About Us

Our Mission

Creative Minds Youth Contest (formerly Art and Essay Contest) is a collaborative venture between Intercultural Dialogue Institute and local school boards in the National Capital Region. The contest is open to high school students (grades 9-12) in four categories: art, poetry, short video and social contribution project.

It aims to motivate students, regardless of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds, to reflect on a wide range of topics including cultural diversity, respect, peaceful coexistence and social justice. It aims to provide students with a unique platform where they can express their ideas in the form of a creative product. Additionally, this project encourages students to build healthy reading habits and be more involved in literacy.

Our Vision

As the Intercultural Dialogue Institute of Ottawa, our main goal is to cater a welcoming environment for youth from all cultures and religions, and engage communities in a mutual partnership. We seek to do this through various projects designed for all age groups throughout Ottawa.

You can find out more about what we do through the IDI Ottawa website: https://idiottawa.ca/.

Principles

We welcome the richness of diversity and respect the differences among all religions, languages and cultures.
We maintain the highest standards of integrity, ethical conduct, as well as accurate disclosure of information.
We value constant positive action based on universal values such as love, respect, tolerance, mercy, and compassion which are crucial for healthy dialogue in a diverse environment.
We make efforts to be absolutely inclusive, and to deny participation to no one.
Our members and participants are entirely free to have different opinions on matters of belief, but join together to act in a common spirit of friendship and mutual respect.