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
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
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
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
OLIP helps to unite and share scarce resources for greater impact by working together in the field of student education.

Walter Piovesan
Associate Director of Education, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
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 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 Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre is so happy to have joined the OLIP Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. It is clear that OLIP cares about immigrants and refugees and…

Wendy Tang, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
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

Celebrate Cultures at the Ottawa Public Library during WOW

June 20, 2015

The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is one of Welcoming Ottawa Week’s most enthusiastic partners, hosting film screenings and other activities throughout the week at various branches in conjunction with many of their Celebrating Cultures events. OPL staff drew up this list of offerings to share with you – visit their web site to see what else they have in store!

The Ottawa Public Library is proud to support WOW by hosting several film screenings:

Follow the life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, especially through the years of anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, in Children of the Light. Monday, June 22, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Take a look at look into Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ Colombia with My Macondo at the Carlingwood branch on Thursday, June 25, from 6:30 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. Dan Weldon’s My Macondo features Julio Roca, a Colombian journalist, acting as a tour guide as he travels through the towns and villages of Colombia’s Banana Zone.

Our Celebrating Cultures series includes multicultural storytimes, exciting music, art, light refreshments and more. There’s a presentation and lesson on Bollywood Dance, a special African storytime with crafts and much more.

All year round, our Newcomer Services department can help you:

  • Improve your English and French language skills
  • Learn about cultures and traditions in Canada
  • Prepare for the Canadian citizenship test
  • Integrate into Ottawa

OPL also offers:

  • eBooks and audiobooks
  • DVDs, CDs
  • Downloadable music and movie streaming
  • Magazines and newspapers
  • Materials in a variety of languages; and

 

In addition, we continue to promote WOW, Celebrating Cultures and Community Cup to the public on our Staff Blogs, in our branches, as well as through a strong social media presence on Twitter and Facebook.

We would like to thank the WOW team for all their hard work and are very happy to have this partnering opportunity. Come join us in celebrating cultures in our communities!

For more information, please contact Diversity@BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca, visit your local branch, or call us at 613-580-2940.