Along with her vast professional accomplishments, Karen’s unwavering dedication to community service has created positive changes where she lives, works and serves.
Karen volunteered her time and talents to Author a book and Co-Produce a documentary that gives voice to the early settler migration experiences of South Asians in Canada.
Community Service:
Preserving South Asian History for
Future Generations
Karen served as the Curator, Author & Editor of Untold Stories: The South Asian Pioneer Experience in BC in a volunteer capacity in 2020. Produced during the global pandemic, her critical book preserved the forgotten voices of the first wave of South Asians who migrated from Punjab, India to Canada in the early 1900s. Karen donated her time to interview elders from 35 pioneer families, wrote over 70,000 words and collected more than 1,000 rare and never seen before images to showcase the lived experiences of the earliest Punjabi settlers in BC. This historic book has made waves in the US, the UK, Australia, and India and also earned recognition of the Hon. Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, the Hon. Minister of International Development, Harjit Sajjan, and the Hon. Premier of British Columbia, John Horgan. Untold Stories is now being taught as part of Surrey Schools curriculum thanks to the dedicated efforts of Karen and exceptional LA Matheson School teachers like Gurpreet Kaur Bains and Annie Ohana. Karen partnered with the Museum of Surrey in 2021 to curate a public exhibit focused on Untold Stories.
*Untold Stories was published by AAJ Media.
Making an Impact Across Country Borders: In 2022, Karen partnered with SikhLens and Chapman University in the US, to co-produce a documentary titled Hidden Histories: The Sikh Migration Path to Canada which premiered in the US (2022) & India (2023.)
In 2020, Karen presented a lecture to Chapman University students on this topic. In November 2022, Karen was invited as the keynote speaker at Chapman University in California to share her comprehensive research and learnings to the SikhLens Film Festival US patrons. There the Hidden Histories 2023 Calendar that she produced in partnership with Sikhlens (pictured below) was launched.
Hidden Histories will premiere at the first ever Sikhlens Film Festival in Canada in September 2023 and the UK later this year where Karen will attend.
Bringing Punjabi Canadian History Back to India to Create Understanding & Global Connection
In February 2023, Karen was personally invited and sponsored by Patrick Hébert, Consulate General of Canada in Chandigarh, to premier the Hidden Histories film at the SikhLens Film Festival India. She also spoke to students and patrons at SD College and to Indian press about the historical Canada to India project. While in India, Karen travelled to Sri Harmandir Sahib to donate copies of her book Untold Stories to the library. Also known as the Golden Temple, this is the holiest site of Sikhism and the most visited place on earth. Through her tireless volunteer efforts & storytelling, Karen is having an impact around the world.
Homecoming: On Sept. 9, the inaugural SikhLens Film Festival came to Canada and was hosted by the UBC Sikh Students Association at the University of British Columbia. Karen Dosanjh introduced Hidden Histories, delivered the keynote and spoke on a panel about the importance of preserving culture and history for the next generation.
A Heartfelt Commitment to Youth in BC
Karen is a passionate mentor & historian who works tirelessly as a volunteer to bring Sikh-centric stories to elementary and high school students in Surrey, BC, who greatly benefit from culturally significant content in their classrooms. She also freely pays forward her knowledge & experience so the next generation can benefit from her learnings.
She regularly serves as a guest speaker and lecturer to Surrey students as she believes that representation matters, and that youth thrive by seeing themselves reflected in educational storytelling. Karen partnered with teachers to bring her film Hidden History to Surrey school students along with a discussion with pioneer families. (Photo: bottom left.) In 2021, Karen was nominated for the Order of British Columbia by Surrey school teachers for her work in preserving history for the benefit of BC’s youth.
In 2017, Karen served as a judge for the Rotary Club of Surrey’s The Debater’s event which focused on helping South Asian youth in Surrey, BC, improve their communications and confidence in public speaking and critical thinking.
Karen is also a volunteer lecturer at her alma mater, Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Surrey, BC, where she speaks to students at the Beedie School of Business students on the topics of Global Leadership, International Relations. She also hosted Marketing & Branding Masterclasses for Global Impact.
In 2022, Karen was named one of 50 Women of Options Gamechangers who committed to raising a collective total of $1.5 M to help at-risk youth in the Surrey community. Karen supports Options Community Services because leveling the playing field for all marginalized youth in our community matters so deeply to her. Learn more about her campaign at the link above.
In 2023, Karen brought her film to students at LA Matheson high school in Surrey. Along with the screening, a powerful discussion was held including pioneer family members who shared their perspectives on the challenges the first South Asians in Canada faced.
Also in 2023, Karen’s book Untold Stories was catalogued as an official publication/learning resource at UBC which houses the second-largest academic research library in Canada and provides vital support for research, learning and teaching excellence for students here and around the world.
