Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) Toronto in partnership with Toronto Police, Fire and EMS will be holding a media launch to announce the nomination process for the 2013 Public Heroes Awards. The launch will take place on Monday January 14th at 1:30 P.M. at Toronto Police Service Headquarters located at 40 College Street, Toronto.

Chief William Blair (Toronto Police Service), Chief Paul Raftis (Toronto Emergency Medical Services) and Deputy Chief Mike McCoy (Toronto Fire Services) will present awards of recognition to outstanding students who have excelled in police, fire and paramedic studies.

The media launch will also detail the nomination process for the 2013 Public Heroes Awards. The awards recognize police officers, firefighters and paramedics for outstanding delivery of services in an ethnically and culturally diverse city and are selected based on the following three criteria: “Altruism”, “Dedication” and “Contribution to Multiculturalism

Geoff MacBride, one of the first recipients of the Public Heroes Awards as an outstanding Toronto paramedic, and who recently heroically saved the life of a driver while off duty, will be the MC for the media launch event. Geoff is also the president of the Toronto Paramedic Association.

This year’s award recipients will be offered a free intercultural study trip to Turkey for two. The Public Heroes Awards ceremony will be held on May 1st, 2013 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

For more info visit www.PublicHeroes.org

Intercultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote respect and mutual understanding among all cultures and faiths through partnership with other communities, cultural, religious and interreligious organizations by organizing educational and cultural activities such as seminars, conferences, discussion panels, award ceremonies, luncheons, interfaith family dinners and cultural exchange trips.

Intercultural Dialogue Institute aims to promote enduring interfaith and intercultural cooperation, tolerance and dialogue by sharing the differences and similarities in cultures in an effort to achieve global peace in the foreseeable future. The Institute aims to eliminate or reduce false stereotypes, prejudices and unjustified fears through direct human communication. By this mission IDI aims to contribute to improvement of diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism throughout Canada. IDI Toronto is the Toronto chapter of Intercultural Dialogue Institute.

For more information please contact:

M. Fatih Yegul
Executive Director, IDI Toronto
Tel: 416 787-2300 Ext: 225
http://new.interculturaldialog.com