Celebration and Remembrance: Reflecting Back and Looking Forward
On Wed 15 Dec 2021
Our commitment to celebrate diversity as a company runs deep. Taking time to acknowledge the cultural moments happening not only in the United States but globally offers us both learning and community building opportunities. Throughout November, we focused on bringing together community members to celebrate Diwali. Additionally, we took November 11th to acknowledge Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in many other regions.
Celebrating the Festival of Lights
Our colleagues in India, and across the world, celebrated Diwali in November. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists (notably Newar Buddhists). The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.In early November, our team in India held a virtual event to celebrate with colleagues, friends and family. They created a jam packed agenda full of activities, games and speakers and personal stories of what Diwali means to them individually, ultimately creating a slide deck to share with our global team. We also collaborated with our team members at Kira to create a special presentation that highlighted the significance of Diwali and gave insight into what some of our colleagues across the globe celebrated.This celebration reminded us just how connected we are across the globe. From our HQ in Chicago to our office in Ahmedabad, Diwali was celebrated by so many Litera team members and their families. We love finding the threads that connect us even when we're far away from each other.
Acknowledging Veterans Globally
On November 11th, countries around the world recognize their veterans. Through many different iterations, it is acknowledged as Veterans Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada and many other Commonwealth member states such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Australia. Other nations observe a solemn day but at different dates. Regardless of name, this day serves as not only a celebration of freedoms, but of remembrance for those whose lives have been lost.
Threads That Connect Us All
In November, we also held an In Conversation session to spotlight the Canadian Soldier Sikhs who fought for Canada in WWI. Soldier Sikhs: Little Story in a Big War, provided an intersectional look at two communities ' Veterans and Sikhs ' in ode to November's celebration of Diwali and recognition of Veterans and Remembrance Day. The documentary also touched upon the Black, Japanese and Chinese communities facing marginalization as they bravely fought for their countries. Facilitated by an ERG member, this moving session gave us the perspective of a member of the Sikh community. We hold space for learning about the contributions of often unsung heroes and pay homage to the diversity we have at litera. We are a collective that has rich stories to tell. We are a company that is committed to listening, learning and creating the space to continue to hear those stories.
