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Abid Jan: Life in Canada
2002 onwards
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LIFE GOES ON…Jan 2003 – 2015
True Nature can’t be concealed
“As much virtue as there is, so much appears; as much goodness as there is, so much reverence it commands. … A man passes for that he is worth. What he is engraves itself on his face, on his form, on his fortunes, in letters of light. Concealment avails him nothing; boasting nothing. There is confession in the glances of our eyes; in our smiles; in salutations; and the grasp of hands. His sin bedaubs him, mars all his good impression. Men know not why they do not trust him; but they do not trust him. His vice glasses his eye, cuts lines of mean expression in his cheek, pinches the nose, sets the mark of the beast on the back of the head, and writes O fool! fool! on the forehead of a king.
“…A man may play the fool in the drifts of a desert, but every grain of sand shall seem to see. He may be a solitary eater, but he cannot keep his foolish counsel. A broken complexion, a swinish look, ungenerous acts, and the want of due knowledge, — all blab. Can a cook, a Chiffinch, an Iachimo be mistaken for Zeno or Paul? Confucius exclaimed, — “How can a man be concealed! How can a man be concealed!”
[Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Essays: First Series (1841) https://goo.gl/r77Fn2 ]
Passion to Help
The Success
~ Tony Spears, Ottawa Citizen, March 04, 2010
bid Jan’s first job in Canada provided him the opportunity to conceptualize a crime prevention initiative – No Community Left Behind – which the City of Ottawa has adopted as a community development approach – currently replicating city-wide as a Community Development Framework (CDF). Here is a quick overview of the key roles that Abid played in the development and implementation of the following place-based initiatives in Ottawa which involved multi-agency collaboration, community participation and successful relationship building:
- No Community Left Behind (NCLB): Conducted best practice research, designed the NCLB approach, engaged diverse stakeholders and successfully implemented the NCLB initiative in Ottawa’s priority neighbourhoods.
(see www.nocommunityleftbehind.ca for details) - Community Development Framework (CDF): Successfully brought funders and other stakeholders onboard to replicate the NCLB place-based, community engagement approach throughout the City of Ottawa in the form of Community Development Framework (CDF).
(See www.cdf-cdc.ca for details) - Creating the Change We Want: Led a 24-month long process of assessment and engagement to develop a training program for residents’ leadership, called Creating the Change We Want. It’s currently being implemented citywide to support neighbourhood change from within.
- The work of the NCLB inspired other crime ridden neighbourhoods and provided me an opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with Ottawa police, Crime Prevention Ottawa and other partners and launch other initiatives in crime ridden neighbourhoods such as Together for Vanier in Vanier, Lowertown Our Home in downtown area and United Neighbours in Pinecrest Queensway neighbourhoods.
Community Builder Award
- Strong Neighbourhoods Initiative: In 2010, introduced a new approach for building social capital in priority neighbourhoods with an outcome focused approach (see: The Change has happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giNSd2lvmLg).
- Also convened a group of stakeholders and researchers to support strong neighbourhoods strategies. The group is called Ottawa Neighbourhoods Social Capital Forum (ONSCF) and the results of work this group guided is available at www.onscf.ca.
~Louisa Taylor, Ottawa Citizen, March 04, 2010
- This work also provided Abid with an opportunity to attend Community Policing and Mobilization Program 2006 at Ontario Police College. The course was offered by Queens University in partnership with the Ontario Police College.
- Brought diverse stakeholders on board to establish Ottawa Neighbourhoods Social Capital Forum (ONSCF) in order to integrate services and promote collaboration, (See: intro to ONSCF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoUiy0x4Fs4 .
- Led the development of a shared measurement system to track progress on commonly agreed upon indicators across all funded and partner agencies. (See the evaluation framework here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjoeiCaqMCY)
Recognition of the Impact
Heroes Among Us Award
Heroes Among Us Award – OCISO Ottawa – 2010
Ottawa Citizen report
OCISO Program Brochure
Awards Gala
Ottawa Citizen Reporter
CBC Radio
Community Safety Leader Award
Community Safety Leader Award – Crime Prevention Ottawa – 2009
CPO
David McGuinty, MP
Yasir Naqvi, MPP
CBC Radio.
CBC TV Nov 3, 3009
https://goo.gl/t6WRKR
Child Friendly Man of the City Award – ECIS Ottawa – 2008
Child Friendly Man of the City
Community Builder of the Year Award – United Way – 2007
News report
NCLB
CBA – Community Builder. May 2007
EPIC award – AOHC Ontario – 2007
Mindset
Dominant thoughts and feelings expressed in different ways since young age:
1980-1990 Teenage years
ART
t a time when almost every youth in Pakistan was either eager to join the US-led Jihad in Afghanistan or had already taken part in the war in some capacity, Abid Jan was busy promoting peace, rejecting war and violence through his art work.
Peace
For example see the painting : Don’t we deserve peace). The painting with flags on the facing page promotes mutual coexistence, elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
Campaign to Abolish N. Weapons
Oil painting, The Ultimate Tragedy of Human History, depicts our future, our common destiny IF we couldn’t work out differences.
It shows our mutual destruction – everyone will suffer whether in the East of West should this tragedy come to pass.
Interfaith Harmony
he is one of the paintings I created to promotes mutual coexistence, elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
MUSIC (1990)
n 1990, Abid Jan wrote the first ever book on how to learn South Asian music without an instructor – using notations like the Western/English music.
Prior to that the concept was that South Asian music can’t be transmitted through writing and reading.
2004-2008 Crime Prevention
uring this period, Abid Jan was also engaged in Youth Health Promotion in Ottawa
– designed programs that kept youth off the street and away from gangs, drugs and other negative influences.
Provided provided skill building opportunities to youth through various programs.
Engaged youth in Photo-Voice initiative – to tell their story, express their feeling and needs. This initiative was also replicated citywide.
Conceptualized Youth Futures initiative in partnership with University of Ottawa and piloted it in high risk neighbourhoods in 2008. It is still thriving and helping youth citywide.
Was recognized for his work as “Child Friendly Man of the City” by ECIS.
Currently, spearheading United Way Ottawa’s strategies around Children and Youth where we are making the highest investment than any other funder.
Conceptualized and implemented the crime prevention initiative (called No Community Left Behind – NCLB) as part of my first ever job in Ottawa.
The NCLB reduced crime rate through social development has been so successful that the City of Ottawa adopted it as a Community Development Framework for replication citywide since 2008.
Wrote several guides/manuals to help other agencies/staff replicate the NCLB approach city-wide. (http://nocommunityleftbehind.ca/data-centre/)
Other community development related publications are available here: Reports, Books, Manuals.
The Dangers of Moral Certainty
How to Avoid Going to Extremes
Crime Prevention Through Social Development – Minute 3:40
Inception of the Crime Prevention Work in Ottawa – Minute 2:30