NAJC Committees

Endowment Fund Committee

The NAJC has established Endowment Funds to give grants.  Details of the Endowment Fund that comprise of Sports, Education and Arts Development (SEAD) and Cultural Development (CD) are available in the tab “Endowment Fund Overview”.

The Endowment Fund Committee is the jury who evaluates the applications and makes the recommendation as to the recipients.  The four member committee is elected by the National Council of the NAJC at its AGM.  Two members are elected each year for 2-year staggered terms.

 

ACE Committee

Arts Culture and Education works to create partnerships and projects which are national in scope. It is separate from Endowment Fund supported projects, for which the NAJC has an envelope.

In its inaugural year, ACE partnered with the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto to create the Japanese Canadian Artists Directory, japanesecanadianartists.com. Funded by the NAJC with the majority of funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Aiko Suzuki inspired project has been a success for pioneering artists, established arts professionals, and emerging artists.

ACE produced a teacher resources workshop in Words and Media Matter: Teaching Japanese Canadian Internment Today, and two sets of lesson plans around the hastingspark1942.ca website. Future projects include digital media projects around Redress, and a translation of the Artists Directory.

 

Heritage Committee

The NAJC Heritage Committee coordinates work with the NAJC’s National Executive Board to aid the Japanese Canadian community in the preservation, maintenance and dissemination of Japanese Canadian history and to ensure fair and unbiased representation of Japanese Canadian history.

The Heritage Committee’s areas of focus include the following:

1.  Aiding community efforts to record and preserve archival materials, through expertise, contacts, and experience;

2.  Maintaining vigilance over interpretations of Japanese Canadian histories in various texts, museum displays, commemorative programs and events; and intervening when required;

3.  Encourage and support the development of educational activities and resources on Japanese Canadian history and heritage and to aid in its dissemination.

 

Constitution and Resolutions Committee

Committee members appointed by the NEB in October 2014 are:

  • Steve Sellars, Lakehead Japanese Cultural Association
  • Morgan Elander, Kamloops Japanese Canadian Association

The Committee is responsible for:

  • ensuring that motions for the Annual General Meeting and Special General Meetings are valid within the confines of the Constitution and Bylaws;
  • reviewing the NAJC Constitution and Bylaws as advised by the National Executive Board or the membership through the National Executive Board;
  • providing solutions to issues brought forward during review and making recommendations to the National Executive Board or membership through the National Executive Board.

The Committee for this year is to review the Bylaws and make recommendations for any updates and changes to the NEB, for presentation to the membership at the next AGM in 2015.

 

Community Development Committee

The Community Development Committee is responsible for providing direction to the National Executive Board on the needs of the Japanese community as reflected by the membership of local member organizations: seniors, Ijusha, families and youth. To strengthen community, the committee facilitates networking opportunities among member organizations, and provides funding resources to support local social, community and arts programs. The committee is chaired by the NAJC Secretary.

Since 2009, the Community Development Committee (CDC) has provided funding support for local initiatives and priorities that focus on building capacity within the Japanese Canadian communities.

In the Spring, the Community Development Fund (CDF) application procedures and forms are distributed to member organizations to receive funds that are allocated in the Fall of the same year.  Summary Reports of Community Based projects are posted in the Members Only Section on the website.

The CDC is also developing an on-line resource data bank for member organizations to use and share information on the NAJC website.

 

Japanese New Immigrant Committee (JNIC)

In May 2022, the NAJC established the Japanese New Immigrants Committee (JNIC) with the following purposes:

  • Endeavor to increase the involvement of Japanese new immigrants in NAJC activities and to create a network that brings the Japanese Canadian community and the Japanese new immigrant community together for mutual benefit.
  • Promote human rights and social justice for Japanese newcomers and all Canadians, and provide opportunities for Japanese newcomers to learn about the history of Japanese Canadians.
  • Promote cultural exchanges between Japanese new immigrants and Japanese Canadians.
  • Expand social services in Japanese language to Japanese new immigrants across Canada.
  • Receive authority from the NationalExecutive Board to implement the above proposals.

Since then, the JNIC has offered various programs for new Japanese immigrants, such as the Nikkei History Seminars in Japanese (10 lecture series) and the Canada Ijusha Conversation "Zadankai", where many new Japanese immigrants gather to discuss various topics, such as immigrating to Canada, raising children in a multicultural environment, intercultural marriages, and the challenges of teaching Japanese to children in an English environment.

*The term "Shin Ijusha" generally refers to post-war Japanese immigrants to Canada.

日本語ページへ (to Japanese page)

 

Human Rights Committee

One of the objectives of the National Association of Japanese Canadians is:

“To actively work independently and with others toward the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and related intolerances and to strive for equal rights and liberties for all persons in Canada, irrespective of and not limited to, race, colour, creed, national orgin or sex and to combat discriminatory practices directed against disadvantaged groups…”.

To this end, the NAJC has a Human Rights Committee with the primary task of dealing with human rights issues, concerns and initiatives.  The Human Rights links on the website, below, will attempt to provide information on human rights related issues relevant to Japanese Canadians.

BACKGROUND ON DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION INFORMATION

Following the historic Redress Settlement on September 22, 1988, the then NAJC President Art Miki and other community leaders pointed out that the signing of the Redress Agreement was an important achievement in the history of human rights in Canada that carried with it a special responsibility. Japanese Canadians must be vigilant with regard to human rights violations and should be the first to speak up when situations occur. Other minority groups should not have to experience similar violations of their rights. The Vancouver JCCA Human Rights Committee published a Bilingual Human Rights Guide for Japanese Canadians in 1995, which was revised and enlarged in 2003.

Human Rights Book English

Human Rights Book Japanese

It was well received by the established community, and by newcomers and visitors from Japan for whom it served as an orientation reference for the history and cultural of Japanese Canadians.  The booklet provided information to those who were unaware of their rights, making them vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination. The NAJC Human Rights Committee members adapted some of the information from the Vancouver guide for this online version.  We developed the human rights web information in the hopes that this would assist you to be aware of your own and other’s human rights.  We also hope that you will be able to recognize acts of discrimination, harassment, sexism, racism, racial profiling or any other unequal or unfair treatment, and will know how to deal with these situations. Information at this site is provided as a service to members. The Human Rights Committee did its best to get the most current information, but the environment and regulations surrounding human rights issues are constantly changing and readers should be aware that we cannot guarantee that all information is current or accurate.  Users should verify the information before acting on it.  See the links under “What agencies are responsible for Human Rights Law in Canada” for further information on provincial, territorial and federal human rights bodies.

Human Rights Guide

HUMAN RIGHTS NETWORK

Have you ever wondered about inequality and unfairness in our society and wanted to discuss this with others in the Japanese Canadian Community? Or would you like to raise issues with others in your age group or demographic? If so, join the Human Rights Network and connect with others with similar interests. Fill out the Human Rights Network form and get connected. Note: save the PDF to your computer before filling out – then send it back to national@najc.ca as an attachment.

 

Young Leaders Committee

Created in 2014 at the Japanese Canadian Young Leaders Conference in Vancouver, BC, the Young Leaders Committee is comprised of young Japanese Canadians from across our country who are active and engaged young leaders in their respective communities. Committee Members bring a rich and diverse set of perspectives to the work of the Committee, reflecting the wide range of Members’ backgrounds. The Young Leaders Committee operates under the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC), and is responsible for:

  • acting as the national voice of young people in Japanese Canadian communities;
  • engaging and connecting young people in Japanese Canadian communities across Canada; and
  • proposing recommendations to the NAJC National Executive Board on programming, events, and annual budget.

READ MORE

 

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee is  formed under the NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians).
The committee is responsible to:

  • solicit new members
  • assist meeting current members' needs on a national level
  • act as a conduit connecting members.

Nominations Committee

A nominations committee that is comprised of a minimum of 3 members appointed by the National Executive Board (NEB) is established in the year of NEB elections. The committee is responsible for:

  • Actively pursuing individuals for being nominated for the National Executive Board or the Endowment Fund Committee
  • Ensuring that the Election by-laws are followed
  • Working closely with the Election Chair, National Administrator and Returning Officer
  • Conducting a review of the nomination and elections process and submitting a formal report to the National Executive Board after every AGM election