Partners
The narratives featured in this website and accompanying book/DVD are the result of unique collaborations between community organizations serving and representing refugee groups in Montreal, advocacy and educational experts, and two Montreal-based research projects originating at Concordia University: Mapping Memories and Life Stories of Montreal.
The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) is a non-profit umbrella organization committed to the rights and
protection of refugees in Canada and around the world, and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in
Canada. They have initiated a youth network on refugee and immigration issues across Canada. In addition to
providing contacts and resources, the CCR helped us position personal stories within the larger framework of
refugee rights. Our principal collaborator at the CCR was Communication and Networking Coordinator Colleen French
Shaping Education: Making Media Literacies
This group was involved in the design of workshops and helped us to explore how these stories and projects would be integrated into classrooms around the country. The Executive Director of the group is Michele Luchs.
Cote-des-Neige Youth Center
La Maison des Jeunes de la Côte-des-Neiges Inc. is a Montreal based center for youth aged 12 to18 offering a variety of structured programs and leisure activities. Their services include daily recreational activities, structured programs, social interventions, counselling, support and referrals.
Life Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide, and other Human Rights Violations
Life Stories of Montreal, a five-year university and community oral history initiative, is collaborating with refugee communities to record their own life stories in order to build understanding about Montrealers displaced by war, genocide, and other human rights violations. Mapping Memories initiated a refugee youth working group within this unique community/university collaboration to ensure a youth perspective and to adapt the form of the Life Story so that youth would be inclined to participate. The project is based at the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, with Principal Researcher Steve High
Mapping Memories - Concordia
Mapping Memories was a four-year, government funded participatory research-creation project based at Concordia University that explored how personal stories and a range of media tools (video, sound walks, mapping, photography) could empower and bring the voices and the experiences of refugee youth in Canada to the larger public. Liz Miller was the Principal Researcher on this project (www.
mappingmemories.ca).
Project Refuge (PR) is the Montreal City Mission's transition house program for newly arrived single males in need of protection. They currently have three residences, each located in a different neighborhood in Montreal. Among the many services it offers, Project Refuge has established a weekly meeting space: Zone Libre. These meetings are used to discuss ‘What to do in Montreal’ or to hold workshops offered by our community partners: CV writing ,finding a job, or sometimes just to share with other newcomers the discoveries of living in a new city.
SOY, Express - Newcomer and Immigrant Queer Youth Project
Supporting Our Youth (SOY) is a community development project designed to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and transgendered youth in Toronto through the active involvement of youth and adult communities. SOY runs a program called, Express, a safe and supportive space where newcomers to Canada and/or immigrant queer youth find a place gather, share ideas, questions, and have fun.
YWCA Montreal
Founded in 1875, the YWCA is a non-profit organization that has contributed to improving the lives of women and girls by increasing their self-esteem and autonomy, encouraging their personal growth and preventing all forms of violence through various programs adapted to their real needs. Mapping Memories collaborated with their leadership program to explore how media can be used to build leadership for women with immigrant and refugee experiences.
AGIR http://www.agirmontreal.org/
A LGBTQ support group in Montreal
Individual Partners:
Julie M. Norman has facilitated youth media workshops in the US and the Middle East, and is a trainer with Voices Beyond Walls, a digital storytelling project with refugee youth in the West Bank. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia.
Michele Luchs works is an educator who has been working for the Ministry of Education for ten years. She has experience designing curriculum to integrate media into the classroom.