Koyali Burman's Journey
Koyali Burman is the Co-Manager of the Vancouver Local Immigration Partnership and brings a decade of experience in immigration, settlement, stakeholder engagement, and community research, both locally and internationally. Recently, she was honored with the Global Diplomacy Fellowship by the United Nations, where her research will focus on international migration and Canada’s global humanitarian response to crises and conflicts. She has been invited to present her work at the UN General Assembly Global Diplomacy Summit in September 2024.
Koyali holds a Master of Arts in Adult & Higher Education from the University of British Columbia. She has held various advisory and board positions, including serving as Vice-President of the AMSSA board and currently as Vice President of the United Nations Association Canada board. An experienced collaborator and communicator, Koyali engages with stakeholders across private, non-profit, municipal, provincial, business, and educational sectors. She is a recognized speaker on international migration and economic development for women, having spoken on these topics at universities in Vancouver and India. Recently, she was invited to lecture on “migration” and "new poverty" at DePaul University in Chicago, USA.
Passionate about gender-related issues, Koyali has collaborated with institutions across 15 Commonwealth countries. She developed a Gender-Sensitive Information & Communication Technology Strategy for Open Schooling, which she presented at the United Nations-Pan Commonwealth conference in Nigeria, Africa, in 2014. Additionally, she created a mentorship strategy for local economic development, helping unreached and marginalized women and girls in remote and rural areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to develop skills for sustainable livelihoods.
Koyali considers herself a Global Citizen and reflects on her journey: “Coming to Canada as an international student and feeling at 'home' in a new country wasn’t an easy process - it involved a lot of sacrifice and hard work. Navigating and exploring a different 'world' can be extremely daunting, but it is a journey to enlightenment, improvement, and discovery.”
She shares as a woman of color, coming to Canada as international student, not knowing anyone, she did have to put in more that 5 times an effort to be heard and succeed but the hard work paved the way for bigger successes. She was well supported by her fellow students at UBC.
Her advice to international students: To do your homework and research before coming to Canada (like resources in the city), find a mentor and volunteer.
Her thoughts on Global Citizenship are based on oneness and respect for humanity that is above and beyond religion and spiritualism, and probably a simpler way to understand and bring peace.
In addition to her professional achievements, Koyali is a professional Indian classical dancer. In her free time, she conducts workshops on Indian classical dance, focusing on health and well-being.
