Scholarships

The Edmonton Refugee & Emerging Community (EREC) scholarship fund was established at Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF) to enhance the quality of life for refugees and members of Emerging Communities living in the greater Edmonton area. Africa Centre, ECF and Canadian Western Bank (CWB), have established a partnership in the management and delivery of the EREC Scholarship initiative. In order to facilitate the operation of this initiative, Africa Centre collaborates with the emerging community through a scholarship advisory committee.

In this context, “Emerging Community” is defined as a group of people who are immigrants, refugees, or part of a family that includes immigrants or refugees from a particular cultural, national, or ethnic background where a significant number of the members of that community face barriers to full participation in education and employment. Without limiting the generality of this definition, barriers may include but are not limited to poverty; unemployment; lack of / or limited English language skills; low levels of education and skills; and, limited access to mainstream services and resources.

The intent of the initiative is to support the educational aspirations of the families from emerging communities.

The Scholarship Award aims to support families obtain employment in their chosen field or pursue further educational opportunities at a post-secondary level. Awards generally range from $1,000-$3,000.