Immigrants’ Reflections on integration and settlement in Canada

Public engagement between interested long-time residents as well as more recent newcomers, people who study or work in immigration, and a group of five internationally-trained, early-career PhDs who came to Ottawa after 2005.

What is it about?

 The event will revolve around a series of short stories (including data and fieldwork research results) delivered in the first hour, when each researcher will be asked to talk briefly (about 10 minutes) about the study we chose to undertake for a new university-textbook “reader” about immigrants’ experiences with their integration in Canada. Discussion will fill out the second hour as the moderator invites questions, feedback, and broader discussion. The event will be moderated by the University of Ottawa professor who is editing the forthcoming book.

 The five researchers will mix story-telling with data as we talk about our current work on:

• Visible and Audible Minorities among Canada’s Francophone Immigrants;
• Multiculturalism and the Challenges of Socio-Economic Integration among Immigrants;
• Immigrant Talent, Accented Dialogue, and Accentuated Differences at Work in Ottawa;
• Consumer Debt and the Debt-Management Practices of Canada’s Immigrants; and
• The Impacts of the Arab Spring on Canada’s Immigrants from the Middle East.

 What is the goal?

 The goal of the proposed engagement is to create an opportunity for Ottawa’s citizens to better connect with one another, both intellectually and socially, in order to cultivate a more cohesive civic culture. As a group, we hope not only to share some results from our research with the community, but also to invite thoughtful reflection and discussion about the practice of research in Ottawa about the integration of immigrants. Potential questions might include the following:

• What is to be gained from conducting research through an immigrant-driven lens?
• How can we best learn from each other’s practices and the traditions of research in Ottawa?
• What are the current political, economic, and financial landscapes for immigration research?
• How do (and how should) nonprofit immigrant-service organizations fit into this landscape?
• How do (and how should) local universities fit into the landscape of immigration research?
• What research questions should be prioritized? By whom? With what funding or support?
• As professionals, how can we make our research more accountable to immigrants in need?
• What can we do to support better, more consistent messages about the talents and needs, and about the opportunities and challenges, that immigrants currently have in Canada?

Who is invited?

Long-time residents, more recent newcomers, people studying or working on immigration in Canada, and other researchers.

Language: Bilingual (English & French)

Host: University of Ottawa

Contact: Lionel Njeukam, Ph.D., njeukam.lionel@gmail.com or

613 796-4954

http://socialsciences.uottawa.ca/governance/