Transcript Promoting Interculturalism through Physical Activity in the Renfrew

Renfrew-Collingwood
INTERactive Project :
Promoting Interculturalism
through Physical Activity in the
Renfrew Collingwood area
KIN 465: Rachael Lamb-Yorski, Monica Wilkins, Jeff Quach, Jag Sandu
Presentation Outline
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Project Background
Project Goals
Project Components (circles)
Events and activities
Has PA and intercultural understanding been
increased?
• What has worked well, what has not, and
suggestions : Where do we go from here?
Our Process
• Went to meetings at CNH to get familiar with project
• Group discussion with Donna
• Analyzed various documents : meeting minutes, diagrams,
survey
• Each of us meet and interviewed different project leads
from 4 different circles : via phone, email, and dialogue
• Finally, collaborated all information gathered as a group
Images from: google images and blocktalk.ca
Language and Immigration
Renfrew Collingwood
Mother Tongue (single
Vancouver
1996
2001
2006
2011
2011
32.0%
0.5%
39.3%
3.1%
3.0%
4.0%
2.6%
27.3%
0.5%
43.6%
4.2%
4.4%
3.9%
2.4%
25.5%
0.5%
42.7%
6.0%
4.0%
2.5%
2.0%
28.9%
0.5%
37.0%
7.4%
4.3%
2.5%
1.6%
50.2%
1.5%
22.1%
3.2%
1.8%
2.6%
0.7%
response)
English
French
Chinese
Tagalog
Vietnamese
Punjabi
Hindi
Project Background
● RCASN has been applying interculturalism to their agenda for
the past 20 years
● About 3-4 years ago leaders changed in the RCASN, so the
board wanted to ensure the value of interculturalism was
embedded in the strategic direction of the neighbourhood
● It was from the RCASN, personal connections, and one on one
relationship building that created the community partners of
this project
● In April the community partners sent out a survey which
identified 10 major barriers to participation and 8-focus
groups in the neighbourhood
Project Inception
• Survey identified 8 focus groups :
• people with low income,
• new immigrants (3 years or less),
• socially isolated seniors,
• people who don’t speak English,
• people with mental health challenges,
• single parent families,
• middle years children (6 – 12 year olds),
• and First Nations families
• 4 different group circles involved in project
Project Goal
“to increase and deepen relationships between
people different from each other and increase
physical activity of Renfrew Collingwood residents
and workers. Neighbourhood organizations,
residents and UBC students and faculty will work
together to increase intercultural relations and
physical activities and reach out to people that are
not participating” - Renfrew-Collingwood Intercultural,
Health and Physical Activity Initiative
Community Partners
Connectors
Communicators
Knowledge Exchange
Project Components : Circles
Community Partners
• Collingwood Neighbourhood House (CNH)
• Windermere Family of Schools
• Renfrew Park Community Centre
• Evergreen Health Centre
• Collingwood Community Policing
• UBC School of Kinesiology
• Collingwood Business Improvement Area
• Better at Home (Renfrew Collingwood
Community Action Group for Seniors'
Independence)
Image from: project circles meeting
Knowledge Exchange
• Intercultural knowledge exchange circle focused on exchanging
theoretical and practical knowledge, creating a vibrant learning
environment for all the project
• Aim at bringing knowledge from university into the
neighbourhood and bringing knowledge of the neighbourhood
practice into the university
• Development and Implementation of 3 UBC CBEL projects:
- Windermere School Group
- Illustrator Group
- Action Dialogue Group
Image from: project circle meetings
Connectors
• 8 connectors representing different target demographics
• Roles:
- Map what PA exists in the neighbourhood
- Connect!
- Encourage PA
- Connect across cultures
- Try something new
Image from: project circle meetings
Nasib's Card
Communicators
• Set up multiple communication avenues: googledoc, social
media content plan, designed temporary logo, organized
workshops, created adds, maps, toolkit, and inventory,
newspaper published articles,
• Work with Connectors to establish lines of communication
with community partners
Image from: project circle meetings
Project Events and Activities
• Project meetings once a month
• Connector outreach assignment
• Movie and Zumba night in the park
• Tuesday Walks with Nasib and PA challenges
• Because of the communicators' newspaper publications and
articles, as well hand-bills there is a greater awareness of PA
initiatives in the area
• Community Partners look at existing resources and events (ie:
Collingwood Days) and question/challenge if they promote
interculturalism
• not meant to be an extra arm of work for community partners,
but to look within existing resources
Intercultural Development from the
Project
• Intercultural and intergenerational connections
through personal connections and meeting new
people in physical activity settings
• Stories of changes
• Interculturalism is a difficult, slow, and time
consuming endeavor to pursue
• Language to explain Interculturalism is still lacking
• Student involvement provides bridging of
knowledge between RC group and UBC students
• Gives student opportunity to apply theoretical
knowledge to a practical setting
Physical Activity Improvements via
Project
• Physical activity being incorporated into
beginning of meetings
• Connectors practicing what they preach
• Increased awareness of physical activity in
the neighbourhood: increase in use of
recreation areas in RC
• More walking groups
• Greater participation via connectors: new
participators and old participators trying
new things
What is Working Well
• A diverse groups of individuals, who bring a wide
variety of assests to the project
• Support throughout entire project and within the
circles individually
• Sense of belonging in the connector circle
• People are passionate about what they are doing
• Regular meetings and communication
• More new connections are being made, and people are
trying new things
• Intercultural communicators action plan : has been
successful in providing direction for future initiatives
What is Working Well
• Now the community
partners and the
other circles are
applying ''an
intercultural lens and
stregthening it, it is
no longer on the back
burner, but in
forward thinking'' Paula
Image from: project circle meetings
What is Not Working Well
• Connectors need more knowledge on Renfrew Community
Centre
• Communicating: between languages, offline, and with
schools
• Missing some key partners that would benefit the project,
but that can not partake because of strategic direction, or
space/funding
• Need communication of evolving roles (very organic
project with lots of changes and grey areas)
• At times, over planning and project management tends to
stall momentum and progress
What is Not Working Well
•
Challenges defining,
explaining, and labeling
interculturalism
• How do you measure a
successful increase in PA?
• Time, funding, priority
Image from: project circle meetings
Suggestions/Improvement Ideas
• Outreach training for
connectors and service
providers
• Build on community events
• Greater inter-circle
connectedness
• Brain storm a clearer
definition of
interculturalism
• Walk and talk meetings
• Discuss future plan
Interculturalism as an
Orchestra:
In an orchestra you can hear all the
individual instruments and/or voices
on their own, but when playing
together they create new music and
sounds
QUESTIONS?