Sullivan promotes tolerance through language initiative

Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan wants Vancouverites to learn the “secret handshake” of their neighbours from different cultural backgrounds.

Sullivan’s Global Civic Policy Society think-tank launched an initiative Thursday showcasing how learning several simple phrases from a different language could be an effective path to a more inclusive multicultural society.

“It can expose us to the amazing rich cultures that are all around us and it can also help us understand how hard it is to function in another language,” Sullivan said, “It makes us more empathetic to our neighbours from so many different cultures.”

Sullivan said his organization will provide instructors for community groups or corporations interested in Greeting Fluency seminars and a conference will be held next year certifying citizens who have perfected simple phrases in other languages.

Sullivan said three instructional YouTube videos are already online teaching basic phrases in Mandarin, the Filipino language of Tagalog and Punjabi, with more language tutorials planned.

Rick Antonson, president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, said he wanted his 250 volunteers and 60 full-time staff to have Greeting Fluency sessions and will encourage his organization’s 1,000 affiliated businesses to train their front line staff in various greetings.

“[For] people to become conversant in the greetings and salutations of multiple languages, one part of it is courtesy, the other part of it is comforting for visitors,” Antonson said.