Calgary – August 30, 2016 – UFCW Canada Local 401 and UFCW Canada Local 1118 activists recently contributed as participants and sponsors of the GlobalFest Human Rights Forum in Calgary.

GlobalFest is an annual festival which celebrates the cultural and artistic diversity of the Calgary community and beyond. The GlobalFest Human Rights Forum took place during the 10-day festival and was an open space for discussion and new ideas about the most pressing human rights issues around the globe today.

This year, the theme of the Human Rights Forum was, "The Refugee Experience: Settlement and Integration". The forum itself, which was sponsored by UFCW Canada Local 401 and UFCW Canada Local 1118, focused on lives of immigrants who have come from all over the world to work in Alberta and the issues that impact them and their families. Both Local Unions are long-time leaders in providing an inclusive and proactive union for workers new to Canada.

Panelists during the forum shared their personal and professional experiences with the audience and demonstrated the ways in which they have contributed to allow refugees and recent immigrants to settle into new communities. The panelists also shared the struggles refugees and recent immigrants face as they search for work and a place to call home in a new country.