CELAT Symposium (November 10, 2017)
“Cultural Diversity in Quebec and France: Current Challenges Posed by the Emergence of Radical Right Movements”
Organized by Pierre Anctil (University of Ottawa, LABRRI) and Simon-Pierre Lacasse (University of Ottawa)
Presentation at the 39th AQHSST Congress (May 16-17-18, 2017)
“Overcoming Occupational Health and Safety Management Issues and Changing Preventative Practices with Employment Agencies”
Presented by Jessica Dubé (UQAM, LABRRI), co-author Sylvie Gravel (UQAM)
Studies have shown significant growth in the hiring of agency workers in recent years. However little attention has been given to its effects on the health and safety of workers. In Quebec, this industry’s operating revenue went from $0.8 million in 2001 to $1.3 billion in 2013. This industry is particularly unique when it comes to the working relationship, known as the tripartite relationship. This working relationship is composed of the employment agency staff, the client company and the agency worker. This type of relationship creates ambiguities about the accountability of preventive practices for agency workers. More specifically, the worker goes to the hiring agency to obtain a job and the agency offers them employment options and pays the appropriate remuneration. However, the agency worker performs his tasks on site as an employee of the client company. The latter will supervise the work according to its own organizational practices of human resources management, health and safety at work and production.
Two symposiums organized as part of the 85th ACFAS Congress (May 8-12)
1) “The Turn Towards Municipalities in an Intercultural Context: Actors, Interactions, Systems”
Organizers: Bob White (UdeM, LABRRI) and Sylvie Genest (UQAM, LABRRI)
While the literature on migration remains dominated by the national or federal level, it is generally recognized that cities play an important role in policies and programs aimed at integrating newcomers. The study of social relations in multi-ethnic urban spaces is, of course, not new in the social sciences. The vast field of research on ethnicity in (im)migration contexts was inspired by the critical sociology of the Chicago School and also by F. Barth’s work in social anthropology, among others. This has greatly contributed to our understanding of social relations in multi-ethnic contexts. Research on interactions in public spaces in multi-ethnic neighborhoods has revealed that exchanges are often characterized by attitudes such as civility or avoidance, and the dynamics of cohabitation continue to be a source of concern. Fears and anxieties about cohabitation seem to be a recurring theme, and this is partly because we are poorly equipped to understand the dynamics of cohabitation and the ways in which they work. Recently, a literature has developed around the notion of “urban citizenship”. On one hand, urban citizenship remains a delicate concept because it is not part of a system of rights and responsibilities. However, several European cities have been very active in securing the right to vote for immigrants without official status. On the other hand, urban citizenship is more accessible than traditional citizenship (having a passport) since it is easier to identify with a city than with a nation. In this symposium, we examine the growing interest for the municipal level as an object of study and we propose a closer relationship between civic/citizens approaches and intercultural approaches in the analysis of the dynamics of cohabitation in a multiethnic context. (Bibliography available on request)
2) “Issues and Complexities of the Hassidic Jewish Presence in Montreal”
Organizers: Pierre Anctil (University of Ottawa, LABRRI) and Ira Robinson (Concordia University)
In Montreal, the Hassidic communities make up about 10,000 people. While the history and sociology of Montreal Jews are generally well known, we know very little about ultraorthodox communities of Chassidic tradition that have settled for nearly half a century in the areas around Avenue du Parc. This is largely due to the fact that these populations have remained relatively isolated from their fellow believers and they do not seek to interact much with other residents of the neighborhoods where they live. However, Hassidic Jews appear to represent an emerging form of integration into the Montreal-Quebec society that has grown steadily over the past two decades and is based on non-Christian, fundamentalist religious practice. Hassidic Jews generally adopt the economic, political and social practices of their home society, however, while refusing to adopt the behaviours of the prevailing culture or dominant cultural of their neighbours. These choices seem to define in rather different terms the boundary between the Hassidic group itself and Montreal society as a whole. The organizers of this conference are particularly interested in studying the issue of primary and secondary schools that are administered by these communities and which constitute a pedagogical issue that has recently become the subject of the public discourse in the city.
Round Table at the 19th Metropolis Conference (March 16-18, 2017)
“The Citizens Approach in an Intercultural Context: The Right to the City”
Organizers: Bob White (UdeM, LABRRI), Marta Massana (UdeM, LABRRI), Mireille Paquet (Concordia University)
In a way, urban citizenship can be viewed as being more accessible than traditional citizenship (having a passport) since it is easy to identify with a city than it is with a nation. Following this logic, having “the right to the city” means occupying the urban and actively participating in its development into the future. But how and under what conditions can this participation take place?
Presentation at the CELAT Study Day (November 4, 2016)
“Towards an Intercultural City: The Municipal Turn in the Age of Super Diversity”
Bob W. White (UdeM, LABRRI)
The municipal level is essential to understanding the dynamics of cohabitation in a multi-ethnic context since it is in the city that people live and interact. For immigrants, it is easier to develop a sense of belonging to a city than it is to a country or nation, and this factor contributes significantly to social cohesion at the municipal level (Jassens and Zanoni, 2007, Rock and White 2014). In the past decade, researchers have become interested in the phenomenon of “intercultural cities” through a series of observations and indicators that cannot be considered either multiculturalist or assimilationist, but “intercultural” (Cantle 2012, Wood and Landry 2008, Gimenez 2010). A critical perspective and a framework of systemic analysis allow us to see that interactions in an intercultural context, sometimes being far from the ideals of harmony and mutual understanding, can at the same time be a source of social tension and discrimination against ethnic and visible minorities.
Presentation at the 2016 CELAT Symposium: The Researchers/Society Collaboration: The Challenge of “Vivre-ensemble” (15-17 May 2016)
“Inclusive Practices in an Intercultural Context: The Transferring of Skills to Facilitate the Integration of New Immigrants”
Bob W. White (UdeM), Veronica Islas (CRIC), Danielle Gratton (UdeM, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital)
In Quebec, there is a long tradition of social intervention and community work with vulnerable populations in an urban context. In some neighborhoods such as Centre-Sud, the population has been relatively homogeneous in ethnic, religious and linguistic terms for a long time. In such neighbourhoods, recent waves of immigration are strongly felt both by residents and by stakeholders and organizations in the fight against poverty and social and economic exclusion. Given their familiarity with the issues of systemic poverty and their proximity to different living environments, stakeholders are aware that new immigrants are disproportionately affected by the factors contributing to poverty, and are thus often victims of a kind of double discrimination. Organizations working in this context are very concerned about this situation. In addition to seeing a problem of representation of diversity in their staff (many of whom come from the French-Canadian majority), they are also worried about the low retention rates of immigrants who use their services. The leaders of community organizations want to meet the needs of their new clients, but they do not know how to get to them and they lack the tools necessary to reach any sort of intercultural rapprochement. On the one hand, they wonder how much they should be adapting the services to specific cultural factors, and, on the other hand, they are afraid to contribute to the exclusion of these new and vulnerable populations.
The Crossroads of Intercultural Resources (CRIC) has the mandate to support and accompany these front-line community organizations in order to facilitate the inclusion of newly arrived immigrants and their objectives have led them to seek the support of the researchers LABRRI. In this presentation, we will consider three main issues: 1) the social dynamics in neighborhoods that are experiencing a rapid increase in diversity that comes not only from the recent number of immigrants but also the effects of gentrification; 2) the organizational dynamics between a second-line organization specializing in intercultural relations and front-line community organizations with a mandate to care for vulnerable populations without intercultural expertise; 3) and the dynamics of partnerships (including a community organization and a university research group) and the challenges not only of recognizing knowledge, but also of mobilizing it.
Symposium Organized by the GERACII and LABRRI during the ACFAS Congress (May 9-13, 2016)
“Interculturality in the City: New Forms of Action and Belonging”
Organizers: Bob W. White (UdeM, LABRRI), Christian Agbobli (UQAM), Gaby Hsab (UQAM), Sylvie Genest (UQAM)
While the metropolises of industrialized countries have now entered the era of “super-diversity” (Vertovec, 2007), it is also true that majority and minority groups in urban contexts are living increasingly “parallel lives” (Cantle, 2001). Faced with this new demographic situation, the city—always a meeting point for people of various origins—has become a space for the articulation of new forms of political and civic belonging (Holston, 2008). “Interculturality in the city” alludes to a notion of public space inspired by the Greek City—a territory that corresponds to a community of free and autonomous subjects governed by laws. Today, however, the city’s most cherished principles—equality, freedom of expression, and deliberation—are being challenged by situations that leave us all lacking proper reference points for action: the zoning of places of worship, the surveillance of language in the media, the use of public funds for “ethnic” activities, the presence of religious symbols in the public service sector, the adaptation of services in the context of intervention, and many others. The rise of conservatism brought on by these cultural and demographic changes is fuelling discrimination against immigrants and, sometimes dramatically, it contradicts the official discourses regarding democratic values. Therefore, it would be helpful to conceive the intercultural city as a citizen space (Purcell, 2003), and several disciplines are turning to the municipal level to understand the intercultural aspects of citizenship (White and Rocher, 2014). This orientation means taking into account interactions at the neighborhood level, but also in different official and institutional contexts. It is in this sense that the analysis of intercultural dynamics in the urban space forces us to rethink our models of social inclusion and political participation.
Roundtable with Charles Taylor (October 29th, 2015, Montreal)
In a text that explores the relevance of interculturalism for contemporary Quebec society, Charles Taylor proposes that the future of interculturalism will depend on our ability to imagine what he calls “intercultural scenarios”. This expression evokes a vast world of possibilities, especially if we want to go beyond the logic of accommodation that for almost ten years now has dominated many debates about cultural and religious diversity. The notion of “reasonable accommodation”, often associated with Quebec, plays an important role in conflict resolution in organizational and institutional contexts. That being said, it cannot really serve as a general framework for understanding social relations in a multi-ethnic context, nor can it help in the development of “intercultural scenarios”, since the notion of scenario advocates a projection into the future and a reflection on a project of shared society. https://labrri.net///les-scenarios-de-linterculturel-une-table-ronde-avec-charles-taylor/
Panels for the c4i Congress (June 1-3, 2015, Quebec)
We know that visible minorities and ethno-cultural minorities are disproportionately affected by the issues related to poverty, and this is particularly evident when it comes to employment. The over-representation of immigrants in occupational health and safety cases and the growing phenomenon of temporary work agencies and workers are symptomatic of the widespread deterioration of the conditions of inclusion. In addition, there is clearly a divide between the metropolitan area and the rest of the province, with a small number of cities playing host to the vast majority of people with an immigrant background. Relying on their proximity to the citizens and the relative flexibility of their institutions, cities are assuming more and more responsibility for the integration of immigrants, even beyond their traditional role in the matter. Through these two issues—socio-professional inclusion and municipal integration policies—we propose a systemic reflection on the conditions that allow the inclusion of citizens of all origins.
Panel I: Migration Circulations and the Challenges of Professional Inclusion
Panel II: Policies for Inclusion in the Age of the Intercultural City
International Symposium Organized by the Council of Europe on Collaborations Between Cities and Universities (May 12-13, 2015, Oslo, Norway)
A representative of the SDSS presented the results of the research and collaborations between the City of Montreal and the LABRRI as part of the “Towards an Intercultural City” partnership.
Roundtable with the Institute for Research on Public Policy (April 29th, 2015, Montreal)
The Institute for Public Policy Research hosted a round table discussion on the recently released study by François Rocher and Bob White. As François Rocher and Bob White illustrate in this study, there are several similarities between multiculturalism and interculturalism in terms of public policy. Both approaches promote cohesion, equal participation and the fight against racism and discrimination. At the same time, the two models reflect two distinct but interrelated historical trajectories. Multiculturalism unfolds in a bilingual Canada, is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and has been legislated. In Quebec, interculturalism is a part of immigration policy and has no legal status. But the notion of interculturalism and the policies that claim to support it are often misunderstood and controversial.
Round Table on Anti-Culturalism (April 27, 2015, Montreal)
While the notion of culture has become obsolete and even taboo in some academic circles, this is certainly not the case in the eyes of the public and in certain public and institutional spaces. Not only is culture used to justify practices that go against the principles of human rights, but there is also a real desire to better understand cultural differences in contexts that are increasingly more marked by the diversification of populations. From a reading of two recent books on the subject of intercultural and civic dynamics, L’interculturel au Québec (Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2014) and La Démocratie multiculturelle (Presses de Sciences Po, 2011), the speakers propose a debate on the interest and future of cultural identity in a world that seeks to reaffirm civic identity. Participation of Marco Martiniello, Deirdre Meintel and Bob W. White.
Conference with Marco Martiniello (April 28, 2015, Montreal)
“‘Minoritized populations’”, Popular Arts and Politics: A Comparison Between Two Multicultural Cities.
This presentation proposes an approach that asserts the political relevance of popular arts in the context of multicultural, multiracial and post-migratory societies. It is useful to examine how artistic expressions make it possible, under certain spatio-temporal conditions, for minorities to express political positions and to mobilize politically. Only a cross-disciplinary approach makes it possible to examine the importance of popular arts as a means of political expression for ethnic and racial minorities in a relevant way.
Roundtable and Book Launch with Gérard Bouchard (January 22, 2015, Montreal)
Recent events highlight the fact that several actors are in search of a better way to define an integration model based on the notion of interculturalism. At the provincial level, there was the Bouchard-Taylor Commission (2007) and the subsequent report (2008). At the municipal level, Montreal has adopted the principles of interculturalism and has been granted the title of “intercultural city” by the Council of Europe (2011). More recently, debates surrounding the tabling of a bill to create a “charter of values” (2013-2014) have mobilized people from all corners of Quebec, for better or for worse. How can we define interculturalism in relation to other pluralistic approaches to management that include the inclusion of people with an immigrant background? What are the historical factors and realities on the ground that have built the specificity of interculturalism in Quebec? How can the specific needs of the French Canadian majority be taken into account without falling into a polarization between “us” and “them” or into discriminatory practices? Can we speak of a consensus on interculturalism? How can this policy better enable the inclusion of citizens of all origins? https://labrri.net///table-ronde-sur-linterculturalisme-au-quebec/
Study Days on the Intercultural Approach at the Municipal Level (December 2014, Montreal)
A study day organized by the City of Montreal and the Quebec Department of Immigration for Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) (Montreal Island Regional Branch). Several members of the partnership took part in this event, which aimed to take stock of all the intercultural initiatives that were part of the Montreal-MIDI agreement. The study day included the participation of departmental advisors and managers, community stakeholders and academic researchers involved in the partnership.
Symposium with the GERACII on Interactions in Intercultural Context (November 15, 2014, Montreal)
UQAM held a day of conferences/discussions on the subject of interactionist approaches and intercultural dialogue. It was organized by the GERACII in collaboration with the LABRRI. Several researchers, professors and students presented their work and actively participated in the discussions and round tables following the presentations by the guest speakers. The panel was divided into three main parts: 1) Reflections on the notion of interaction: how is it approached in theories and how does the interaction process take place concretely? 2) Thinking of the university as a field where several types of actors are in play: what is the experience of university students from outside of Quebec in regards to their integration into the university community here? 3) Exchange on the Charter of Quebec Values and its applications/consequences in the university environment.
Workshop on Intercultural Evaluation Criteria (July 3, 2014, Montreal)
Action research workshop organized by the Quebec Ministry of Diversity and Inclusion Immigration (Island of Montreal Regional Directorate, Southern Partners Committee) in collaboration with LABRRI researchers. We worked together to identify a number of criteria for the evaluation of intercultural programmes and policies in Quebec. This workshop, which was followed by discussions with members of the MIDI partner’s committee, helped to rework the categories of data collection used to facilitate the evaluation of programmes based on specific programmes in an intercultural context. https://labrri.net///criteres-devaluation-pour-linterculturel/
International Forum on Intercultural Cities (May 20-23, 2014, Montreal)
The Forum “Building the Intercultural City”, in collaboration with the City of Montreal and the Council of Europe, brings together practitioners and theorists from several professional sectors (community organizations, municipalities, universities) to mobilize knowledge about the elaboration and implementation of intercultural policies for cities. Municipal case studies were presented in the first part of the forum followed by practical theory workshops. The question at the centre of their concerns was: how do we close the gap between public policy and practice on the ground? To answer this question, each participant had to consider the analytical framework behind the policies, but also the historical context. The purpose of this forum was to identify a number of factors or principles that facilitate social cohesion through intercultural practices. A book publication gathering all the presentations is planned for 2016. The abstracts of the presentations are available at the following address: https://villeinterculturelle.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/resumes_fr.pdf.ç
Healthy Cities and Villages Conference (September 19-20, Victoriaville, Quebec)
SDSS representatives and LABRRI researchers organized a specialized workshop on intercultural issues for municipalities and RCMs in Quebec (Réseau québécois des villes et villages en santé). Three presentations were given with a group activity around the intercultural cities model.
Colloquium Organized by the Council of Europe on the Evaluation of Intercultural Policies (20-21 June 2013, Pecs, Hungary)
Bob White participated as a moderator for one of the workshops and gave a presentation with examples of the evaluation of intercultural projects carried out by the City of Montreal and several of its partners.
Symposium as Part of the ACFAS Conference “The Chronicles of Interculturalism in Quebec” (May 6-8, 2013, Quebec)
In recent years, the word “interculturalism” has been gaining renewed interest in Quebec. Is this a new Quebec political ideology or a terminological reorganization of certain ideologies that undoubtedly set Quebec in opposition to the rest of Canada and, to another extent, create an opposition between immigrants to “native” Quebeckers? It is important for us to note straight away that, like any society that is the product of immigration, Quebec has always dealt with intercultural dynamics. These questions raise the epistemological concern that the word, and in some sense the intercultural reality of Quebec, is being recycled as the society’s new foundation myth. Indeed, in a recent text on interculturalism, the historian and sociologist Gérard Bouchard gives the impression that interculturalism, despite some uncertainty around its definition, would be the subject of a certain consensus, and not only in the academic world (2010: 2). But what interculturalism are we talking about exactly? The risk of the term being instrumentalized is obvious here. For this reason alone, we feel compelled to offer an alternative reading of the term’s “genealogy” and its assertions in the contemporary Quebec context. As part of this conference we propose a reflection on interculturalism that would be able to integrate not only theoretical data, but also socio-historical elements to question the intercultural reality of today’s Quebec.
Symposium Organized by the CREQC, GRITIM and the Council of Europe (April 13, 2013, Montreal
Several members of LABRRI participated in a symposium on the following theme: “Scientific Monitoring of Intercultural Practices in Cities: From the Conceptual Approach to the Implementation of Policy”
International Symposium Organized by the Council of Europe (6-8 February 2013, Dublin, Ireland)
As part of this conference, the LABRRI and SDSS presented the results of the technical partnership between Barcelona and Montreal: “Scales and Nodes in the Pairing of Intercultural Municipalities: The Case of Barcelona and Montreal”. Summary: In September 2012, representatives of the City of Montreal were invited to Barcelona for a seminar on intercultural cities organized by the GRITIM-UPF, RECI, and the Council of Europe. Informal discussions led participants in Montreal and Barcelona to believe that it would be beneficial for the representatives of these two cities to undertake future collaborations. As a first step in this direction, representatives from both cities proposed a series of videoconferences that would aim to discuss intercultural policies and practices in their respective cities. Based on an analysis of the first videoconference in the series, this presentation proposes a model of intercultural interaction that can serve as a basis for the encounter between cities, based on two intercultural concepts: scales and nodes. This model of municipal pairing makes it possible to highlight similarities between the two contexts of intercultural action without ignoring specific traditions. It gives suggestions for promoting exchanges between cities from an intercultural approach and a collaborative approach.
Videoconferences of the Montreal-Barcelona Technical Partnership (December 20, 2012, April 30, 2013)
“Barcelona-Montreal I: Shared Expectations on Intercultural Policies and Practices”. Organization of a videoconference and moderation, joint initiative with the GRITIM-UPF, the City of Barcelona and the City of Montreal. “Barcelona-Montreal II: Shared Expectations on Intercultural Policies and Practices” Organization of a videoconference and moderation, joint initiative with GRITIM-UPF, City of Barcelona and City of Montreal.
GERACII-LABRRI Study Days (October 26, November 23, 2012, Montreal)
On October 26 and November 23, 2012, GERACII and LABRRI held two study days entitled “Intercultural Dynamics in the Heart of the City: A Review of Contexts and Knowledge”. It is now possible to watch the entirety of the first day on the GERACII-LABRRI Study Days website. To help you watch the video effectively, we have provided a companion document. This indicates who was speaking and the subject of the conference or conversation for each time slot. It is now easier to find a conference in the full video. We invite you to read this video and share your comments on it or on the study days. Please note that the video of the second day and its accompanying document will be posted soon. For more information on the study days or to consult the full video, visit the permanent website of the study days: http://dynamiquesinterculturelles2012.wordpress.com
Round Table on the Epistemology of Interculturality with GERACII (March 19, 2012, Montreal)
On 19 March 2012, the Study and Research Group on International and Intercultural Communication (GERACII) organized, in collaboration with the LABRRI, a round table on the theme of the epistemology of the intercultural perspective. The round table brought together seven speakers as well as several students, community actors, professors and researchers to discuss: 1) the theoretical and epistemological foundations of interculturality, 2) diversity management models, and 3) the notion of interculturality: assessment and perspectives.
Day of Reflection on Intercultural Dynamics (May 7, 2011, Montreal)
Intensive workshop organized in collaboration with the Intercultural Council of Montreal, including a dozen community organizations and a dozen researchers working in the intercultural studies/research in Montreal.
Participation in the Symposium on Interculturalism (January 25, 2011, Montreal)
“Towards an Intercultural City”, presentation and report of the work of the Montreal Intercultural Council for participation in the Interculturalism Initiative 2011 workshop, following consultations between LABRRI and the ICM Committee on Interculturalism.