With a goal of healing, encouraging and supporting Indigenous people pursuing post-secondary studies in engineering or architecture, several companies in these industries have established an education fund for Indigenous students residing in British Columbia. The first ?EL,?ELO?EN ?E S, ISTEW? award of $5000 will be presented to one successful applicant this November for the 2021/2022 academic year.
The genesis of the ?EL,?ELO?EN ?E S,ISTEW? education fund stems from a group of consulting firms, engineers and architects that came together to complete a proposal for a large Federal project in the Sidney/Central Saanich area of British Columbia. As part of this project’s requirements, the team prepared a comprehensive plan to include the communities of W?SÃ�NE? Nation and Malahat Nation. The development of the proposal sparked deeper conversations and commitments from the firms to move forward on instigating change?within these Indigenous communities and others like them?across the province. Although the team was not awarded the project, its members emerged united in a greater and more selfless cause: improving the educational opportunities for Indigenous technical professionals. Since the summer of 2020, they have remained committed to creating an education fund. They have aligned as founding partners to form a steering committee for the fund, which includes the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, Gwaii Engineering, the AME Consulting Group, Diamond Schmitt arch...