Characteristics of a Welcoming Community.ppt

Characteristics of a Welcoming Community Victoria Esses, Leah Hamilton, Caroline Bennett-AbuAyyash, Meyer Burstein Purpose of the Report To review the current state of knowledge concerning welcoming communities Scholarly literature Government and community reports Best practices and case examples To describe key characteristics of a welcoming community Importance of Identifying Key Characteristics of a Welcoming Community Growing awareness that more attention needs to be paid to communities’ receptivity to newcomers and the long-term integration of immigrants Critical feature of CIC’s modernization initiative is a focus on outcomes rather than solely inputs and activities Increasing focus on regionalization requires defining and identifying key characteristics of a welcoming community What is a Welcoming Community? Spatial dimension – a physical location in which newcomers feel valued and their needs are served Discourse dimension – a community has agency and engages in actions that facilitate the integration of newcomers A collective effort to create a place where individuals feel valued and included A location that has the capacity to meet the needs and promote inclusion of newcomers, and the machinery in place to produce and support these capacities A welcoming community attracts and retains newcomers by: Identifying and removing barriers Promoting a sense of belonging Meeting diverse individual needs Offering services that promote successful integration, with successful integration defined as the “ability to contribute, free of barriers, to every dimension of Canadian life – economic, social, cultural and political” CIC Integration Branch, 2001 Framework Outcome indicators Key processes and structures that produce and sustain these outcomes Examples of best practices Example: Employment Opportunities Characteristics Employment Opportunities Fostering of Social Capital Affordable and Suitable Housing Positive Attitudes toward Immigrants,