Themed around ‘Immigrants – Building Canada’s Prosperity’, the 23rd edition of the 2019 Immigrants of Distinction Awards to be held on March 15

A major share of Canada’s daily and future success can be attributed to its growing immigrant-refugee population. Every year, the Immigrants of Distinction Awards, presented by Immigrant Services Calgary, recognizes the exceptional contributions being made by immigrants and refugees. Ahead of its 23rd edition, which will be held on March 15 at the Bella Concert Hall in Calgary, the awarding body has announced its list of finalists.

The 2019 Immigrants of Distinction Awards finalists are as follows:

Achievement Under 35: Hyunmin Jung, Aishwarya Khanduja, Oluseyi Smith

Arts and Culture: Roma Thakore, Wilmer Aburto, Sisay Shimeles

Community Service: Victorino Lantion, Jean Claude Munyezamu, Toko Ishikawa

Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Nancy Nasr, Dr. Sreekumar Menon, Amy Giang

Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Adriana Fishta-Bejko, Dr. Mauricio Monroy-Cuadros, Madeleine King

Organizational Diversity: Norfolk Housing Association, Canadian Western Bank, Tower Cleaners

Youth Scholarships: Arijit Lodha, Claire Du, Nihal Potdar, Riri Jiang, Jadé Olayinka

The list of finalists has been drawn up based on certain criteria including the broad range of talents and achievements exhibited by these individuals and their contribution to the Calgary community. The 2019 edition of the awards is themed around ‘Immigration – Building Canada’s Prosperity’ and aims to celebrate and recognize all the good that the immigrant-refugee community adds to Canada’s ever-growing mosaic of ethnicities, cultures, languages and values.

Tickets are available for purchase online at www.immigrantsofdistinction.com. Early bird tickets at $130 will be available until February 1, after which, tickets will be sold at a regular price of $150.