GenConnect Apna Mela
“We saw a lot of smiles…
Those small things and everything make a huge difference.”
Manpreet Dhesi , recipient of the Connect to Community Grant for 2023-2024 school year.
Project Description
The Apna Mela 2024 was a free festival created to increase intergenerational connections between youth and seniors within local South Asian and Punjabi communities. This festival focused on decreasing social isolation among seniors in these communities by creating opportunities for youth and seniors to connect over workshops centred around culture, food, heritage, and traditions.
Community Partner Description
Solid State Community Industries: Solid State is building a solidarity economy, grounded in Surrey, BC, developed by racialized communities: a mutually supportive network, a cooperative of cooperatives, bound together by a commitment to friendship and mutual aid.
Lessons Learned
Manpreet shared her self-reflections on lessons learned during her project: “I think some lessons I learned particularly were to be patient, manage, and work with my teammates well. I think the most meaningful project outcome was to see that everyone really enjoyed the event, and like we saw a lot of smiles, and like a lot of people coming up and tell us like, ‘Hey, this was like such a good event.’ I think those small things and everything make a huge difference. So I think those were really meaningful.”
Project Outcomes
“Our project brought out like over 400 people. Normally, a lot of the times are, the male seniors don’t typically engage that much, just because at the end of this festival, like all the women like everyone gets together, and they just dance and everything. And then a lot of the time since not many male seniors come out. So they don’t really like participate. They usually just like leave by then. Right?”
“So this year, we actually an activity specifically for them, which was the turban tying, and it was so good to see their engagement really participate in that. So that was like a really big success, because that’s usually a little bit difficult, just because of like gender and societal norms like sometimes there’s like a break between male and female seniors, but that was really good to see that.”
Advice for Future Applicants
For students considering applying for a CCEL Grant, Manpreet offers some valuable advice:
“I think particularly just being genuine about what you want to do, and really showcasing like, ‘Hey, like this is how I made an impact before and this is how I think’. [This way it can really] explain why [your project] would be impactful.”
Information about CCEL Grants
If you are a student interested in leading your own UBC CCEL project, you can learn more about the application process here. Year round advising for grant projects and applications are available via Zoom or in-person at our office on the UBC Vancouver office from Monday to Friday. For more information about year round advising, please email us at community.learning@ubc.ca to book an appointment.