Belonging by Design: Reimagining Newcomer Systems (in Windsor-Essex)

Belonging does not happen by chance. It is shaped by the systems, policies, and partnerships we build, and by the gaps we leave unaddressed.

Members of the Windsor-Essex community and the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership (WE LIP) Council are invited to attend a special edition of the “Belonging in the City: Repair, Resistance, and Reimagination” Speaker Series hosted by Centre for Cities during the WE LIP's Winter Council Meeting.

The event will feature a moderated panel that brings together community leaders, researchers, practitioners, and those working directly within newcomer assessment and settlement systems. The conversation will examine how newcomer services in Windsor-Essex currently function and where meaningful change is possible. Through an honest and collaborative conversation, the panel will explore how fragmented processes and duplicated efforts shape newcomers’ experiences of belonging across the region. This session offers an opportunity to learn about a made-in-Windsor model with the capacity to change the delivery of settlement services in the region, with lessons that can inform national approaches.

Grounded in community data, frontline practice, and collaborative design, the session will move through three interconnected themes:

• Repair — addressing systemic gaps and inequities in newcomer systems
• Resistance — learning from community-led alternatives that challenge fragmentation
• Reimagination — implementing newcomer systems that are looking at belonging beyond traditional settlement services

Moderated by Centre for Cities and featuring insights from WE LIP, the WE Value Partnership, and academic partners coordinating and supporting newcomers. This session invites participants from across sectors to reflect on a shared question: If belonging is designed, how can we design it better, together?

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership