Areas of Priority for the Local Diversity & Immigration Partnership Council
PRIORITY AREA 1: Create a culture of inclusion
All residents of Durham region have a right to fully participate in their community. Inclusive communities ensure that people of all ages, sexual orientation and ability have a right and a responsibility to civic engagement, labour force participation and social inclusion whether they are newly arrived or have been in Durham for generations. By creating a culture of inclusion, all Durham residents will benefit.
Goals:
1.1 Representation of municipal leaders/council/boards are reflective of the community.
1.2 Diversity is authentically reflected as part of the community identity.
1.3 All municipal councils work together to achieve and support diversity initiatives and model/own inclusivity.
1.4 Acceptance is modeled by elected officials, institutions and organizations; policies reflect inclusive practices.
Areas of Activity:
Information Gathering & Research
Best practices related to creating, nurturing and growing a culture of inclusion will be gathered and mined for local relevance. Promotion and access to this information and these resources will be shared with community stakeholders.
Knowledge Sharing (Communication, Education & Outreach)
Through a series of guest speakers, demonstrations, workshops and other events, we will create opportunities for knowledge sharing with community partners. Some of these may include (but are not limited to) conversations about grappling with diversity, workshops on developing barrier-free service delivery, information sessions on external sources of funding, as well as the promotion of the work of the Local Diversity & Immigration Partnership Council. Through our communication tools we will celebrate, promote and showcase success stories, ‘diversity’ activities of agency-providers, employers and institutions throughout Durham Region.
Evaluation
Learning is integral to the success of the LDIPC community plan. We will work with community stakeholders to develop measures of success for meeting the goal of creating a culture of inclusion.
PRIORITY AREA 2: Improve labour market outcomes for newcomers
To address our current and future skill requirements, an integral part of our local labour market and economic development strategy will be to establish Durham region as a community that actively welcomes and values the skills, experience and training that all its residents possess.
Goals:
2.1 Durham will have a business sector that understands and takes advantage of the diversity in the workforce.
2.2 The benefits of inclusive hiring practices are fully understood by both the public and employers.
2.3 The development of a local organizing body with a mandate to plan and develop programs and services that facilitate the successful integration of all workers into the workforce is explored.
Areas of Activity:
Information Gathering & Research
Work will include, but not be limited to creating a local and publicly accessible online library of labour market resources. Work will expand to include best practices, gap analysis and capacity building activities and will inform the new community report card. Attention will be paid to both current and future trends.
Knowledge Sharing (Communication, Education & Outreach)
The LDIPC has a commitment to sharing knowledge and to leveraging existing experience and practices to assist in the integration of newcomers and to work towards creating cultures of inclusion in the business and labour communities.
Evaluation
Durham needs to assess the current level of labour market integration of diverse populations and identify key indicators that would assist in local planning and policy making, as well as determine if we are successfully moving towards our goals. We will work with community stakeholders to develop measures of success for meeting the goal of improving labour market outcomes (report card).
PRIORITY AREA 3: Attract and retain newcomers
There is a world wide competition for the best and brightest. Attracting newcomers is only one half of the equation. Retaining skills in this community is important to economic growth and to deepening the pool of talent and creativity in Durham.
Goals:
3.1 There will be an understanding across sectors of the need to both attract and retain newcomers.
3.2 Durham is marketed to newcomers provincially, nationally, and internationally as a community of choice.
Areas of Activity:
Information Gathering & Research
Work in this area will include gathering existing information on programs, services and best practices currently being delivered in Durham and beyond. Key stakeholders will be identified. Emerging needs will be discussed with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders. This work will inform local capacity building, the identification of emerging trends, and innovative locally based responses.
Knowledge Sharing (Communication, Education & Outreach)
The benefits of attracting and retaining newcomers, sharing local newcomer and service provider success stories are important. Knowledge sharing will be used to support existing networks and partnerships as well as to forge new relationships across and within sectors.
Evaluation
As with the other priority areas in this plan, research and development activities will be used to feed into the development of the new community report card – leading to the creation of key indicators such as assessing Durham’s attractiveness to newcomers and areas for improvement and/or future development.
PRIORITY AREA 4: Enhance Durham’s settlement capacity
It takes an entire community to successfully welcome, integrate and settle newcomers. All citizens, working in partnership, can contribute to the suite of services necessary for successful settlement and integration. Newcomers are families, extended families and individuals with independent needs. Growing the capacity of all service providers in Durham region will result in improved and accelerated settlement outcomes for Durham residents.
Goals:
4.1 All new and existing residents will settle and integrate successfully into the Durham community.
4.2 A Durham-specific plan will be developed that reflects the suite of flexible and responsive services in Durham necessary to meet the unique needs of Durham residents.
Areas of Activity:
Information Gathering & Research
The Local Diversity & Immigration Partnership Council will continue to work with community stakeholders to continuously investigate the service needs of diverse communities in Durham region and develop strategies to meet those needs.
Knowledge Sharing (Communication, Education & Outreach)
Working in collaboration with community stakeholders we will explore the options for an integrated settlement service delivery system for Durham region that includes an action plan, processes for improved communication and networking, as well as opportunities for training and knowledge sharing between service providers. We will publicize and promote the development of initiatives that improve access to services for diverse communities.
Evaluation
Learning is integral to the success of the LDIPC action plan. We will work with community stakeholders to develop measures of success for meeting our goal of enhancing Durham’s settlement capacity.
CONTACT US
If you have questions or would like more information about the LDIPC, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Local Diversity & Immigration Partnership Council
605 Rossland Rd. E.
P.O. Box 623
Whitby, ON L1N 6A3
Tel: 905-668-7711 | 1-800-372-1102
Fax: 905-666-6219
Email: ldipc@durham.ca