Social & Civic Engagement for Newcomers and Immigrants (SCENE)

MOSAIC's Social and Civic Engagement for Newcomers and Immigrants project cohort is composed of 54.8% women and 45.2% men.

One of the main barriers that we identify in newcomers and immigrants entering into social and civic positions within boards, tables, committees, and councils is the lack of their previous Canadian experience, we noted that:

• 21.88% have previous experience outside of Canada.
• 34.38% have Canadian experience.
• 43.75% have no previous committee or mentorship experience.

Another important factor that we looked at was the migrant status of our cohort. Overall our cohort is:

• 48.4% Permanent Residents
• 19.3% Citizens
• 12.9% Temporary Residents (Students and Workers)
• 16.1% Refugee Claimants
• 3.2% Protected Persons

But more than numbers our cohort are individuals and it is important for us that their experiences are counted as such.

You can find their individual stories in our Meet The Cohort Page, or read more about them in our Presentation Booklet

Immigrants are socially, politically and economically vital to Canada. Approximately 22% of Canadians are immigrants, the highest its been in almost a century. Almost 30% of British Columbians are immigrants, and those numbers continue to rise. It is imperative that we include the voices of immigrants in civic engagement.

Of the 2274 leaders studied in a recent research report led by the Diversity Institute and SPARC BC, only 12% come from a visible minority background. The lowest representation of visible minorities is in the elected officials sector: visible minorities comprise 26% of elected leaders. From the voluntary sector, only 13% of senior leaders come from a visible minority background.

As immigration growth continues, the need for inclusion of diverse voices will become more necessary to facilitate strong community attachment and overall equity in local politics, non-profits and businesses.

• Submitted “Improving Participation of Newcomers in Civic Engagement” as a strategic recommendation in the Settlement Sector Study to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa
• Initiated surveys and focus groups to help identify interest and barriers to social and civic engagement for newcomers and immigrants - This initiative was funded by the City of Vancouver (Report coming soon!)
• Participated in “Trampoline: Ideas into Action!”, a program from Simon Fraser University’s social innovation hub, Radius, through their Refugee Livelihoods Lab. Through this program, human-centred design methods were used to ideate MOSAIC’s Social and Civic Engagement project (click here for more information).
• Held an information session with the City of Vancouver for the purpose of seeking newcomer voices for participation in the city’s advisory groups (Details of placements coming soon!)
• Hosted a public forum about community leadership and migrant experiences to advance a conversation with MOSAIC stakeholders, clients and partners on how to improve access to more volunteer leadership opportunities for members of the immigrant and refugee communities (Report coming soon!)
• Held a public forum “Inspiring participation in Elections” with keynote speakers: former Canadian MP Libby Davies, and Former BC Premier Ujjal who captivated our participants by sharing how they became involved in activism, and Apathy is Boring’s Miley Leong presented the ‘How, What, Where, When and Whys’ of elections

• The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, visits MOSAIC HQ to discuss key issues related to the Minister's mandate. 
• An update on the project's process.
• MOSAIC receives $84,900 from Government of Canada to engage newcomers.
• MOSAIC hosts forum on inspiring participation in Canadian elections
• Community Leadership Forum Provokes Discussions
• MOSAIC hosts Civic Engagement Session