The Executive Director's report

The Culture Workprint endorsed recently by the City Council points out that in promoting culture, “the challenges are great, but the opportunities are huge.” It says that Canada's cultural diversity is our greatest asset, linking us to the stories and dreams of every culture in the world.

However, Toronto is asset rich but cash poor. The City of Toronto spends $11 per person per year on culture, while New York City spends $63, and Vancouver spends $21.

It is against this background that the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto (CCC) is operated. We have to deal with our budgetary limits all the time. We need to identify new funding sources when we are developing every new project or program, maintaining some of our current activities, or embarking on something great like the Centre's Phase II development.

Many thanks to the Directors of the Board of the Chinese Cultural Centre for giving me the opportunity to share their dream and their challenges in the past year. With our eyes set on the future, we see an image of CCC that is instrumental in bridging the East and West, significant in promoting racial harmony and mutual understanding, and constructive in nurturing Toronto “the Creative City.”

During the last 12 months, CCC has made some notable achievements:

We have focused more on the younger generation by launching the Chinese Canadian Youth Millennium Conference, Youth Achievement Awards 2000, and the “Searching for Our Roots” trip to China. Our “China Study Tour” and “Cultural Program for Families with Children from China” have drawn positive media comments. The 3rd National Chinese Cultural Organizations Conference hosted by CCC also adopted the theme “Tribute to Our Youth.”

We have reached out to various communities. The Chinese New Year Festival jointly organized with the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) set an all-time-high attendance record of 5,000 people for a Friday night event at ROM. We worked with ethnic communities to present the Canadian Multi-Cultural Silk Road Festival and the Culture Fest. CCC's Canadian Go Chess Open attracted hundreds of participants from across Canada and from the United States as well.

To encourage more art exchanges in the evolution of the unique Canadian multi-culturalism, we presented the “Interaction – Canadian Chinese Visual Artists Exhibition,” introducing nine Toronto-based Chinese Canadian artists to the Canadian art scene.

Targeting at the growing number of Mandarin-speaking immigrants, CCC worked with local entrepreneur groups and business associations with Hong Kong, Taiwan and China background to present the “Chinese Canadian Entrepreneur Business Conference 2000,” helping the new comers to become successful entrepreneurs in Canada.

We gave support to various organizations such as the Toronto Chinese Writers Association, Ontario Inter-Collegiate Chinese Debate Alliance, “Toronto Hakka Heritage & Culture Conference” and “Chinese Literary Contest for the Youth” in organizing their cultural events.

Our doors are always open. We bring school groups into the centre, and create tours, family events, summer camps and festivals. We run lectures and classes – from early morning Tai Chi to Chinese-language course before nightfall. The usage rate of our facilities has increased over the past months. The Centre has become a visiting spot for many high-level delegations from China. We enjoyed excellent media coverage. For the Chinese print media alone, CCC is covered at an average of 30 to 40 times every month.

We could not have made such achievement without the financial support of various corporations and major donors, and the guidance of our President Dr Ming Tat Cheung and his dedicated Executive Committee, the Fund-raising Committee led by Mrs Irene So, the Program Committee led by Mrs Lena Wong, the Library Committee headed by John Man, the Information Technology Committee headed by Tony Wong, and the Marketing & Public Relations Committee headed by Ms Loretta Lam.

Toronto's urban success doesn't mean the city is successful culturally. There should be something more than jobs, school, day care and a quick lunch on the run. Our Phase II cultural complex will definitely help enhance Toronto's competitiveness and add a cultural touch to our fast-paced urban lives.