PENTICTON – The first-ever A Welcoming Communities Summit was held in Penticton this weekend. Organizers of the two day event say the aim is to raise awareness about how to help refugees and immigrants adapt to life in Canada.
“Studies show that immigrants report it takes 15 years for them to feel integrated into the community, so we thought we might be able to expedite that process and raise the bar,” says senior manager for employment programs at YMCA Okanagan, Robert Bryce.
The event was put on by the South Okanagan Similkameen Local Immigration Partnership. About 150 people took part and among the participants were city staff, service providers, settlement workers and immigrants.
“The U.S. is a melting pot, Canada is about multiculturalism and this is what we stand for and that’s what attracted me to come to Canada,” says Penticton resident Rose Cargill, who immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in 2008.
With the Canadian government resettling 25,000 Syrian refugees in the span of about four months, the question organizers of the summit hope to tackle is what comes next.
“There’s an increased focus on making sure that we continue to remain a welcoming country that is willing to grow and change with the people that come here,” says senior manager of workplace development at the Immigrant Employment Council of B.C. (IECBC), Sangeeta Subramanian.
There were breakout sessions covering topics ranging from entrepreneurship and enrolling international students, to immigration law and employer tools, like how to find, hire and retain newcomer talent.
“It starts right from creating those jobs descriptions, it’s very important if we are going to invite an immigrant to apply then we have to be looking at an essential skills type of job description,” says employer relations manager at IECBC, Hanif Ladha.
The keynote speaker at the summit, Nick Noorani, focused on his advice to his fellow immigrants.
“When we come here, we’ve left everyone behind, we don’t know anyone here so it’s important for them to start volunteering, networking, for them to start getting a mentor so they start creating that special capital,” says Noorani.
Organizers say they hope to make the summit an annual event.
The event concludes with a celebration in Gyro Park on Saturday evening. The celebration is open to the public.
Comments