Earlier this month, the Canada Council for the Arts announced a new president and vice-president of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO), and Sarah Gamble will be stepping into the vice role.
Gamble was director of the Tumbler Ridge Geopark from its inception to July of 2020, when she stepped down to begin her own company, Moose & Muskwa Consulting Ltd, which focuses on fundraising (through grant writing and dedicated campaigns), project development, and project management for the non-profit and heritage sectors. Before that, she spent 17 years working as an Archeologist around Western Canada and the States.
She is currently president of the Canadian Geoparks Network, member of the Global Geoparks Network Advisory Council, member of the board of directors of Northern British Columbia Tourism and a professional member of the British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists.
“I am very honoured to have been nominated Vice-President of the CCUNESCO,” says Gamble. “Over the past several years, through my role with the Canadian Geoparks Network, I have been closely involved with the work of CCUNESCO, and look forward to helping guide the Commission’s work as it relates to UNESCO designated sites, and its linkages between natural and cultural heritage. I am very excited to be working with Richard Kistabish as President and support the advancement of truth and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples.”
She joins Richard Kistabish, an Anicinabe (Algonquin) from the First Nation community of Abitibiwinni, Quebec. He has been an elected Chief of the Abitibiwinni First Nation community and Grand Chief of the Algonquin Council of Western Quebec for two terms. An active member of civil society, he represents many of the values and leadership that are important to CCUNESCO, such as safeguarding cultural heritage and advancing efforts to decolonize knowledge and uphold Indigenous knowledge systems.
Kistabish is currently the president of Minwashin, an Anishinaabe cultural and arts development organization. Through this role, he has been very involved with UNESCO and CCUNESCO during the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019. This led to his position of North American representative on UNESCO’s Global Task Force for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
Kistabish has received the YMCA Peace Medal for his work for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including his efforts recording testimonials of the abuses committed in residential schools.
CCUNESCO is part of the Canada Council for the Arts, Canada’s public arts funder. Its mandate is to “foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.” The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments contribute to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and support its presence across Canada and abroad. CCUNESCO serves as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. CCUNESCO operates under the authority of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
