We are pleased to announce Barbara Lee as 2022’s recipient of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop Community Builders Award. This award is given to an individual or organization that demonstrates commitment and devotion to racial equity and advocating inclusion for Asian Canadians. Barbara has been championing equity, diversity, inclusion, and better Asian representation in film for more than 25 years. During the pandemic, Barbara has been a strong and consistent voice against anti-Asian racism and advancing social justice, with initiatives such as the founding #Elimin8Hate, the racial equity audit of British Columbia’s Knowledge Network (KN), the Canadian Style Guide for Reporting on Asian Canadian Communities, bravely calling out the racial inequities of Canadian grant funding agencies, and her dedicated leadership of the Vancouver Asian Film Festival that continues highlighting Asian Canadian filmmakers with programming targeting discrimination.
Over the years, ACWW has honoured individuals, community organizations, and educational institutions that have made significant contributions to the community. Past recipients of the ACWW Community Builders Awards include Roy Mah, Wayson Choy, Paul Yee, Harvey Lowe, Roy Miki, Fred Wah, The Bulletin (National Association of Japanese Canadians), Joy Kogawa, Scott McIntyre Gim Wong, Evelyn Lau, Tradewind Books, and Brian Lam. Your tireless efforts and your dedication to our community are an inspiration to us all and very much exemplify the spirit of this award.
ACWW presented the award to Barbara on the opening night of LiterASIAN Festival on Saturday, May 7th. Thank you, Barbara, for all that you do in the community, and congratulations!