WE LIP Success Story | January 2023
On January 24, 2023, the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership, in partnership with the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership and the Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council organized a virtual panel discussion with 133 participants centered on the importance of equitable language access to community programs and services.
The increased value that equitable language access can add to the many programs and services in our communities was highlighted by the panelists below:
- Yusuf Al-Harazi, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advisor at Niagara Region
- Christine Kouri, BScN, MHA, Manager for Health Equity and Diversity for CHEO (Canada’s capital’s pediatric healthcare centre),
- Fauzia Baig, Region of Waterloo’s first Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion board member of the Coalition of Muslim Women, and the Co-Chair on the Waterloo Region’s Mayor’s Task Force for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
- Charlotte LeFrank, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Specialist, Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society and WE LIP Chair
- Sue Connell, Program Manager, Health Strategy & Health Equity Program at City of Hamilton-Public Health Services.
The panelists discussed the benefits of equitable language access in their respective sectors and attendees shared experiences relating to the importance of language access in their communities. This event provided an opportunity for attendees to build on their understanding of equitable language access and how to achieve higher language access in their organization’s programs and services. Resources were provided including an Interpretation Best Practices Checklist developed by Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership.
A recording of the event is available to view on the WE LIP Knowledge Sharing and Training webpage.
Download a PDF copy of this Success Story here:
