Welcoming New Immigrants Program 2009-2012
Program goal for Zonta Club of Ottawa, 2009-2012: To understand the diverse cultural and integration challenges of recently immigrated, internationally-educated, professional women in Ottawa so that the Zonta Club of Ottawa can use its newly acquired knowledge to work towards making a focused, manageable, and effective impact on local areas of need.
In September 2011 we invited a second group of ladies to see the National Gallery.
Guiding Strategy:
The Zonta Club of Ottawa takes a long-term, three-phased, strategic approach to its program activities: first, inform and empower ourselves through education and research; second, ‘broaden the tent’ through collaboration, networking, and education of others; and finally, focus on making an achievable and collaborative impact on the issue before us.
In keeping with the above approach, the Club invited over 30 internationally-educated, professional women to tour the Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery, thereby allowing us to welcome these ladies to Ottawa. More events and activities are planned for the future.
Round Table and Beyond…
We began to learn about the issue for new immigrants being mentored by the YMCA-YWCA, The International Women’s Service Organization and the Catholic Immigration Centre. They provide speakers to educate the club in what were the real problems that well education women immigrants faces (difficulty in having their professional credentials recognized by Canada).
Having reached the point of being more informed, we were quite challenged to come to a decision as to “Where” to give our time, and energies, as a club, in order to make the best impact for women immigrants who are newcomers to Ottawa.
We just did not have the whole picture necessary to make an informed decision about how we can be part of the solution. If this is a problem for us, we can only assume that it is also an issue for other local service clubs, who if they knew of the needs within our community, might be able to partner with agencies or other organization in order to take a difference for local immigrant women.
