People, Southeast Asian, Advocacy, Asian Heritage
The United Indonesian Canadian Society (UNICAS) was founded on 6 March 2004 in Toronto, Ontario by immigrants originating from Indonesia, with the purpose to proactively enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Canadian society, to work in cooperation with other societies and governments and thus gain recognition and support to attain higher goals and sensible ideals.
The objectives of the Society are:
- to provide a neutral environment where members can communicate with each other in harmony and where they can exchange thoughts and ideas to the enhancement and development of their knowledge;
- to engage in social, cultural and service activities;
- to support and assist the development of economic pursuits, such as trade, commerce, employment opportunities and other legitimate businesses;
- to work in conjunction with governmental establishments to facilitate the attainment of communal objects; the raising of awareness of ‘good citizenship’ and the more rapid integration of immigrants into society;
- to recognize and promote the development and delivery of innovative programs, and to coordinate with other similar societies, to work for mutually beneficial ends.
It is a well known fact that after the end of the Second World War, a multitude of people have moved from one country to another. This phenomenon was apparent in Indonesia as well, and its residents are now spread all over the world. Regardless of the reason that someone may have left their country of origin, it seems that often an emotional bond still exists, a feeling of kinship that drives them together and makes them attend multitudinous gatherings, large and small.
What does the UNICAS logo stand for?
The “bowl” at the bottom of the logo symbolizes the main foundation of our organization, which provides a place where members in particular, and Indonesian community in Greater Toronto Area in general, can congregate and exchange ideas, come to a common conclusion, and forge a strong bond amongst us.
The four “flower petals” pouring into the bowl denotes the direction where we came from (East, South, West and North, in other words, from everywhere in this world).
The “black dot” in the bowl is where all the ideas, thoughts, dreams and mutual respect blend together to become this organization’s wisdom. All of those are in the realm of the “bowl.” The “red maple leaf” denotes the existence of Canada and its influence.
The basic colours of red and white are coincidentally the color of Indonesia and Canada.
Our goal is to make UNICAS a place to meet, as the logo depicts, it is a container or wadah where the Indonesian people from any walks of life, any religion, any Indonesian ethnic group, and any age, gather as one group of Indonesians. UNICAS also has members who are non-Indonesian but have a link with Indonesia or Indonesian friends. As a non-profit organization, we are here to represent our own structural make-up and to work in cooperation with other societies to serve the community.
UNICAS recognizes the ability to succeed with others, where alone we would fail. We are reminded of our need to belong to something greater than ourselves, which prompts us to reconnect with our individual responsibility to invest our efforts today so we may all have a better tomorrow, in which personal contribution (volunteering) and commitment can bring us to common goals.
Working together with other Indonesian groups and other organizations makes the Indonesian community stronger and will enable us all to achieve our goals.