February 13, 1997 -- The National Indian and Inuit Community Health Representatives Organization (NIICHRO) and the Canadian Ethnocultural Council (CEC) as part of their collaborative project "Our Nations' Elders Speak" are proud to announce the screening of a 27 minute video "Our Nations' Elders Speak" on Tuesday, February 18, 1997 at 12:00 p.m. at the Kateri Hall in Kahnawake, Quebec.

The video, which features elders from First Nations, Inuit and Ethnocultural Minority communities, shares approaches developed by elders from diverse cultural backgrounds to help avoid unwanted isolation and improve their quality of life. Real issues affecting today's elders, such as the meaning of ageing, myths and stereotypes about ageing, age as opportunity and isolation factors are addressed in a touching and at times humorous manner.

The video is one the tools developed for community health representatives and health care paraprofessionals receiving training in a "Train the Trainers" session from February 16-18. A comprehensive package of training manual, videos, and additional resources promotes a cross-cultural dialogue of many dimensions of getting older.

The CEC, Canada's only coalition of national ethnocultural umbrella organizations, promotes a vision of Canada, which is based on a respect for different ethnocultural groups and equality for them in all aspects of Canadian life.

NIICHRO is a non-profit organization representing 850 community health representatives working in First Nations and Inuit communities across Canada to improve their health status. NIICHRO aims to balance traditional and non-traditional approaches to medicine. -30- Joint NIICHRO and CEC news release. For information about NIICHRO, contact: Reaghan Tarbell, Assistant Project Coordinator, Tel.: (514) 632-1690.

Ethnocultural coalition pleased with the creation of Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the new directions for the Multiculturalism Program