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 Ethnocultural 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 #1 Foreign trained professionals are not as qualified as Canadian professionals Fact: More than 21% of physicians were foreigntrained; 22% and plus are practicing in Alberta (2008 CMA) Myth #2 Immigrants are a burden on the Canadian Economy Facts 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 #4 Immigrants 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 #5 Immigrants 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 II Working 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 Somali Francophone Asian Indian Chinese Vietnamese Filipinos Nepalese Japanese Pakistani Tibetan 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 Levels of Interaction FCC ECCC Community Associations (Geographic-based) Ethnocultural groups/associations (Culture-based) Individuals 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 Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. What were your experiences interacting with ethno-cultural groups or individuals? What have you learned from the past experiences? What new ideas do you have for bridge-building? 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 Antonio Phone: (403) 456-6856 (403) 263-9900 jluan@calgary.ca marichu.antonio@ecccalgary.com