026-27 academic year, Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) of Aix Marseille Université, is opening six residency places for academic researchers, each lasting 5 or 10 months. Of these, the Fulbright / Iméra Chair in Migration Studies and the Friche La Belle de Mai / Iméra residency are the subject of separate calls, which will close in the second half of September 2025. All these residencies are divided into four programmes (“Arts & sciences: undisciplined knowledge”, “Interdisciplinary explorations”, “Mediterranean” and “Necessary utopias”).

An active knowledge of French and/or English (written and spoken) is essential. Basic language skills in both languages are desirable because of Iméra’s bilingual environment: for example, the weekly seminars (see point below) are held in both languages. Successful candidates who are not fluent in French are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the language during their stay, if not beforehand.

In the interest of research internationalization, just as the local scientific and cultural community should benefit from the methodological traditions brought by the residents, the latter should also benefit from the numerous expertise present on site, where most disciplines are represented. For these reasons, applicants must not have lived in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding the deadline for this call for applications and submit a project that maximizes the resources available on-site (around a hundred laboratories, various archives, a vibrant cultural and associative life, etc.). It is highly recommended to identify key local resources related to the research theme beforehand, mention them in the project, and outline the envisioned modes of collaboration.

Candidates must commit to participating in the scheduled activities with other residents and the Iméra scientific team. The Community Building Seminar (CBS) is one of the central activities, held each week (variable duration, minimum 3 hours or equivalent to one day).