I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
In our city’s history, immigrants have always played an important role. They build our economic prosperity, diversify our culture, contribute to our social vitality.

Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa
We are very pleased to have done the “Opportunity Cost of Not Investing in Interpretation” report – it is so important to have clarity on these challenges and…

Hindia Mohamoud, Director, OLIP
The City of Ottawa will continue to play a lead role in the implementation of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy, just as we did in the founding of OLIP.

Steve Desroches
City Councillor and Deputy Mayor of Ottawa
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
The target beneficiary of the work of OLIP is the whole community. In this short period we have planted together important seeds for Ottawa’s development.  

Dick Stewart
OLIP Council
My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
The WOW seminar on immigrant women’s nutrition and health was a step in the right direction towards closing the gap between academic researchers and service providers.

Josephine Etowa
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa

Media Coverage of the Ottawa Immigration Forum – a central event of the Welcoming Ottawa Week

July 14, 2013

The 2nd Annual Ottawa Immigration Forum, themed “The Building Blocks of a Welcoming Community” anchored the inaugural Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) – an initiative of the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership that is championed by the Mayor of Ottawa. Mayor Watson proclaimed the last week of June as Welcoming Ottawa Week, at a breakfast reception with business executives, civic leaders, and representatives of faith communities held on June 26th.

WOW is designed to create recurrent opportunities for Ottawans to express and reflect on the warmth of our welcome; and for newcomers and long-time residents of Ottawa to have quality -based recreational and intellectual interactions that will foster trust and understanding. The calendar of the inaugural Welcoming Ottawa Week was marked with a series of engaging dialogues and celebratory activities across the city that included community sports events, movie screenings in neighborhood parks, public lectures and seminars, artists’ gatherings and the 2nd Annual Ottawa Immigration Forum.

WOW – and the Ottawa Immigration Forum as its central event – generated public discussion on the importance of welcoming immigrants and the WOW events received a wide and multilingual coverage by the Ottawa media. Below are some of the highlights of media coverage of WOW events

OLIP Press Release on WOW

WOW Backgrounder & FAQ

CTV Ottawa Morning Live

CTV Ottawa: Integrating newcomers through sports

CanINDIA: Ottawa vows to be the most welcoming place for newcomers

LE DROIT: Un bilinguisme de façade caractérise la capitale

THE EPOCHTIMES: 新移民，渥太华欢迎你！力争全加最受欢迎城市 New Immigrants, Ottawa Welcomes You! Striving to be Canada’ s Most Welcoming City (Mandarin)

L’ORA DI OTTAWA: Progetto “Partnership dell’immigrazione a Ottawa: Città accoglienteagli immigranti” (Italian)