The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) recently hosted a Calgary Filipino Community Workshop at Grace Lutheran Church the whole day. The well-attended workshop featured workshops that deal with initiatives to support the community, youth and families. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Alberta Human Services and the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association ( CIWA).
The workshop started with a keynote speech from Jon Reeves, Regional Director for Calgary Region Child and Family Services. He said that there are certainly different situations in families, and one situation is unique to each culture. He also said that parents from different backgrounds and generation may not see eye to eye with their children because of several factors, one of which is the generation gap made wider by technology and Western lifestyles that children are exposed to growing up in Canada. This leads to may conflicts that are challenging to parents who come from their countries of origin who have a different upbringing and set of values.
Agencies such as CCIS and CIWA are committed to help improve the lives of immigrant children, youth and families in Calgary. The workshop aimed to foster the discussion on issues that affect this demographic, and four break out groups and a plenary session were facilitated by members of several agencies and organizations. The panel discussion was facilitated by Michelle Leonce, manager of Child and Family Services from the McKnight Office of Alberta Human Services, Cst. Jeff Munday, SE Asia Portfolio Diversity Resource Team, Calgary Police Services, and Noureddine Bouissoukrane and Francia Bodoso from CCIS.
The panel discussions also tackled Canadian Child Protection Laws in practice, working with ethnic communities, and an attempt to recognize and foster cultural brokerage. The discussion also included the topics on family capacity building and settlement referrals for families coming into Calgary.
Rosette Correa