To: All Students, Faculty and Staff at the UBC Vancouver Campus

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Alden Habacon as Director, Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development (Vancouver).

Alden has been appointed for a two year term, starting December 1, 2010 to help develop and lead the early implementation of the University¹s commitment to intercultural understanding.  Building on Place and Promise:  The UBC Plan vision and values, he will engage students, staff, faculty and alumni to establish and articulate key actions on the intercultural understanding strategy for the Vancouver campus; and create and establish programs that empower others to promote intercultural understanding through their unique cultures and approaches.

Alden is an accomplished diversity and inclusion specialist, whose focus has been in embedding diversity in organizational cultures and harnessing diversity to achieve strategic goals.

Since 2004, he has been serving as the Manager of Diversity Initiatives for
CBC Television, where he has worked on the development and implementation of CBC’s national diversity strategy and some 300 diversity initiatives across Canada.

As a public intellectual in the area of interculturalism in Canada and diversity in media, he is a sought-after speaker and consultant, having spoken across Canada and around the world. Alden also holds the position of Executive Director of the Laurier Institution, a 25-year old, national, non-profit organization committed to the study and advancement of knowledge about Canadian diversity, from its economic benefits to its social implications; and is the founder and Publisher of Schema Magazine (SchemaMag.ca), an online platform about 1.5-and Second-Generation Canadians.

Alden is very passionate about community involvement. He is the co-founder of the Asian Canadian Journalists Association in Vancouver and an active member of the Alliance of Filipino Associations (AFA) and the Responsive Society of Professionals for Empowerment and Collective Transformation (RESPECT).

Please join me in welcoming Alden to UBC.

Stephen J. Toope,
President and Vice-Chancellor