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Ben Viccari
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Ben Viccari is a writer, journalist, broadcaster and champion of Canadian multiculturalism. He is the current president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) and publisher of the online blog and news service, Canscene: Canada's multicultural scene. Ben's commentaries are featured regularly on OMNI Television.
Biography
[edit]Born in England, Ben is the son of an Italian immigrant and his English wife.
Now in his late 80s, Ben arrived in Canada in 1947 after working as a writer in England and serving in the Britain's Royal Artillery in Europe during the Second World War. In Canada, after the fall of Mussolini, he joined the Military Mission to the Italian Army (Allied Control Commission). Then he began his career in public relations, broadcasting and print communications, notably:
- • Publishing Oggi Canada (Italian weekly)
- • President (1960-1961) Canadian Public Relations Society (Toronto) Inc.
- • Lecturing at Harvard School of Business, the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University and Humber College
- • Serving as chair of public relations for Villa Colombo (Italian home for the aged)
- • Establishing his own public relations firm
- • Serving as president of the Toronto Press Club (1981-82)
From 1986 to 2000, he was managing editor of Canadian Scene, the non-profit, multilingual news and information service for Canada's ethnic media, which has now ceased publication.
The closure of Canadian Scene prompted Ben to launch his blog, Canscene publishing multicultural news articles, updated monthly. Ethnic media are encouraged to pick up and reproduce, free of charge, any article that is of interest.
In 2005, Ben worked with executive producer Latlita Krishna to create the television documentary The Third Element, chronicling the growth of ethnic media in Canada from the 19th century to the present. Ben appeared as host in the documentary, also writing its script and assisting with editing.
The Third Element was produced in English and Italian versions. Both have been aired several times on OMNI TV.
Lalita and Ben are currently completing a second documentary, "The 'M'Word," tracing the progress of multiculturalism in Canada from its introduction as a national policy to current controversy and the way ahead.
Awards
[edit]- • Sierhey Zhmara Ziniak Award for Leadership in Multilingual Journalism (1996)
- • Ethnic Journalists' and Writers' Club Annual Award (1989)
- • Medal from the Rakoczi Foundation (Hungarian culture society)
- • CPRS National Award of Attainment, (1971)
Family
[edit]Ben has been married to his wife Anne for nearly 40 years and his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren share in diverse Canadian, Italian, British, Dutch, Ukrainian and Mexican-Irish heritages.
Avocations
[edit]A lifelong film buff and author of more than a few screenplays himself, Ben supplements Canscene's news content with reviews of films; especially during the Toronto International Film Festival . In 2006, he attended 26 showings and reviewed 11 of them for the Canscene blog.
Ben is an avid reader, frequently reviewing books on Canscene.
He is fan of opera and Macintosh computers.