On October 22, 2019, Satbir Cheema the CEO of the Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (PICS) welcomed representatives from the City of Surrey and four other community based agencies to the founding meeting of the Surrey Intercultural Seniors Social Inclusion Network. The Network funded under the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program, is a collective impact initiative designed to address systematic barriers to social inclusion of seniors. After acknowledging that the meeting was taking place on the traditional territories of the Semiahmoo, Katzie and Kwantlen First Nations, an Indigenous elder and cultural advisor Eugene Harry (XiQuelem) delivered an inspirational message of support and extended best wishes to the initiative. The representatives from PICS, City of Surrey, Seniors Come Share Society, SOURCES, Semiahmoo House Society and Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association (FRAFCA) worked on developing terms of reference as well as a workplan for the Network and pledged to promote the Network’s mission: “Working together to break down cultural biases and create greater awareness, appreciation and acceptance of different cultures to make Surrey an intercultural and socially inclusive community for seniors 55+”.
