The University of The Fraser Valley’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre (PARC) is launching a program that aims to help non-Indigenous Canadians build their capacity for reconciliation.

Beginning this month, PARC, in partnership with the Sto:lo Nation and various Sto:lo agencies, is offering "Xwelítem Siyáya: Allyship and Reconciliation Building," a non-credit program that aims to help settlers foster authentic allyship with the Sto:lo people in the Fraser Valley.

PARC is an initiative put together by various community leaders who wanted to answer the question of how to help those in crisis and how we build peace with the Sto:lo people.

CIVL spoke with the Director of UFVs Peace and Reconciliation Centre Dr. Keith Carlson, who joined PARC in 2020, about the work PARC is doing in the community and what the new initiative entails.

Registration is now open and the program is available to the public. To learn more about the Peace and Reconciliation Centre, you can visit ufv.ca/peace-and-reconciliation/

Listen to the CIVL story below: