RIAC RSS

Bridging the Gap- Partnership Opportunity

Mon, 28 May 2012 17:16:48 GMT

Bridging the Gap is a cross-cultural training workshop facilitated by the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council for service providers in Newfoundland. The workshop is designed to inspire cultural sensitivity and a greater understanding of the challenges faced by newcomers to the province; the ultimate objective being the provision of more culturally sensitive and effective service provision to refugees and immigrants living in Newfoundland.

Through Bridging the Gap, novel ways of thinking about newcomers and how to work with them are discussed and explored. These approaches, having their foundation in the knowledge of culturally sensitive methods and practices, equip service providers with the knowledge and understanding they need to work with refugees and immigrants in an effective and considerate manner.

The workshop was offered for the first time by RIAC in 1999 and has been a powerful tool in dispelling common misperceptions about refugees and immigrants; misperceptions that form a part of the “vicious cycle of prejudice and stereotyping” that only worsens the plight of these individuals who are trying to rebuild their lives – and often under the most difficult circumstances.

The Need:

Coming to a new country poses many difficult challenges for refugees and immigrants. One key challenge pertains to accessing needed services. Cultural and linguistic barriers can prevent newcomers from seeking, receiving or knowing where to look for the help they require. Therefore, Bridging the Gap is an important tool as it promotes cultural sensitivity and understanding as a means of “bridging the gap” between service providers and their refugee and immigrant clients, ensuring that newcomers to our province are provided with the best care possible.

There are fewer immigrants in Newfoundland than in other regions. This, coupled with the geographic position of the province, has meant that the immigrants who do live here are isolated and often lack an adequate support group. Likewise, many people in this province have not had much exposure to other cultures. As a result of these factors, the services provided to the refugee and immigrant community are often insufficient and inappropriate, which in turn heightens toxic cross-cultural frictions.

Following the first Bridging the Gap workshop in February 1999, participants were asked to provide feedback at the end of the workshop and to offer their opinion on its overall effectiveness. Many of the participants felt the workshop had provided valuable and much needed information and experiences.

Since then, RIAC has hosted numerous Bridging the Gap workshops throughout St. John’s and the demand for these workshops has continued to increase.

The Workshop:

The workshop consists of a day or two (depending on the availability of resources and the expressed need of the participants) of activities which include video screenings, role-playing exercises, presentations from speakers and group discussions.

The aforementioned activities are designed to highlight the following issues:

Cultural Differences

Stereotypes and cultural myths
Aspects of various cultures that are of relevance to service providers

Language Barriers and the Frictions They Cause

Health Care

Approaches to health care in other cultures
Mental health issues
Attitudes/stigmas attached to mental health care, culture shock and depression

Gender/Family Issues and Family Violence

For more information about Bridging the Gap or to find out how you can have the seminar at your workplace or organization please feel free to contact the RIAC via telephone at 709-754-4122 or via email at projects@riac.ca .

Bridging the Gap Workshop (as part of Refugee Week)

Mon, 28 May 2012 16:06:26 GMT

Bridging the Gap Workshop (as part of Refugee Week)

Friday, June 22, 2012

9:30 am - 4:00 pm

The Lantern

35 Barnes Road

Admission: Free, but donations will be graciously accepted

If you are interested in attending this workshop please RSVP to projects@riac.ca by Friday, June 15, 2012. Since space is limited, it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Coin Drive- RIAC Fundraiser

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:00:31 GMT

Have some pesky coins that you would like to get rid of? Or maybe you just don't want to go through the trouble of rolling them up? Or maybe you just want to donate to a great organization like the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC)?

If you answered yes to any of these questions... contact us at projects@riac.ca or call 754-4122 and we will take all those coins off your hands!

BONUS: We can come to YOU. No need to lug all your coins downtown. We can pick them up right at your doorstep.

Ah! and remember, we are a registered charity and if your piggy bank is over $20.00 fat you will get a tax receipt on top of our love.

NOTE: This will be an ongoing event.

(Please tell all your friends!)

Refugee Week Art Gallery Exhibition

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:41:38 GMT

Refugee Week Art Gallery Exhibition

June 18-21 and June 25-29

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

RIAC Art Gallery

204 Water Street

(Above Coffee and Company)

Come visit our gallery and see the great artwork of talented refugees and immigrants to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Admission is free, but donations are graciously accepted.

Refugee Week Art Gallery Exhibition: Call for Submissions

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:02:41 GMT

The art show is planned for the RIAC Art Gallery space (please come visit us to see the space for yourself: there is one large room, along with a smaller separate room and several individual wall/hallway areas, so that we can organize art work according to theme, medium, or whatever organization the artists and gallery agree would work).

The overall theme of the show is “Refugee Week,” but we are very flexible about art that is submitted. Perhaps the only link to “Refugee Week” is that some artists have been or are refugees.

The dates of the show will be June 18-21 and June 25-29 . We need to have all art pieces at the gallery no later than Friday, June 15 at 2:00 pm, to allow us time to “install” the exhibit.

Any art that will be submitted for the show should be approved by us before June 11. To do this, please send an email with a brief description of each piece of art work that you would like to submit (please include the size of the art piece, for example “ 10 inches X 50 inches”) along with any special instructions (for example, you could note that the artwork is a sculpture so it will need to be put on a table).

Any art that we accept for June 15 should be carefully labeled (perhaps labels can be put on the back) with the following information:

Name of artist
Title of art piece (it can be “untitled”)
Description of the medium used (for instance, “oil paint on canvas”)
Price or a note stating that the piece is not for sale, but only for viewing in this art show

It is very important that ALL art pieces are ready for hanging on the wall. This means they should have a hook on the back or a wire/string to allow us to display them (unless the art item is a sculpture or something that would not be hung from the wall)

Additionally, we would like submissions to be accompanied by a short artist biography or artist statement. We are flexible about what might be included. Often, artists explain why they chose a certain topic of art, and the artist might describe their theme. If an artist has formal training, then s/he might state that s/he attended a certain school, earned a certain art degree, or took a certain art class. Many artists also give background information, perhaps describing where they were born, the places they have lived, and what experiences “inspired” them to become an artist, and create the art that is at the show. We would like to be able to print these artist statements/biographies so that we can display them next each artist’s art work(s).

At the end of the show, artists will be responsible for picking up their own art pieces, if art is left (unsold). Also, artists will be able to pick up any money that was received by a sale of their art piece! Our gallery gives 100% of art price to the artist.

Please contact projects@riac.ca for more info or to submit artwork to the gallery.

Immigration Video Consultation = Monthly Event

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:48:58 GMT

Immigration Video Consultation

Friday, June 8th

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm

RIAC Office

204 Water Street

Above Coffee and Company

Every second Friday of every month, our immigration lawyer friend and old volunteer of RIAC, Elizabeth Long, will be hosting immigration video consultations at RIAC. If you have any questions or want to learn more about immigration issues it is highly suggested for you to attend.

To learn more about Elizabeth and her law group, click here.

Summer Cultural Festival Opportunities

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:57:27 GMT

SUMMER CULTURAL FESTIVAL 2012

Saturday, August 25 (or in case of bad weather: Sunday, August 26)

1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Bowring Park Amphitheatre

The Summer Cultural Festival is the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC)'s annual celebration of cultural diversity in St. John's, Newfoundland. The festival is a day long event that includes performances by both established local artists as well as talent from the immigrant community. In addition, the festival has booth space for community organizations to use.

This year's festival has been put in place to address a series of issues in the community which RIAC has encountered. These include:

Lack of newcomer public participation
Restricted accessibility to summer cultural activities due to monetary concerns
Concerns with regard to newcomer culture replacing Newfoundland traditional culture
Lack of venues where newcomers may become acquainted with local service providers

OPPORTUNITIES

VOLUNTEER: Contact events@riac.ca

PERFORM: Contact events@riac.ca

HOST A BOOTH (ORGANIZATIONS & GROUPS): Contact projects@riac.ca

SPONSORSHIP: Contact events@riac.ca

Conversation Partners Program

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:06:02 GMT

Conversation Partners Program

Become a Conversation Partner (Teacher)

If you speak fluent English and would like to become more involved with RIAC, then we need you! We are looking for individuals to have one-on-one conversations with various clients who are trying to improve their English. The schedule is entirely flexible- when and where you choose to meet is entirely up to you, as well as how long the sessions are and how often you meet. If this is something you might be interested in, please contact projects@riac.ca and ask to be put on the conversation partner list.

Become a Conversation Partner (Student)

If you would like to improve your English speaking skills, please contact projects@riac.ca to be matched with another conversation partner (Teacher).

SUSTAINABILITY FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:41:41 GMT

SUSTAINABILITY FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

I’m so glad that after 18 months of hard work of my team at last we have our first official fund rising campaign out in the mail. Cross fingers with us dear friends. It took a lot of tweaking and wrestling with forms and amendments and meetings and SWOT analysis and communication strategies and the like. We are fortunate by having a whole slate of bright brains that helped out during this time.

We send this first campaign out to 60 large organizations in the financial industry. If you happened to know of any organization that we should approach, please don’t be shy and let us know. Here it is a summary of our goal.

A Call for Support

Since our centre opened in the early 1980’s, as a single desk in the back of a small international store, we have grown and now have a full office, a team of four full-time staff and an ever-expanding base of passionate interns and volunteers.

RIAC continues to be a visible and effective organization whose services and programs are greatly valued within our community. However, resource limitations have inhibited our ability to deliver the services and programs we offer in a wider and more comprehensive manner. This challenge is being met at a time when the need for our services is rapidly expanding (with the growing number of immigrants) in our city.

It is with this in mind that we are contacting local sponsors for support...

Your contribution would empower our staff (and our members) by enabling us to seek funding in a more effective and continuous manner. We estimate that the total cost for this project will be $48,000.00 and once started, the project will sustain itself and support the organization. We are kindly asking you for a contribution towards this goal.

This initiative is an embodiment of our principles and approach to funding. We believe it is better to help a non-profit to be self-sustaining in its search for money, than to continue to donate to them year after year. This is better for the non-profit, the donor, and ultimately, it is what is best for the communities they both serve and care for.

In recognition of your generosity, your name would be part of all promotional material that RIAC uses to attract visitors and possible clients. We would be honoured to add you to a new list of present and past supporters on our website. As with any donation to a charity, your contribution will be tax-deductible and a receipt will be sent to you to that effect.

Join us at https://www.facebook.com/events/293908960649722/

Mental Health Awareness Training: Nov. 18 - 19; Confirm Your Attendance!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:29:39 GMT

The Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC) would like to encourage your participation in an upcoming training session called “Helping Hands, Reaching Out.” The event is a two-day training program presented by RIAC in partnership with the Mental Health and Addictions Program at Eastern Health.

The training is for any individual or organization interested in bettering their capacity to support refugees and immigrants with mental health issues. The two days will be a mix of education, interactive activities, and discussion, and will equip participants with the knowledge and resources necessary to effectively deal with mental health concerns in refugee and immigrant populations. You can find the tentative agenda below.

Training will take place from 9 am – 4 pm at Key Assets (120 LeMarchant Road- directions will be included at a later date) on Friday, Nov. 18th and Saturday, Nov. 19th. We have about 15 spaces available, so please RSVP by Monday, Nov. 14th with the names and contact information of anyone interested in attending by calling Ashika Iqbal at (709) 754-4122, or by emailing projects@riac.ca.

---

Tentative Agenda:

Day One: Bridging the Gap

9:00 - 9:20 | Welcome; Introduction to RIAC and its partner organizations

9:20 - 9:40 | Goals and agenda review

9:40 - 10:10 | Refugee Profile

10:10 - 11:25 | Educational Short Films: Cry Freetown, Colour of Fear

11:25 - 11:45 | Break

11:45 - 12:15 | Roundtable

12:15 - 1:15 | Lunch (provided)

1:15 - 3:15 | Ulan Bator (2 hrs)

3:15 - 3:45 | Roundtable

3:45 - 4:00 | Wrap up and Evaluation

Day Two: Knowledge Sharing

9:00 - 9:15 | Goals and agenda review

9:15 - 10:20 | Mental Health vs. Mental Illness - Gloria Williams, Eastern Health

10:20 - 10:40 | Break

10:40 - 11:45 | Complex Needs - Penny Cofield, Consultant

11:45 - 12:45 | Lunch (provided)

12:45 - 1:45 | Resources and Services - Gloria Williams, Eastern Health

1:45 - 2:30 | Collaboration and Best Practices – Ashika Iqbal, RIAC

2:30 - 3:00 | Wrap up and Evaluation