In 2016, we conducted a survey of 39 governance boards and committees across the North Shore and found that very few had members from the North Shore’s top immigrant source countries like Iran, China, the Philippines, Korea and others.
While many recent and longer-term immigrants actively volunteer in the community, fewer have been appointed to leadership roles, a situation the North Shore Immigrant Inclusion Partnership (NSIIP) hoped to address with a pilot project in 2017
Focused on improving the representation of immigrants in leadership roles on the North Shore and support long-term systemic change, this project aimed to match 10-15 established immigrants with positions on governance boards and advisory committees at local non-profits and civic institutions.
Over the summer of 2017, we recruited both immigrant candidates and host organizations. With the support of community partners, we provided them with training on board skills and diversity, networking, matching, and mentoring.
READ our info package created for boards, committees, and leaders: Increasing Diverse Representation on the North Shore
IN THE MEDIA:
Dec 1, 2017: ‘Project triples immigrants on North Shore committees’ – Brent Richter, North Shore News
Sept 13, 2017: Omni TV
Aug 29, 2017: ‘North Shore boards lack immigrants: report’ – Brent Richter, North Shore News
For more information about the project or other questions about diversifying governance: Contact us at nsiip@nsms.ca
This NSIIP project is generously supported by the West Vancouver Community Foundation and the Community Foundations of Canada. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the District of West Vancouver and City of North Vancouver through their Community Grants program.