Join us for this special English Conversation Circle with Guelph's Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) facilitating a community conversation for immigrants and newcomers to discuss systemic racism.
Systemic Racism* exists in the policies, practices, recruitment, governance, law enforcement and services that are the work of local government and the many institutions in our community. Systemic racism is found in all quarters of our society and its undoing will only come when we work together.
Newcomers in general face certain challenges when they start navigating various systems whether to access services, seek employment, or participate in the community. Therefore, we are asking immigrants and newcomers in Guelph to help us understand the breadth and depth of the issues they face during their settlement process, and what steps are needed to eliminate systemic racism.
The City of Guelph is revisiting the Community Plan to address racism towards Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities and systemic racism overall. Working with the community’s leadership, we will set the community standard for the elimination of systemic racism. Immigrants and newcomers across the city are invited to join us for a virtual conversation where together, we can:
- Discuss areas where newcomers might face systemic racism.
- Explore possible ways to address systemic racism.
- Set the community standard to ensure that Guelph is a welcoming place for everyone.
The City and the Local Immigration Partnership understand that immigrants and newcomers have a variety of experiences and come from all walks of life. Therefore, there will be a series of community conversations to capture the diversity of this group.
Guelph Wellington Local Immigration Partnerships (GWLIP) is a project hosted by the City of Guelph and funded by Federal Government (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada - IRCC). Established in 2009, the GWLIP is responsible for bringing the Guelph and Wellington County and community stakeholders together in support of immigrant integration. Recent projects include the Immigrant Housing Barriers Study, Refugee Settlement Study, and Community Neighbourhood Snapshots
*Systemic Racism is the institutionalization of discrimination through policies and practices which may appear neutral on the surface but which have an exclusionary impact on particular groups. This occurs in institutions and organizations, including government, where the policies, practices and procedures (e.g. employment systems – job requirements, hiring practices, promotion procedures, etc.) exclude and/or act as barriers to racialized groups. (as per the definition of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation: https://www.crrf-fcrr.ca/en/resources/glossary-a-terms-en-gb-1/item/22881-systemic-discrimination)
Please register for this event. We will be using Webex to host this virtual program. Webex is a video conferencing tool that allows people to meet together online. You can join a Webex meeting from your computer, mobile device, or tablet. Learn more about how to join a Webex meeting.
You will receive an event link through your email the day of the program. You will require this link to join the program.
By participating in this program, you acknowledge that you accept and agree to Guelph Public Library’s Standard of Acceptable Behaviour.
Questions? Please contact Emily at etyschenko@guelphpl.ca.
Alternative formats are available as per the Accessibility per Ontarians Act by contacting Library Communications at 519-824-6220 extension 239.
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