The Institute for Cross-cultural Exchange (ICE) or Institut d'échanges interculturels (IEI) is an educational and

cross-cultural Cross-cultural may refer to *cross-cultural studies, a comparative tendency in various fields of cultural analysis *cross-cultural communication, a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate *any of vari ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation based in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Administered and staffed entirely by

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

, ICE promotes children’s

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

and cross-cultural education at home and abroad. It provides at-risk children with their very first books: illustrated and thought-provoking stories from the Middle East and Central Asia. The Institute for Cross-cultural Exchange was registered as a public foundation in Canada on 15 November 2004, and its Charitable Registration Number is 86260 1077 R0001. In 2022, the ICE was rebranded as Books Over Borders.

Aims and activities

Following a survey of the literary crisis in Canada, ICE came across a non-profit initiative by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

Robert Ornstein Robert Evan Ornstein (August 21, 1942 – December 20, 2018) The web page gives the birth year as 1942. was an American psychologist, researcher and author. He taught at the Langley Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute, based at the University of ...

Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge The Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK) is a non-profit educational charityISHK is a 501(c)3 educational corporation, incorporated in the State of California. Federal Tax ID #94-1705600. and publisher established in 1969 by the psyc ...

, called Hoopoe Books for Children, and decided that the universal themes in the

teaching stories A teaching story is a narrative that has been deliberately created as a vehicle for the transmission of wisdom. The practice has been used in a number of religious and other traditions, though writer Idries Shah's use of it was in the context of Suf ...

in this series of children's books, by the writer and Sufi teacher

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...

, would suit ICE's cross-cultural objectives. In its first ten years ICE has donated free of charge over 164,000 books. Over 80 Canadian non-profit literacy groups have received over 92,000 books, six partner organizations in Afghanistan 71,000 books, and its partner organization in Mexico 1140 books. In 2012, in the Canadian Pensioners Concerned newsletter ''Viewpoint'', John Zada writes that – working in partnership with Hoopoe Books – in the first eight years of ICE's operations (2004–2012), the charity had purchased and “donated over 82,000 books to more than 80 non-profit literacy groups in Canada,” and donated “tens of thousands more titles overseas for children who are in similar circumstances.” ICE has partnered with many Canadian literacy organizations including ABC Head Start, Calgary Reads, Frontier College,

United Way of Canada United Way Centraide Canada (french: Centraide United Way Canada) is the national organization for the 71 autonomous, volunteer-based United Ways and Centraides across Canada. The United Way Movement in Canada is a federated network of local Unite ...

's “Success by Six” program, and the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. Its funders include

United Parcel Service United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...

(UPS), FK Morrow Foundation,

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

, ETFO Humanity Fund and Bridge Street United Church Foundation. In addition, since 2010, working in partnership with organisations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, ICE has distributed thousands of editions in

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

and

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

to schools, orphanages, libraries and

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s throughout Afghanistan, and also hundreds of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

–English bilingual editions were provided for children in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

through a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

charity called One Life One Chance. John Zada points out that “for most of the children, hesebooks were the first they ever owned.” Speaking to the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' earlier in 2010, ICE Director and Corporate Secretary and children's author Aubrey Davis said that the charity hoped “to deliver 1.5 million illustrated Dari-Pashto books of traditional oral tales to Afghan children through their local partners, the

Afghan Red Crescent Society The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS; ps, د افغاني سرې میاشتې ټولنې; fa, جمعیت هلال احمر افغانی) is the Afghan affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Societ ...

, the Khatiz Organization for Rehabilitation and

The Asia Foundation The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to "improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia". The Asia Foundation (TAF) was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on be ...

.” In 2011, a group of

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

members in Pohantoon-e-Hawayee (PeH) – part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

’s training mission to Afghanistan – purchased almost a thousand traditional Afghan books in Dari-Pashto through ICE. The books were given to children coming to the hospital, either as patients or as visiting family members to help promote literacy.

Interviews

In 2006, ICE director Aubrey Davis was interviewed on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

's ''

Metro Morning Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekday mornings, and has frequently been Toronto's highest-rated radio program in its timeslot. The program is c ...

''. He was asked why ICE was celebrating the birthday of Mulla Nasrudin, an international jokester and

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

, who may never have existed.

Citations

References

* * Originally from the ''

Etobicoke Guardian Metroland Media Group (also known as Community Brands) is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland publishes more than 7 ...

''. * *

External links

Books Over Borders official website

Hoopoe Books

{{DEFAULTSORT:Institute for Cross-cultural Exchange, The International educational charities Children's charities based in Canada Organizations established in 2004

Aims and activities

Interviews

See also

Citations

References

External links