Welcome to the Integration Learning Exchange, a monthly webinar series presenting good ideas and new thinking on the integration of urban migrants in global cities.
Webinar Event: All Eyes on the Ball: The Role of Sport in Integration
Whether on the field, in play or as enthusiastic supporters, team sports have a unique ability to rally the whole community behind local champions and celebrate the hero amongst us. Sports participation inspires confidence and a sense of belonging in the individual team player, builds bridges across cultural differences, and contributes to community cohesion long after the winning goal has been scored.
The webinar includes presentations and Q&A about integration and sport with the following speakers:
Dr. Arif Saeid, Community Services Manager, Refugees as Survivors (RAS) in Auckland (NZ)
Dr. Hass Dellal, Executive Director, the Australian Multicultural Foundation
James Demetriou, Chair, Sport without Borders and past President of Arden Street Learning and Life Centre in Melbourne (AU)
Sash Herceg, Manager Community Programs, North Melbourne Football Club, The Huddle (AU)
Refugees as Survivors is using soccer to help integrate young people from refugee backgrounds into New Zealand society.
In Melbourne, Australia, the North Melbourne Football Club has found a home at the newly re-developed Arden Street Learning and Life Centre where education and sport work hand-in-hand to bring all of North Melbourne’s youth into the city mainstream and wider Victorian community.
Speakers
Dr. Arif Saeid
Community Services Manager, Refugees as Survivors - New Zealand
Arif served as a medical doctor in Afghanistan for Medecins Sans Frontieres and has led the Community Services Team and worked with RAS since June 2001. He identifies health and other special needs at the grassroots level within different refugee communities and initiates response. He works with refugee communities in employment, health and other initiatives which improve lives and advance resettlement.
He identifies sports as one of the areas to help refugee youth in integration and to overcome the resettlement challenges. In 2006 he initiated the Refugees In Sports Initiative and helped youths from refugee background to enroll with mainstream sports clubs specially soccer. Apart from soccer, the programme now facilitates refugee youth involvement in other sports such as cricket, tennis and martial arts.
Dr. B Hass Dellal OAM
Executive Director, Australian Multicultural Foundation
Dr Bulent (Hass) Dellal OAM was appointed Executive Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation in 1989, an organisation established to promote a strong commitment to Australia as one people drawn from many cultures. Between 2002-2004 he was also appointed a part time Special Adviser for the Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau by the Conference of Commissioners of Police, Australasia and the South West Pacific Region.
He has also co-prepared and managed numerous research, reports and programs on community relations, social cohesion, cultural and religious diversity on behalf of Government and the private sector these include the Religion, Cultural Diversity and Safeguarding Australia report 2004, Scanlon Foundation report and Roundtable on Mapping Social Cohesion 2008, 2009/2010 the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Freedom of Religion and Belief in the 21st Century and the Lexicon of Terrorism for the Commonwealth government, Victorian Government and Victorian Police.
Sash Herceg Manager Community Programs, North Melbourne Football Club, The Huddle
Sash was appointed to his role at the North Melbourne Football Club in October 2009, which coincided with the establishment of the Learning and Life Centre- The Huddle. Prior to this role, Sash worked for the Australian Football League (AFL) as a Multicultural Development Officer, and was based at Western Bulldogs Football Club. In the past few years he has worked with numerous migrant and refugee communities in Melbourne and regional Victoria and has considerable experience promoting sport as a tool of integration.
Sash migrated to Australia with his family as a refugee in 1996 from Croatia and has experienced first hand how sport, in particular Australian Football, can play a positive role in resettlement. In 2009 he was added to the Victorian Refugee Recognition Record for his work with migrants and refugees in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.
James Demetriou Chair, Sports Without Borders (SWB)
James is the Chair of Sports Without Borders (SWB), a non for profit organisation auspiced by The Australian Multicultural Foundation trust, that he co-founded in 2006 with his son Tom Demetriou. SWB connects newly arrived Australians through sport. He was heavily involved with the AFL’s peace team, a collaborative project between The Peres Centre for Peace and the AFL, aimed at uniting young Palestinians and Israeli’s on the sports field.
He is also the former Executive officer of the North Melbourne Learning and Life Centre at Arden Street, a project connected to the North Melbourne football club, which promotes education, health, life learning and sport as a means to enhance community spirit and social cohesion. He was the former Managing Director of The Acquis group which provides corporate strategy and M and A advice to large SME’s seeking to grow.
Webinar: Making Integration Count: Local Gateways to Citizenship
New gateway cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana (US), and Oslo, Norway, are helping transform the immigrant experience of dislocation and exclusion into a celebration of new community where everyone counts -and is counted.
In Fort Wayne, the CITYzenship Community Initiative, is a customized program of the US National League of Cities that includes a training curriculum that helps municipal officials establish working relationships with immigrant communities and organizations. This year’s program includes a special focus on US 2010 Census outreach -stand up and be counted!
From Oslo, learn about the OXLO campaign and its policy-fuelled slogan –Oslo, a city for all– and how the Norwegian capital and new immigrant gateway has transformed “10,000 years of fjords and mountains” into a city where diversity counts, intercultural competence is a core organizational value, and 20% of the city’s elected officials are now from minority backgrounds.
Speakers
Palermo Galindo
Planner-Hispanic and Immigrant Liaison, City of Fort Wayne
As the Planner-Hispanic and Immigrant Liaison, Galindo builds a direct line of communication and bridges gaps between the City’s divisions and departments by serving residents who may not have the language proficiency of or the cultural knowledge to navigate through City government. This position advocates and maintains appropriate relationships with other state, national organizations, local agencies and to private businesses that will implement or improve policies, programs and procedures focusing on specific needs of the Hispanic/Latino and Immigrant communities. The Planner Hispanic and Immigrant Liaison is reaching out to the populations that are hard to count through the Complete Count Committee Co-Chair by working hand in hand with service providers, community organizations, religious and community leaders. Galindo spearheads the Municipal Action of Immigrant Integration (MAII) program from the National League of Cities as a catalyst to help integrate emerging immigrant and established communities. The MAII is based on dual components such as the NEWCITYZEN and CITYZENSHIP.
Toralv Moe Senior Adviser, Oslo City Hall, Department of Education and Cultural Affairs
Toralv Moe is a Senior advisor on integration and diversity to the vice major of education and cultural affairs, Oslo, Norway. He has 20 years of experience in the field - Municipalities of Oslo and Tromsø, State Agency of Integration and Migration, Master degree in social anthropology, economics and history. He is responsible for coordinating initiatives and measures for integration and diversity, the OXLO-policy (Oslo Extra Large) and the work on Standard for integration nand divetsity. He has experience in benchmarking, both local and international, through the Diversity Mirror, Eurocities / Charter on Inclusive Cities, and Intercultural Cities / Intercultural City Index
Jamie Durana
Program Associate, National League of Cities
Jamie Durana’s work at the the National League of Cities is focused on immigrant integration. She was previously a research intern at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC. Ms. Durana holds a Master of Arts degree in Nationalism and Identity from University College London and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland.
Webinar: The Price of Admission: Financial Inclusion Strategies for Migrants
The Price of Admission: Financial Inclusion Strategies for Migrants.
In London, where the “door-step” lending market is worth £2billion, Fair Finance has stepped in to address unethical lending practices. Find out more about the financial products and services Fair Finance has developed to meet the needs of people who are financially excluded -whatever their gender, race or postcode.
At Barcelona Activa, the city’s dynamic business development hub, entrepreneurship is the recognized “engine of city activity and employment.” Learn about how Barcelona Activa and the ODAME Program are working with migrant communities in Spain to support ethnic entrepreneurship and a booming SME sector.
What’s a SME? Join the webinar on April 13 to learn more! (tip: Small-to-medium-sized enterprises)
Speakers
Josefa Sánchez García Barcelona Activa
Josefa Sánchez García is a graduate in Chemistry by The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and has an MBA from the University of Navarra’s IESE. She is a founding member of the GRUP 7 and the E.E.P. (European Enterprises Partnership), founder and vice-chairwoman of the Odame Association and chairwoman of the CEDEL (Centre for Local Development Studies) a non-profit-making organisation working nationally to develop the spirit of enterprise in different groups, but in particular amongst women and the young.
In 1986, Mrs. Josefa Sánchez designed and planned the first business training programme DONES EMPRENEDORES-ODAME in Spain, carried out by the Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Activa,S.A. Since then, Mrs. Sánchez has led the programme as it has evolved and grown to meet the changing needs of businesses. She has worked together with other European countries and forms part of numerous European support networks for women entrepreneurs and local employment initiatives. For her work at the head of CEDEL, Mrs. Sánchez was awarded the “Best Director of the Year” prize in 2000 by the Spanish Association of Management.
Stephanie Mestrallet Fair Finance
Stephanie has a background in development; she completed a Master degree in Urbanisation and Development at the London School of Economics in 2006 after a year in Cambodia where she was a Communication Officer for a local NGO.
Prior to joining Fair Finance’s team, Stephanie worked for several years for a Microfinance Institution in Madagascar where she held various positions such as Branch Manager and Operation Coordinator. In addition, Stephanie attended a field training program at the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.
She joined Fair Finance as Head of Business in 2009 and is working on Fair Finance’s development in the following fields: operations management, information systems, staff management, geographic expansion and organisation growth.
Webinar: Making the Grade: Integration Through Education in Toronto and Zurich
JWatch a 60-minute discussion on integration strategies that generate equal opportunities in education and accelerate improved academic outcomes for immigrant and second-generation students.
Learn about The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the 2008 winner of the international Carl Bertelsmann Prize, and their grade-A success in responding to the challenge of migration and demographic changes in the culturally-diverse city of Toronto, Canada. Moving beyond traditional instructional models of second-language learning, discover how a public school system can partner with settlement agencies, community organizations, and government partners to transform diversity into an educational opportunity.
From Zurich, learn how Quality in Multicultural Schools (QUIMS) tackled inequality of education at school with a flexible, multi-strand approach that included the student’s most important allies –her teachers and parents. Language support, parent councils, intercultural mediators, and systematic additional teacher training all combined to transform a pilot school program in the Canton of Zurich into core school legislation since 2008.
Speakers
Lloyd McKell
Executive Officer, Student and Community Equity,
Toronto District School Board
Lloyd McKell has been an educator with the Toronto District School Board for over thirty years where he currently holds the position of Executive Officer for Student and Community Equity. In this position, he is responsible for providing leadership and direction for the implementation of policies and practices which promote inclusive schools and which reflect the Board’s Equity policies. In 2008, the Toronto District School Board received the Carl Bertelsmann International award for excellence in Equity and Inclusion. Lloyd McKell has been an active contributor to many initiatives in the African Canadian community of Toronto for many years and in 2005, Lloyd received the African Canadian Achievement Award for excellence in the field of education.
Selin Öndül
Quality in Multicultural Schools (QUIMS) Programme Officer
Ministry of Education, Canton Zurich
Selin Öndül is a programme officer of QUIMS in Zurich. She coaches and consults schools that take part in the programm. She also contributes to further development of the programme. Coming form a multicultural family she migrated to Switzerland in 1997. She has a MSc in educational psychology from Zurich, as well as a BSc in teaching mathematics from Istanbul. She worked for 8 years in public schools in Zurich teaching Turkish to children of immigrant families. She has been active in several projects related with migration in Switzerland. Before taking her present position in the Ministry of Education, she worked for the Red Cross in Canton Zurich and coordinated an exchange programm aiming a better integration of migrant children.
Webinar: Municipal Action on Integration: Exploring Public Private Partnerships
Join Cities of Migration and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) on January 19 for a 60-minute discussion on integration strategies for municipal leaders.
Learn about the Chicago Community Trust’s partnership with municipal governments in the larger Chicago region. The Chicago Community Trust funding model is designed to address the needs of growing newcomer communities while securing wider investment from community and private sector stakeholders that can help build local capacity for the long-term..
From the the City of Turin, you will learn about The Gate Project at Porta Palazzo, an urban regeneration initiative that uses a flexible, participatory approach to community development. With a wide platform of public and private participation and support, the city of Turin has transformed The Gate from a pilot project into a local development agency that integrates social inclusion, poverty and crime reduction and sustainable urban renewal
Speakers
Daranee Petsod
Executive Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)
Daranee Petsod has worked on social and economic justice issues for the past 22 years. Prior to joining GCIR in December 1998, Daranee was a consultant working with foundations and nonprofits on program planning and communications. She previously served as interim executive director and development director for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and was a program officer for the Sophia Fund and the Field Foundation of Illinois, Inc. She has also worked as a policy analyst for the United Way, a social worker at a child-welfare agency, and an outreach worker for a refugee women’s services program. Daranee’s areas of expertise include immigrant integration, immigrant and refugee grantmaking, and building the capacity of immigrant-based organizations. Daranee has authored and co-authored a number of publications, most recently Investing in Our Communities: Strategies for Immigrant Integration in 2006. Other publications include: Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area: An Introduction for Grantmakers (2004), Newcomers in the American Workplace: Improving Employment Outcomes for Low-Wage Immigrants and Refugees (2003), and Moving from Welfare to Work: The Experiences of Refugee Women in Illinois (1999). Daranee holds a master’s degree in social policy from the University of Chicago.
Clare O’Shea
Senior Planner, Village of Mount Prospect, Chicago
Clare O’Shea is the Senior Planner for the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois. In her current role, Ms. O’Shea is responsible for long range planning, grant writing, and economic development activities. Ms. O’Shea recently served as the project leader of implementation and construction of Mount Prospect’s Community Connections Center. The Center benefits the community by bringing services to a previously underserved population and is the result of multiple grants awarded to the Village of Mount Prospect from the Chicago Community Trust. The Center opened in August 2009 in collaboration with the Mount Prospect Public Library, District 214 Community Education, Northwest Community Hospital, and Community Consolidated School District 59.
Luca Cianfriglia
Director, “The Gate Project”
Since 2006, Luca has been the director of “The Gate Project”: public- private local development agency born to create, develop and manage specific regeneration projects on the area of Porta Palazzo in Turin. Luca has also been the director of “Parco Dora Committee”: public- private local development agency born to follow the physical and social transformation from industrial area to a new district (13.000 new inhabitant, 1 milion sqm) in Turin. Since 2007 he has been the collaborator with the Deputy Mayor of immigrants integration and urban regeneration policies of the Municipality of Turin. He has also been the project advisor for public organizations in the field of integration, urban regeneration, innovative reusing of abandoned areas, and empowerment of the local communities.
How do migrant youth deal with living inside and between two cultures?
Young people make up a significant percentage of international migrants and an increasing proportion of today’s urban populations. Yet, a recent UNFPA report laments that relatively little is known about the young migrant experience: “Young people remain largely invisible in research, public debates and policy about international migration.”
On December 1, 2009, join Cities of Migration for an open 60-minute webinar on projects from Oldham, Paris, London and Lisbon that looks at the active participation of young people in community development and their views on identity and belonging
Meet Raja Miah, Director, Peacemaker and learn about how this Manchester-based organization works with young people from different communities and ethnicities to help formerly deeply segregated communities move towards a new, integrated “commonsense vision of Britishness.”
Marion Vargaftig, of Manifesta(London), will describe the Belonging project (Manifesta)a transnational initiative that uses intercultural dialogue and video to explore identity and belonging in London/Newham, Lisbon suburb/Casal da Boba and Paris/20th arrondissement.
Florence Laufer, UN AoC, will frame the discussion with opening remarks on the youth project PLURAL+ and tell us why the UN Alliance of Civilizations has developed special youth programming; Helen Walsh, Executive Director, Diaspora Dialogues (Toronto) will launch the Q&A.
Requirements: To participate, you will need a computer with internet access and a landline telephone, not a mobile.
Florence Laufer Migration/Integration program officer, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC)
Florence Laufer is the Migration/Integration program officer for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC). In this field, the UNAoC challenges polarization by addressing intercultural tensions in cooperation with migrant populations - those exposed to divisive issues on a daily basis. The UNAoC will launch soon an online Migration/Integration clearinghouse, promoting good practices as tools to build cultures of inclusiveness and social cohesion.
After working for a non-profit organization on the integration of migrants and on asylum seekers’ rights in Switzerland, Florence Laufer managed development programs and emergency response in the Middle East. She developed several projects building bridges across cultural differences, acting as a mediator in the negotiation and implementation of the activities.
Florence Laufer has studied Human Geography in the University of Geneva, focusing on Cultural and Migration Geography.
Marion Vargaftig Founder and Co-director, Manifesta
Marion Vargaftig is founder and co-director of Manifesta, leading/producing European programmes and media initiatives. Her expertise is in developing projects associating media and culture as a catalyst for social change. Marion has a particular interest in putting youth and other marginalised voices (migrants, refugees, cultural and ethnic minorities) centre stage, using video as a trigger for creative expression and providing multiple platforms for these voices to be heard.
Recent projects include:-
- Video ART (Anti-Racist Trails) Postcards - uncovering sites related to historical racism in the West India Docks area of London and interpreting this heritage creatively;
- the trans-national initiative Belonging, working with mixed group of urban youth in London, Paris and Lisbon and exploring their own sense of belonging (43 short films available for viewing on www.manifesta.org.uk and on project partner’s Runnymede, www.runnymedetrust.org;
Marion is also European Consultant and Media advisor; since 2003, she has advised the European Cultural Foundation, on www.theoneminutesjr.org and more recently www.strangerfestival.com; she has also worked on Media and Minorities/ Diversity in Europe, having previously led research projects leading to publications including with/for UNESCO and the Council of Europe.
Raja Miah, MBE
Former Chief Executive, PeaceMaker
Raja Miah has been leading PeaceMaker’s work since 1997. First developed to tackle local issues in Oldham, PeaceMaker soon found itself supporting the government in responding to issues of community conflict across the country.
Raja’s experience through PeaceMaker has helped inform and develop the community cohesion agenda. In particular, Raja has supported in the development of practice with children and young people, helping them to find long-term solutions to issues of community conflict and equipping them with the skills necessary to challenge and overcome prejudice, both their own and that of the communities where they lead their lives.
Raja has led PeaceMaker to become recognised by the government as a lead organisation in developing the Community Cohesion agenda.
Webinar: It’s Not Just Getting a Job: It’s Building a Career
From New York and Copenhagen Webinar on ‘Mentor and Network’, Good HR Practices for Workforce Integration
Today’s global economy is characterized by unprecedented levels of labour force mobility and growing levels of international trade. Cities that are able to harness the competitive advantage of diversity are able to reach into new markets, internationalize their customer base, and benefit from skills and talent that fuel innovation and drive high performance
‘Mentoring’ and ‘networking’ are two key strategies HR professionals most often cite when discussing the professional development of new –and existing– staff. These strategies are critical to immigrants seeking to enter new labour markets where language and cultural differences create additional barriers to workplace entry.
On October 20, 2009, please join Cities of Migration with guest speakers, Sherazade Langlade, from New York’s Upwardly Global and Beatriz Hernandez de Fuhr, from Copenhagen’s KVinfo, internationally recognized experts in the fields of mentoring and labourforce integration, for a 60-minute international webinar on human resource strategies that recruit, retain and result in the successful integration of skilled immigrants and increased diversity in the workforce.
Who should attend: employers in all sectors, integration practitioners, immigrant supporting organizations, HR professionals, policy-makers (employment)
Requirements: To participate, you will need a computer with internet access and a landline telephone, not a mobile.
Sherazade Langlade
New York Managing Director, Upwardly Global
Sherazade’s extensive background in program management and corporate partnerships include previous roles as Manager of the Nonprofit Leadership Development Institute at the United Way of New York City and Director of Volunteer Programs for Habitat for Humanity where she created new programs focused on creating community value, individual impact and engaging the corporate and academic sector to partner in solving society’s challenges. She was a National Urban Fellow, Class of 2005. Sherazade was born in Paris, France to parents of French and Algerian heritage. She moved to the United States in 1984. Sherazade’s native language is French.
Beatriz Hernández de Fuhr
Mentor Network Program Coordinator, KVINFO
Beatriz is a journalist and a researcher with KVINFO, The Danish Centre for Information on Women and Gender, a modern self-governing institution dedicated to bringing women’s politics and women’s research to the forefront of cultural debate in Denmark. Beatriz has worked many years with building partnerships for international cooperation and program development, and now she is part of KVINFO’s national Mentor Network for women from all ethnic backgrounds, a program which has more than 4000 members representing over 125 nationalities - the largest of its kind in the world. Beatriz was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and her mother tongue is Spanish. She has been living in Copenhagen for the past six years.
14th International Metropolis Conference, Copenhagen Denmark, 14-18 September 2009
Wednesday, September 16th, 16:00-17:30
From Cities of Migration to Open Cities: travelling with diversity towards prosperity
Join Cities of Migration and the Open Cities initiative (British Council) at the 2009 International Metropolis Conference in Copenhagen for a lively exchange of ideas about ‘why cities matter’ under the larger conference theme of “Migration and Mobility, National Responses to Cultural Diversity.”
In this session participants will hear about two separate but connected initiatives that predicate a city’s success in its ability to internationalise its markets, culture, institutions and people. Open Cities will present a paper on city leadership and governance strategy, drawing on lessons from Auckland, Dublin, Los Angeles, Stuttgart and Toronto. Cities of Migration will examine the example of Toronto in greater depth and demonstrate how leadership, diversity, and prosperity are correlated.
Presenters:
Carolina Jiménez (Open Cities, British Council, Spain)
Mark Kleinman (Open Cities, United Kingdom) in personal capacity
Ratna Omidvar (Maytree Foundation, Canada)
Chair: Kim Turner, Cities of Migration (Maytree Foundation, Canada)
Maytree’s Ratna Omidvar will also be presenting at another session hosted by the Stiftung Mercator:
Wednesday, September 16th, 14:00-15:30
Ventured and gained! Innovative ways that foundations influence integration policy
At the 13th International Metropolis Conference 2008, Ratna Omidvar explained why “foundations are more than money”. In this workshop, representatives of foundations who have launched outstanding projects in immigration and cultural diversity will discuss their strategies with researchers in the sciences and humanities. Presenting examples from different countries, this workshop highlights the wide variety of strategies foundations have in responding to immigration, high mobility and cultural diversity, as well as influencing national politics.
Phoebe Griffith (Barrow Cadbury Trust, United Kingdom)
Dr Holger Kolb, (Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration, Germany)
Fulfilling the Promise: Integrating Immigrant Skills into the Urban Economy
Today’s global economy is characterized by unprecedented levels of labourforce mobility and growing levels of international trade. Research and common sense tells us that urban prosperity and well-being depends on the quality of welcome the newcomer receives and the relative success of the settlement and integration experience.
New Zealand City View
Cities that are able to harness the competitive advantage of diversity are able to reach into new markets, internationalize their customer base and benefit from skills and talent that fuel innovation and drive high performance. So how do successful cities do it?
JoinElizabeth McIsaac, Executive Director, of the internationally recognized Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, to learn about TRIEC’s multisector approach to labour market integration and how corporate leadership can help you and your city benefit from the so-called “immigrant advantage”; with Justin Treagus, Program Director, OMEGA at the Committee of Auckland, New Zealand, and corporate partner and moderator Nick Main, Chairman, Deloitte New Zealand.
Now available online! To access the archived webinar, click here.
Date (By Timezone)
July 28 in Toronto and western North America (note time zone)
16:00 in Vancouver and Los Angeles
19:00 in Toronto
July 29 in New Zealand and Australia (note time zone)
11:00 - 12:00 AM in Auckland NZ
8:30 AM in Adelaide
9:00 in AU (Melbourne Sydney, Brisbane)
Note: EU timezones are not compatible with the Toronto/New Zealand time of the webinar. For more information, please email citiesofmigration@maytree.com
Presenter bios
Elizabeth McIsaac
Executive Director, Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)
Elizabeth McIsaac is the Executive Director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), a multi-stakeholder collaboration that identifies and implements local and practical solutions that lead to meaningful employment for skilled immigrants. Elizabeth has worked with TRIEC since it was launched in 2003 as a project of The Maytree Foundation. She has also held various positions at Maytree, most recently as the Director of Policy.
Before joining Maytree, Elizabeth was the Executive Director of the Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and also worked in direct service with immigrant and refugee communities, as well as holding various roles in research and teaching.
Justin Treagus
Programme Director, OMEGA
Justin joined the Committee for Auckland as Omega’s Programme Director in January 2008. Justin brings a diverse array of experience in Leadership, Learning, Organisational Development and Change Management. His experience includes roles in Corporate, Consulting and Non Profit Organisations, with his work varying from developing E-Business capability within a global corporation, to piloting and developing a best practice adolescent peer leadership programme in Africa.
His passion for cultural diversity developed from living and working through South Africa’s transformation into a multicultural society and being part of a global organisation in Europe that actively pursued cultural diversity. Married to a Kiwi, Justin moved from Cape Town to New Zealand four years ago.
Working Solutions: Lessons from local communities on integration strategies
Today’s global cities are challenged by the rapid pace of urbanization and migration. The successful integration of immigrants is key to urban prosperity and quality of life for all city residents.
What is your city or town doing to face the challenge of developing an approach to integration that is effective, accepted by long term residents and can endure over time?
Join Cities of Migration and the Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany) for an open, 60 minute online seminar on developing sustainable integration strategies for local governance. The webinar will describe the participatory approach Bertelsmann has developed for helping local communities learn how to structure integration policy and programming in a way that is both inclusive and focused. The presentation will include an outline of the recent activities of the Transatlantic Council on Migration on the theme of “Learning from the World, ” and introductory remarks from the distinguished Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth, former President of the German Bundestag, reknowned for her contribution to the migration field. Speakers include:
Rita Süssmuth, former President of the German Bundestag
Recommended for: Community-level policymakers in decision-making positions ; Public administrators at all relevant levels; Immigrants and members of organizations representing immigrants who are active in community life.
Time: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
10:00 — 11:00 (EDT Canada and US) 15:00 — 16:00 (UK and Ireland) 16:00 — 17:00 (Germany and EU)
These are free, open learning events.* * Registration is limited, so please register early.
* No special technical requirements; see registration for details.
Prof. Rita Süssmuth, Dr. Dr. h.c.mult former President of the German Bundestag (1988-1998)
Rita Süssmuth is former President of the German Bundestag (1988-1998), former Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Women, Youth and Health, and former Chair of Germany’s Independent Council of Experts on Migration and Integration. Prof. Süssmuth is renowned as an international expert on migration and integration and for her international comparative educational research. Her distinguished political and academic career includes: Global Commission on International Migration (UN), former Chair of the EU High Level Group on ‘Social Integration of Ethnic Minorities and Their Full Participation in the Labor Market; OECD Development Center Project ‘Gaining from Migration’ Advisory Board; chair of ‘Independent Commission on Migration to Germany’; and former vice-president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Prof. Süssmuth has been the President of SRH Berlin University since 2005; former academic posi in addition to former posts as Director of the Research Institute “Woman and Society” and Professor, International Comparative Educational Science, Universities of Bochum and Dortmund.
Claudia Walther, Bertelsmann Stiftung Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh (Germany) Claudia Walther is Project Manager at the Bertelsmann Foundation with the Programme Integration and Education, responsible for Integration and Local Communities. Claudia direct’s Bertelsmann’s Integration Workshops for Communities project, and has participated in the development of the superb web resources, Demographie-Konkret.de and Wegweiser-Commune.de. Claudia joined the Bertelsmann Foundation in 2001 with a special focus on local governance issues.
Prior to joining Bertelsmann, Claudia worked with EUREGIO Maas-Rhein, a European Region connecting Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, where she led a project on migrants and border crossing in Aachen. From 1994 to 1996, Claudia worked on youth-related projects for an international NGO in Vienna, and from 1993-1994 she worked in a federal Ministry of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. Claudia s interest in politics is ongoing; she is involved in various local political activities on a voluntary basis. Claudia Walther studied political science in Aachen, Germany, where she completed her Magister Artium.
Christal Morehouse, Bertelsmann Stiftung Bertelsmann Stiftung, Gütersloh (Germany) Dr. Claudia Walther is Program Manager for the Bertelsmann Stiftung in the field of migration and integration. She is responsible for managing the Stiftung’s integration programs at the European and Transatlantic level.
From January to December 2006 she was the Head of Office for Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth, the former President of the German Bundestag. Christal has also conducted research for the Global Commission on International Migration (2005) and participated in the German Independent Council of Experts on Migration and Integration in Berlin (2003-2004). Christal has advised various European and American multinational institutions on policy matters. She was among the experts whose advice on integration issues was sought by the German EU Presidency in 2007. In 2004 she was a consultant to the Organization of American States for anti-trafficking research in Europe. Christal has published widely in the area of integration, migration and citizenship policy; most recently on Combating Human Trafficking Policy: Gaps and Hidden Political Agendas in the United States and Germany (2009).
Dealing With Diabetes and Other Everyday Dilemmas: The Maslaha Project
Some of the greatest integration challenges occur during the essential transactions of everyday life: a visit to the doctor, a meeting at your child’s school or paying a bill in a bank. Established by the Young Foundation and one of our featured Good Ideas, the Maslaha Project provides practical information to help the Islamic community navigate cultural issues to do with healthcare, education, family life, finance, and civic and democratic engagement.
‘Maslaha’ translates from Arabic as ‘for the common good’ and the website aims to open up new creative spaces to ask questions and share knowledge, as well as addressing significant social issues by working closely with communities and public services in areas such as health and education.
From the city of London, join Raheel Mohammed, Project Lead, Maslaha Project, and colleague Natalia Chan for a presentation on the innovative approaches used by Maslaha to provide culturally sensitive and practical information about Islam, and to open dialogue on some of the most pressing social issues of the day. Videos, audio recordings and a unique design combined with active engagement with local communities all help deliver effective practical solutions to the daily challenges faced by minority communities.
From the City of Chicago, home to the largest Muslim population in the United States join moderator Alya Adamany from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs with questions and commentary from Kyle Ismail from The Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN).
Raheel Mohammed, Maslaha Project Young Foundation, London (UK)
Natalia Chan, Maslaha Project Young Foundation, London (UK)
Alya Adamany, The Chicago Council on Global Affairs Chicago, (USA)
Kyle Ismail, Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN) Chicago, (USA)
For an introduction to the health strand of Maslaha, have a look at the Diabetes in Tower Hamlets website. Maslaha’s pilot project looks at health issues in Tower Hamlets, a London borough with one of the highest levels of religious diversity in the UK. The interactive website offers advice on diet, exercise, and Ramadan both from a medical and Islamic perspective and is used by both medical staff and patients to help advise on diabetes.
Time: Tuesday, April 29, 2009
9:00 — 10:00 (CDT Chicago)
10:00 — 11:00 (EDT Canada and US) 15:00 — 16:00 (UK and Ireland) 16:00 — 17:00 (Germany and EU)
Registration is now closed. Look for the archived webinar in the next few days.
These are free, open learning events.* * Registration is limited, so please register early.
* No special technical requirements; see registration for details.
Raheel Mohammed, Maslaha Project Young Foundation, London (UK)
Raheel leads on the Maslaha project, which focuses on promoting a greater understanding of Islam for Muslims and non-Muslims and finding practical solutions for Muslim communities and public services in areas such as health and education. Maslaha’s health strand is currently leading the way in the UK in combining faith and medical advice in helping to change patients’ behaviour.
Raheel has also been profiled in The Guardian newspaper, in a supplement focusing on social pioneers. He was selected for the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow Conference in Doha, as well as taking part in the Religion and Democracy in Europe Initiative, the US International Visitor Leadership Program and the UK Race and Europe Network’s project on ‘Muslim Youth and Active Citizenship’. He has also spoken on a number of issues: at the Royal Geographical Society about global citizenship and and democracy; and at the 2008 NHS London conference - ‘Innovating for a World City’.
Raheel also helped set up and was the Assistant Director at the Offscreen Education Programme, advising on and initiating education programmes designed to raise awareness of Middle East and Muslim cultures through art in partnership with organisations such as the British Museum and City Hall. He has a background in journalism and has written a number of articles around issues facing Muslim communities, including an article in Time Out magazine for which he was awarded awarded the CRE Race in the Media award. After the July 7 bombings he worked with a number of reconciliation and inter-faith organisations to help them focus on the most relevant issues facing young Muslims today.
Natalia Chan, Maslaha Project Young Foundation, London (UK)
Natalia Chan is Research Associate for Maslaha. She has previously worked at the Young Foundation in a variety of roles, including external affairs, developing the Young Foundation website to a high standard, as well as providing in-depth research on a range of issues such as leadership and penal reform. as well as working in a variety of roles at the Young Foundation, including providing in-depth research on a range of issues such as leadership and penal reform.
Her experience of creating new opportunities and developing innovative strands of work with the Sudan Associate Parliamentary Group have proved invaluable in developing Maslaha’s health work and relationships with potential partners. She has used film to enhance parliamentary relations between the two countries, including producing a film on the political status of women in Sudan, and has organized a visit from a delegation of representatives of Sudanese Parliament and civil society to the UK.
Natalia has also worked with organizations such as the Sudanese Red Crescent Society and London Youth to build organizational capacity.
Alya Adamany, Senior Program Officer The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Chicago (USA)
Alya Adamany is a senior program officer for studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. A staff member since 2003, Alya is responsible for research, planning, and the logistical execution of task forces and study groups, including the Council’s 2007 Task Force on the Civic and Political Integration of Muslim Americans and the 2006 Chicago-Birmingham Dialogue “Muslim Communities in Domestic and Foreign Policymaking in the United States and United Kingdom: Empowerment and Engagement.” In addition, she cochaired the Council’s GOAt initiative (Globally Occupied Attention) in 2005. She also currently serves on the auxiliary board of Teach for America’s Chicago Chapter. Alya received her B.A. in political science with a focus on International Relations from Yale University and her M.A. in international relations from the University of Chicago, with a specialization in the Middle East and security studies. Alya previously held internships at the U.S. House of Representatives and Amnesty International.
Kyle J. Ismail, Associate Director Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Chicago (USA)
Kyle Ismail has a B.A. in Communications/Journalism and an M.A. in American history from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he lectured in American and world history and an M.A. in Human Resources Management from University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne. He is a long-time volunteer with IMAN ’s Project Restore focusing on education and outreach. Ismail was certified by the Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence in quality management of government and non-profit organizations
Routes to belonging: the role of cities in the civic and political integration of immigrants
The first event in our 2009 series is on the role of cities in accelerating the civic and political integration of immigrants, with city representatives from Dublin and New Haven, Connecticut. Join us for a 60 minute seminar about successful municipal integration strategies, introduced by Howard Duncan, International Metropolis project, and hosted by Ratna Omidvar, Maytree. Revised participants include:
Cormac O’Donnell, Strategic Policy Manager, Intercultural Unit
Dublin City Council (Ireland)
Kica Matos, Community Services Administrator
City of New Haven, Connecticut (USA)
Howard Duncan, Executive Head, International Metropolis
Project, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Canada)
Both of these cities are featured in our Good Ideas in Integration collection for their groundbreaking work: Dublin for its recent immigrant voting campaign, and New Haven for its brave “Elm City ID” card for non citizens, the first of its kind in the USA.
Registration is closed. These are free, open learning events.* * Registration is limited, so please register early.
* No special technical requirements; see registration for details.
Participant Bios
Kica Matos Community Services Administrator
City of New Haven, Connecticut
Kica Matos is the Community Services Administrator with the City of New Haven, Connecticut. Ms. Matos is formerly the Executive Director of Junta for Progressive Action, New Haven’s oldest Latino, community based organization. She is also a clinical visiting lecturer in law at Yale Law School. For most of her adult life, she has devoted herself to advocacy in the area of human rights and civil rights, working in non-profit organizations including Amnesty International and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In 2005 she was the recipient of the national “New Frontier” award.
Cormac O’Donnell, Strategic Policy Manager, Intercultural Unit
Dublin City Council
Cormac O’Donnell is the Strategic Policy Manager of the Intercultural Unit of Dublin City Council. He has undertaken and overseen an array of research and consultative work in the areas of housing, social inclusion, new community development, interculturalism and integration and led the development of policy and practice at local government level. In 2008 Cormac coordinated Dublin’s 2008 Migrant Voters Registration Initiative. Cormac’s was awarded a 2008 ‘Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Award’ for his work with the Central-Eastern European Network.
Howard Duncan Executive Head, International Metropolis Secretariat
Ottawa, Canada
Howard Duncan is the Executive Head, International Metropolis Secretariat, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Metropolis is an international network for comparative research and public policy development on migration, diversity, and immigrant integration in cities in Canada and around the world.
In 1997, Howard joined the Metropolis Project as its International Project Director and became the Executive Head of International Metropolis in 2002. He has concentrated on increasing the Project’s benefits to the policy community by creating effective opportunities for direct and frank exchange between researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, increasing Metropolis’ geographic reach, and expanding the range of issues it confronts.
Ratna Omidvar President, Maytree
Toronto, Canada
Ratna Omidvar is President of Maytree. Maytree is a private Canadian charitable foundation established in 1982, committed to reducing poverty and inequality in Canada and to building strong civic communities. Maytree is Canada’s only private foundation that focuses on the acceleration of immigrant and refugee settlement. Maytree has developed well-recognized in-house expertise on creating and implementing practical solutions through its programs, policy insights and grants. As an independent voice, Maytree has demonstrated its capacity to raise public awareness and to speak on the issue of immigrant inclusion from a basis of fact and substance, and in the interest of nation building.
Ratna also serves as a director of the Toronto City Summit Alliance. She was the first executive director of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and is its founding chair. In 2006, Ratna was appointed to the Order of Ontario.
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