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C u l t u r a l D i v e r s i t y and I n c l u s i veness For Calgary’s Community Associations November 7, 2009 Calgary Community Sustainability Conference. Jason Luan, Soci a l Planner, Family and Community Support Services, City of Calgary - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness For Calgary’s Community Associations
November 7, 2009 Calgary Community Sustainability Conference
Jason Luan, Social Planner, Family and Community Support Services, City of Calgary Marichu Antonio, Executive Director, Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary
Welcome and Introductions
Participant Mapping Activity(Sociogram)
Workshop Themes and Objectives Theme I: Trends and the Changing Context:
Increased understanding of the value of Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness
Theme II: Community Associations and Ethno-cultural Communities: Increased awareness of opportunities, mechanisms and process for interaction between the two
Theme III: Action Points: More ideas on ways to work together
Theme I:
Trends and the Changing Context
Trends: The Changing Demographics Calgary, the 4th largest centre receiving new
immigrants in Canada Calgary, the 3rd municipality in Canada to achieve a
population of one million people Calgary, one-in-four are visible minorities Calgary, high in-land migration and high labor
shortage
Five Myths and Facts about Immigrants
Myths and Realities of Life
for Immigrants in Calgary (Research from United Way of
Calgary and Area)
Myth #1Foreign trained professionals are not as
qualified as Canadian professionals
Fact: More than 21% of physicians were foreign-
trained; 22% and plus are practicing in Alberta (2008 CMA)
Myth #2 Immigrants are a burden on the Canadian
EconomyFacts 60% of recent immigrants to Alberta have
college or university education (2004 CIC) 10% increase in immigration results to 1%
increase in exports
Myth #3
Immigrants do not want to work.Fact: 70% of the overall growth rate in labour
force are made of new immigrants (1990s)
Myth #4Immigrants take away jobs from Canadians.Facts 50% of immigrants with post-secondary credentials
are under valued in employment (CIC 2006) New immigrants are three times more likely than
Canadian-born workers to be found in low-skills jobs (The Globe and Mail 2008)
Myth #5Immigrants bring crime to Canada.
Fact: Immigrants in Canada have lower overall
crime rates than the Canadian-born population (Statistics Canada 2006)
Reflections on Cultural Diversity and Social Inclusion What does it mean to you? Your perspectives and stories Functional definition:
Asking who is not involved and why Talking directly to those not involved to find the
answers Engaging different perspectives
What’s at Stake?
High cost of not integrating Racial tension Social segregation Perception of increased crime Social and health cost Business relocation/loss
Who Benefits from social inclusion and diversity? A win-win approach for all
Welcoming community Cohesive and integrated community
Theme IIWorking Together -
Community Associations and
Ethnocultural Communities
What the Changing Context means to Community Associations?
A shared responsibility for us all A need to bridge the gap An opportunity to vitalize our community
Ethnocultural Groups/Associations
Grouped according to country of origin, race, language, ethnicity, faith
Mostly city-wide, with relative concentration in some geographic areas
Activities range from issue response, welcoming newcomers, heritage, dialogues with institutions and decision-makers
Examples
Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary (ECCC) Community-based organization with 27
member-organizations Aims to facilitate collective voice of visible
minorities Towards active civic engagement of visible
minorities in social, economic and political affairs of society
ECCC Members
African Sudanese Caribbean Eritrean SomaliFrancophone
Asian Indian Chinese Vietnamese Filipinos NepaleseJapanesePakistaniTibetan
Latin American Salvadoran Peruvian
Middle Eastern Kurdish Palestinian
Teachers Literary Professionals Engineers Businesses
Types of Projects & Activities Welcoming newcomers Heritage and language instructions Sports Cooking together Children’s education Neighbourhood groups and concerns Issues: ESL, Racial Profiling, Recognition of International
Credentials
ECCCFCC
Community Associations (Geographic-based)
Ethnocultural groups/associations(Culture-based)
Individuals
Levels of Interaction
Discussion
Opportunities and challenges of working together
Finding a common ground Developing mechanisms for mutually
beneficial relationships Levels of interaction and engagement
Theme III
Action Points
Group Discussion Questions1. What were your experiences interacting with
ethno-cultural groups or individuals?2. What have you learned from the past
experiences? 3. What new ideas do you have for bridge-
building?4. How can we move forward?
Summary of Ideas for Action Report back Summary Commitments
Our aspiration: To create an inclusive community that values immigrants as assets and welcomes them to be fully integrated in our community
Further Contact:Jason Luan Marichu AntonioPhone: (403) 456-6856 (403) [email protected] [email protected]