CALGARY - Bow Valley College is very proud to announce that its Diversity Education training for Calgary Police Service (CPS) recruits has been recognized with an Honorable Mention for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation's 2016 Awards of Excellence in the Government category.

Elza Bruk, Dean of the Centre for Excellence in Immigrant and Intercultural Advancement at Bow Valley College, and Constable Jeff Munday from CPS, recently attended a ceremony in Toronto on behalf of the College to accept the award.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation's Awards of Excellence pay tribute to public, private and voluntary organizations whose efforts represent best practices in building an awareness and understanding of Canadian values and identity that are reflective of Canadian diversity.

Bruk and Munday were also invited to serve as representatives to the Canadian Race Relations Foundation's biennial National Conference in Toronto.

The Diversity Education training exercise takes place at least once a school term through Bow Valley College's English Language Learning (ELL) program. CPS has been collaborating on the training with Bow Valley College for nearly three decades and it has served as a benefit to both CPS recruits and Bow Valley College learners. Munday even went through the training when he was a recruit.

The training teaches CPS recruits how to conduct interviews and interact with immigrant witnesses who have a beginner's level of English comprehension. The recruits also learn how to build bridges of respect with Calgary's communities.

Bow Valley College learners also benefit from this exercise, which helps teach them that police provide a valuable and necessary service to our communities. Many of our learners come from countries where the police are an organization to be feared. This exercise helps to teach them that they do not need to be afraid of the police in Canada.

During training, learners watch a video depicting a crime, then break into groups to be interviewed by the police recruits. CPS leaders and ELL College instructors observe the interviews and provide feedback during the debrief sessions, reminding CPS recruits about the importance of speaking basic English and non-verbal communication.

Once the interviews concludes, recruits and learners participate in a debrief session, watching the video together and talking about what they learned. At the end of the exercise everybody comes together for a coffee and donuts networking session, where recruits are encouraged to bond with the learners to help strengthen the bond of community and belonging.