Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement

TMCIS Lunch & Learn Safe Spaces, New Beginnings: Homestay Hosting for Displaced Ukrainian Women in Toronto

Date:

Wednesday, November 20th, 2024

Time:

2:30-3:30pm EST

Location:

Hybrid (In-person at the CERC Migration & Integration Office, located in the Toronto Eaton Centre Galleria Office at 220 Yonge Street, Suite 204 and Online via Zoom)

Description:

This event will be convened by Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Academic Director of Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) and hosted by TMCIS. Join us for an insightful presentation and discussion featuring Dr. Areej Al-Hamad and Dr. Kateryna Metersky as they dive into a project exploring displaced Ukrainian women’s experiences of homestay hosting with their Canadian hosts in Toronto. The event will explore the impact of homestay hosting and how welcoming displaced Ukrainian women into Canadian homes is fostering resilience, security, and community connections. Dr. Al-Hamad and Dr. Metersky will share key insights from research on the displaced Ukrainian women’s experiences of homestay hosting with their Canadian hosts in Toronto and the challenges and successes of homestay hosting, supported by a documentary screening. There will be opportunities to engage with the experts through a Q&A session to discuss the evolving needs of displaced women and the role of community-based solutions in enhancing their integration and well-being.

Chair: 

Dr. Zhixi Zhuang - Academic Director, Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement

Featured presenters:

Dr. Areej Al-Hamad - Primary presenter; Assistant Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing

Dr. Kateryna Metersky - Co-presenter; Assistant Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact tmcis@torontomu.ca 

TMCIS Book Launch & Learn: Non-profits Serving Immigrants: Voices on Challenges in Uncertain Times

Date:

Tuesday, October 29th

Time:

4:00-5:00pm EST 

*The session will be followed by in-house book signing for in-person participants 

Location:

Hybrid - Online and in-person at the Daphne Cockwell Centre (DCC), 288 Church Street, Room 707/709

Description:

This event will be convened by Dr. Zhixi Cecilia Zhuang, Academic Director of Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS), will be hosted by TMCIS, and is co-sponsored by the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Department of Politics and Public Administration and Fernwood Publishing Ltd. (external link) 

Join us for a Book Launch & Learn event that will serve as the book launch of The Canadian Non-profit Sector: Neoliberalism and the Assault on Community (external link) , written by Ted Richmond and John Shields. The event will feature a seminar that brings together important non-profit sector voices to reflect on contemporary challenges faced by the sector and the migrant and other communities they serve. Emerging from the pandemic crisis, immigrant settlement service agencies and other non-profit providers confront many pressing issues from funding to HR to rapidly increasing service demands in a political environment shifting towards the embrace of austerity. The timely release of the volume The Canadian Non-profit Sector: Neoliberalism and the Assault on Community offers a point of critical consideration of some of these developments. Leading non-profit actors and the book’s authors share their perspectives on what challenges and opportunities await in these uncertain times.

Chair:

Dr. Zhixi Zhuang - Academic Director, Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement

Panellists: 

John Shields (external link)  - Author, The Canadian Non-profit Sector (external link) , TMU Professor Emeritus

Ted Richmond (external link)  - Author, The Canadian Non-profit Sector (external link) 

Axelle Janczur (external link)  - Executive Director, Access Alliance (external link) 

Mwarigha (external link)  - Vice President of Housing, Homelessness, Asset Sustainability & New Development, WoodGreen Community Services (external link) 

Maureen Fair (external link)  - Executive Director, West Neighbourhood House (external link) 

A book table will be available at the event and information for ordering a discounted copy of the volume will be available for the online audience. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact tmcis@torontomu.ca 

TMCIS-ISS Literary Lunch & Learn: 20th Anniversary of the Immigration & Settlement Studies MA Program, Celebrating Alumni Stories & Achievements

Date:

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

Time:

1:00-2:30 pm EST 

Location:

Yeates School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (YSGPS) Interdisciplinary Program Study Space, Daphne Cockwell Centre, 288 Church Street, 7th floor

Description:

This event is co-hosted by TMCIS and ISS, and co-convened by Dr. Zhixi Cecilia Zhuang, Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) Academic Director and Dr. Henry Parada, Immigration & Settlement Studies MA Program Director. 

Join us for the 20th anniversary of the Immigration & Settlement Studies MA Program program featuring prominent program alumni and authors. Discussions will explore the authors’ unique insights and experiences that have profoundly shaped their approach to storytelling, delving into prominent themes from their novels, including the distinct challenges that shape different migrant experiences, cultural identity and belonging, intergenerational displacement and trauma, familial reunification, and resilience within the context of Canadian and British colonialism and transnational sociopolitical dynamics that influence and shape diasporic identities.

Chairs:

Dr. Zhixi Zhuang - Academic Director, Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement

Dr. Henry Parada - Program Director, Immigration & Settlement Studies MA 

Panelists + Featured Novels:

Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio (external link)  - ISS Alumni, Author of Reuniting with Strangers (external link) 

Sheila Murray (external link)  - ISS Alumni, Author of Finding Edward (external link) 

Janika Oza (external link)  - ISS Alumni, Author of A History of Burning (external link) 

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact tmcis@torontomu.ca 

CARFMS Call for Proposals

We are delighted to share that TMCIS will be hosting the 16th Annual Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies  (CARFMS) Conference at Toronto Metropolitan University in May 2025. The conference is entitled 'Canadian, Regional, and International Responses to Forced Migration' and CARFMS is currently accepting proposal submissions that align with conference themes including:

1. Research presentations
2. Panels, roundtables, or workshops (90 minutes) – please indicate the overall theme and the individual contributors and contributions in your submission
3. Film screenings, art exhibits, or other multimedia presentations.

This is an excellent opportunity for emerging scholars and established researchers alike to showcase their work and engage with a broader audience of national and international academics, non-governmental and community organizations, practitioners, and people with lived experiences of displacement.

Submit your application here: CFP Submission Portal (external link, opens in new window)