WE LIP Success Story | February 2025
The Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP) launched the WE Belong Podcast on November 7, 2024, at the Annual Forum & Welcoming Community Awards. The podcast was created as a follow-up to the WE Belong Social Media Campaign from 2018, which encouraged Windsor-Essex residents to foster a more welcoming community for all.
The WE Belong Podcast aimed to:
- Highlight welcoming strategies in Windsor-Essex
- Share news about upcoming and ongoing events, programs, and opportunities
- Celebrate local success stories
- Promote anti-discrimination, anti-racism, and cultural diversity awareness
A Platform for Newcomer Stories
The podcast provided a platform for newcomers, immigrants, refugees, international students, and temporary foreign workers to share their personal experiences of settling in Windsor-Essex. Hosted by one of WE LIP’s Project Leads, Aaron Fauteux, the podcast featured guests including clients and staff from IRCC-funded settlement service providers, as well as WE LIP Council members, and community leaders.
Recording for the podcast began in August 2024, culminating in the release of 14 episodes featuring a diverse array of guests, including newcomers, refugees, international students, settlement service staff, WE LIP Chair & Vice Chair Ronnie Haidar and Dr. Riham Al-Saadi, and Workforce WindsorEssex’s Director of Community & Workforce Development, Kelsey Santarossa.
Reflecting on the experience, Fauteux shared, “It has been an incredible pleasure getting to meet some of our region’s newest neighbours and to learn more about the incredible work that’s being done by our local service providers to welcome them into our community and help them get settled.”
Engagement and Reach
The first season aired weekly from November 7, 2024, to February 12, 2025, with episodes available on the WE LIP website, Podbean, Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, and Podchaser. As of February 2025:
- 640+ all-time downloads (counted from podcasting app downloads and streams over one minute)
- Listeners from 10 countries, including Canada, USA, Peru, Russia, India, Jordan, Dominican Republic, UK, Mexico, and Italy, with the majority in Ontario
- The most popular episode was Episode 8, “Blanca and South Essex Community Council,” with 52 downloads
Looking Ahead to Season 2
There has been significant interest from WE LIP Council Members in continuing the WE Belong Podcast, and plans are in place to begin recording Season 2 in Summer 2025.
WE LIP looks forward to continuing to amplify newcomer voices in our region!
Listen to the WE Belong Podcast Here!
Download a PDF copy of this Success Story here:
