ImmigrantChildren.ca Archive

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  • Canada Post stamp to commemorate 2010 Year of the British Home Child

    Stamp set

    Canada has declared 2010 Year of the British Home Child to acknowledge the child emigration scheme that brought over 100,000 children from Britain to Canada from 1826 to 1939. Under the guise of providing a welcoming home for poor, abandoned and orphaned children, a great many of these children came to Canada and served as farm labourers and domestic servants and endured lives of abuse from the people who acquired them.
    On Sept 1, 2010, Canada Post will issue a stamp in recognition of the British Home Child. From the Canada Post catalogue: “The stamp features an image of the SS Sardinian (a ship that carried children from Liverpool to Quebec), a map symbolizing their cross-Atlantic journey, a photograph of a child at work on a farm and one of a rewly arrived Home Child, standing beside a suitcase while en route to a distributing home in Hamilton, Ontario”.

  • Call for papers: Mapping the landscapes of childhood

    Mapping the Landscapes of Childhood will be held May 5-7, 2011 at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.

    Conference Themes and Questions (from the call)

    Definitions of Childhood: invented or discovered: Who gets to define childhood? What counts as a good childhood? A “normal” childhood? How have been childhoods defined in various media (art, literature, social science, science)? By what measures? And at what historical junctures?
    Indigenous theories of childhood: What alternate models of childhood and development exist? How can they be found? Interpreted? Shared? What is therole of the child and childhood in other societies? What rights, and responsibilities do they have?
    Gender: How do the categories of gender and child overlap, extend, elaborate or contradict one another? How do sex, gender and sexuality shape the experience of childhood? What are the policy effects of concerns about boys at risk or girls at play?
    Globalization: How do global models of childhood interact with local conceptions? Do global educational standards contradict or support local sovereignty? What are the effects of migration, diaspora, refugee status on childhood? How does globalization affect the commoditization of childhood?
    Empowerment: What are the social and policy implications for a child-centred approach to human rights? How can we understand child agency in terms of violence and the law? What can empowerment mean for the very young child?

    Keynote Speakers


    Patrizia Albanese (Centre for Children, Youth and Families, Ryerson University)

    Mona Gleason (University of British Columbia)

    Allison James (Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences, University of Sheffield)

    Perry Nodelman (Professor Emeritus, University of Winnipeg)

    Mavis Reimer (Canada Research Chair in the Culture of Childhood and Director of the
    Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures, University of Winnipeg)

    Richard Tremblay (Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal).
    Deadline for submissions: Oct 1, 2010. See conference website for more information.

  • Aboriginal, Francophone, Multicultural = Canadian. The Celebration days of summer

    June 21 is National Aboriginal Day
    June 24 is Saint-Jean-Baptiste ou fête nationale
    June 27 is Canadian Multiculturalism Day
    July 1 is Canada Day

  • Conference call: Migration to integration: An Opportunity agenda for cities

    First International Cities of Migration Conference, The Hague (Netherlands), October 3 – 4, 2010. Program to include:

    Networking reception and dinner hosted by the Municipality of The Hague
    Opening keynote speaker: At home in the city
    Plenary speaker: Why cities matter
    International city leaders panel: Strategies for city success
    Marketplace of good Ideas: Integration in practice
    Debate: Migration and the media: friend or foe?
    Integration town hall: Understanding the opportunity agenda
    Closing keynote: The City of tomorrow

    Cities of Migration is led by the Maytree Foundation in Canada, with international partners in Germany (Bertelsmann Stiftung), the United Kingdom (Barrow Cadbury Trust), New Zealand (Tindall Foundation) and Spain (Fundacion Bertelsmann).
    Detailed program (to date). For more information, visit the conference website and/or contact citiesofmigration2010@maytree.com.

  • A little bird told me (last in the series): Top 10 tweeps on immigrant, refugee children and youth

    immigrantchildren.ca ends its top ten series with the Top 10 tweeps on issues specific to immigrant and refugee children and youth. Thanks to all for suggestions via DM, comments left here or by email to me directly.

    1. http://twitter.com/CRINwire ~ “CRIN is a global network coordinating and promoting information and action on child rights”. CRIN stands for Child Rights Information Network.
    2. http://twitter.com/UNICEF ~ “Founded in 1946, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized”.
    3. http://twitter.com/Anniekidder ~  The woman behind People for Education.
    4. http://twitter.com/supportKIND ~ “Protecting the rights of refugee and immigrant children in the United States”. But not just tweets about US.
    5. http://twitter.com/RightToPlayCAN ~ The Right to Play movement.
    6. http://twitter.com/immigrantyouth ~ “Conceive ideas. cultivate leadership. connect youth”.
    7. http://twitter.com/yLINC ~ “online web portal for newcomer youth between the ages of 18-24, designed to serve as an enriching and interactive online experience”.
    8. http://twitter.com/freethechildren ~ Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. News on migrant children’s rights and global movements to support child rights.
    9. http://twitter.com/wrcommission ~ “Advocating for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee and displaced women, children and youth”.
    10. http://twitter.com/Girls20Summit ~ 2 days before the “official” G20 Summit, this organization will bring together women and girls from around the world to Toronto. No doubt migration, refugee and racism will be among top issues. Cool website too, with lots of useful information.

  • A little bird told me IV: Top 10 research tweeps

    Tweeps on social/public policy research, but also tweeps I follow to research immigration, settlement, diversity, multiculturalism and etc. Again, listing does not imply endorsement. Official bios in quotes, with any comments of my own following.

    1. http://twitter.com/CanadianPolicy ~ “CPRN (Canadian Policy Research Networks) is a leading socio-economic think tank based in Ottawa with a non-partisan approach to policy engagement and analysis”.
    2. http://twitter.com/researchimpact ~ “ResearchImpact is Canada’s knowledge mobilization network, connecting university researchers with community and government organizations”. Research SnapShots – nifty one- to two-pagers on a range of topics, including immigration/settlement.
    3. http://twitter.com/reportscanada ~ “Tracking government and non-government public policy reports from Canadian institutions. Run by @ottawacarl”. Current and quick info on latest research, policy and other reports.
    4. http://twitter.com/YUResearch ~ “York University’s researchers are developing new knowledge that provides insight into the scientific, economic, social, and cultural issues affecting our world”.
    5. http://twitter.com/nextbigquestion ~ “Introducing advanced research to the world”. Interesting and fun.
    6. http://twitter.com/Conferenceboard ~”The leading, global business research and membership association”.
    7. http://twitter.com/CLEONet ~ “CLEONet.ca is a web site of legal information for community workers and advocates who work with low-income and disadvantaged communities in Ontario”.
    8. http://twitter.com/thewonggurl ~ “Manager, Marketing & Communication”. Short, quick quips and tweets about local (Ottawa) and international events of interest and recent initiatives. Some personal tweeting and other unrelated to or outside of scope of interest.
    9. http://twitter.com/OECD_Centre ~ “The OECD Development Centre works on innovative solutions to the global challenges of development, reducing poverty and encouraging equality”.
    10. http://twitter.com/TVOsBIGIDEAS ~ “TVO’s BIG IDEAS is a weekly broadcast showcasing lectures, talks, symposia and other manifestations of public intellectual life”.

  • A little bird told me III: Top 10 international tweeps

    Top 10 international twitter accounts. Inclusion on my lists does not imply endorsement or support for these organizations; it’s just that they are some of the tweeps I follow to keep me informed about what’s going on in immigration, multiculturalism, diversity and etc. And, as in previous editions of this series, I’ve included the bio provided by the tweep itself in quotations, with my comments following. This list is overly American, I know. Please send suggestions for more international flavours.

    1. http://twitter.com/CitiesMigration ~ “An international project showcasing innovative ideas on immigrant integration from major cities across the world”.
    2. http://twitter.com/migrationwatch ~ “(A)n independent think tank chaired by Sir Andrew Green. We have a distinguished Advisory Council from diverse ethnic and professional backgrounds”. The UK. Interestingly, they don’t follow anyone.
    3. http://twitter.com/ImmPolicyCenter ~”PC is an immigration research and advocacy org that seeks to shape a rational national conversation on immigration through its research and analysis”.  USA.
    4. http://twitter.com/forcedmigration ~ “Forced Migration Online (FMO) provides instant access to a wide variety of online resources dealing with the situation of forced migrants worldwide”.
    5. http://twitter.com/ImmigrationTwit ~”Reliable immigration news updates, in plain English. Expert-practitioners filter dozens of sources; you get all the facts: Your Immigration Insiders’ Digest!”.  US focus, with some international content.
    6. http://twitter.com/langology ~ “Fun with language, language and linguistic news, links, events, research and more”. Where do they find this stuff?
    7. http://twitter.com/statelessness ~ “(P)rogram coordinator @ OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVE. tweeting & thinking about citizenship & statelessness”.
    8. http://twitter.com/DiversityExec ~ “awareness – impact – action” from the US-based Diversity Executive magazine.
    9. http://twitter.com/nprpolitics ~ “Political coverage and conversation from NPR News”.
    10. http://twitter.com/TheEconomist ~ “Official site for The Economist“.

    Coming next . . . top ten tweeps on research sources and top ten tweeps on immigrant, refugee children and youth. Send me your picks!

  • A little bird told me II: My top 10 individual tweeps to follow

    This is my next installment of “A Little Bird Told Me”, a series of of the top ten twitter accounts that I follow to keep up with news, information and resources on immigration, multiculturalism, citizenship, diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. The twitter URL will be listed, along with any official description provided by the tweeter(s), or my own synopsis, if there isn’t an official bio.
    Let me know who I’m missing!

    1. http://twitter.com/marcopolis ~ Marco Campana. “I post about social media in social services/for social change, immigration, integration and diversity issues in Toronto, Ontario, Canada”. If you care about immigration/settlement issues, you need to follow @marcopolis.
    2. http://twitter.com/MinJK ~ the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. MinJK, nick-named Curry-in-a-Hurry, due to his many appearances at cultural events across the country, used to tweet a lot. Now, not so much? Maybe because @CitImmCanada, the official government department is tweeting? (NB: I also follow all of the members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration who are on twitter).
    3. http://twitter.com/nicknoorani ~ Nick Noorani, the man behind canadianimmigrant.
    4. http://twitter.com/gaystephenson ~ Gay Stephenson, the “Online communications manager at People for Education”
    5. http://twitter.com/DrEricHoskins ~ Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (and co-founder of War Child).
    6. http://twitter.com/timhudak ~ “Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party and MPP for Niagara West Glanbrook”. Mr. Hudak is also the PC critic for citizenship and immigration.
    7. http://twitter.com/IrshadManji ~ “Director, Moral Courage Project @ NYU”. Author of The Trouble with Islam. Although she currently lives and works in the US, she’s Canada’s answer to Camille Paglia (talks and thinks fast and is provocative and funny).
    8. http://twitter.com/SamanthaNutt ~ “Founder and Executive Director of War Child North America. Assistant Prof at UofT. Public speaker, writer, activist and squeeky wheel”. Good tweets with an international persepctive.
    9. http://twitter.com/georgefwill ~ “The unofficial George F Will. Conservative columnist, television personality and author”. Brilliant, articulate and insightful pundit, offering US perspectives.
    10. http://twitter.com/rickmercer ~ because who in Canada doesn’t follow Rick Mercer?

    The first “A Little Bird Told Me”, was my top ten Canadian organization tweeps.

  • A little bird told me: My top 10 tweeps on immigration, multiculturalism, citizenship, diversity, & inclusion

    Starting today, immigrantchildren.ca is running a series of top ten twitter accounts – those that I follow to keep up with news, information and resources on immigration, multiculturalism, citizenship, diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. The twitter URL will be listed, along with any official description provided by the tweeter(s), or my own synopsis, if there isn’t an official bio. Let me know who I’m missing!
    This week:
    Top 10 Canadian organizations

    1. http://twitter.com/maytree_canada ~ Maytree Canada. “Promoting equity and prosperity with a focus on immigration, integration and diversity”.
    2. http://twitter.com/ICCICC ~ The Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Putting the culture in multiculturalism.
    3. http://twitter.com/canimmigrant ~ Canadian Immigrant magazine. Lots of info.
    4. http://twitter.com/cdnexperience ~ “News & info for unique civic literacy project – 52-week Canadian series for all Canadians. Launching May 2010″. Fun, interesting and useful.
    5. http://twitter.com/ccrweb ~ Canadian Council for Refugees. “The Canadian Council for Refugees is committed to the rights and protection of refugees in Canada and around the world”. Not just refugees, the CCR also tweets on immigration generally.
    6. http://twitter.com/imminewscda ~ “Offering a wide range of current news articles about immigration issues in Canada”. Not a lot of followers yet, but promising.
    7. http://twitter.com/issbc ~ Immigrant Services Society of BC. “Helping immigrants build a future in Canada with ESL, settlement and career services”. Good info for newcomers, and those who work with them.
    8. http://twitter.com/LoonLounge ~ The Loon Lounge: “LoonLounge is a place to meet people and learn about life in Canada and the Canadian immigration experience”. Good tweets for newcomers.
    9. http://twitter.com/rdrpeel ~ Regional Diversity Roundtable, Region of Peel. “A network of organizations and institutions committed to building inclusion and diversity competence that results in the institutionalization of equity in their core values, structures, workforce, policies and services”.
    10. http://twitter.com/MosaicInstitute ~ The Mosaic Institute: “Harnessing Diverse Resources for International Peace and Development”. New-ish, not a lot of tweets, but potentially very interesting.

    Next in this series, the top ten individuals I follow. Could you be one of them?

  • Conference call: Migration and the global city, Toronto

    It looks like Ryerson University is working to launch a research institute devoted to immigration and settlement issues. Good luck to them. As part of this initiative, they are calling for proposals for a conference entitled “Migration and the Global City”. The conference, a launch to the proposed research centre, tentatively called the Ryerson Institute on Immigration and Settlement (RISS), will be held on the Ryerson campus from October 29-31, 2010.
    A call for papers has been released here. Of particular interest to immigrantchildren.ca, conference themes include; Children and Youth; Citizenship, Migration and Identity; Precarious and Temporary Status; and Settlement Services.
    The conference will feature a range of activities, including day-trips to local immigrant/settlement locations, a film-documentary screening and art-show, and a possible “CIHR-funded pre-conference on immigrant and refugee children and youth” (Source: Ryerson website). Ryerson – do let us know at immigrantchildren.ca how we can support this important inclusion!
    Deadline for abstract submission is June 15, 2010.