June 2013 - CultureLink

WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 1
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Saskia Rinkoff,
Volunteer Coordinator, Luminato Festival
Newcomers to Canada often
face a multitude of challenges
upon their arrival. Linguistic
and cultural barriers prevent
them from fully engaging with
people and customs in their
new homeland. The joint CultureLink—Luminato Festival
Volunteer Program in Toronto
provides newcomers with a
unique opportunity to break
through some of the barriers.
Three or four newcomers have the option of being matched with an experienced Canadian mentor, forming a CultureLink—Luminato Festival Volunteer Mentorship Circle. This year, we had 15 active circles and a total of 53
participants. Together they learned about Canadian life and culture in the city
while volunteering for the festival and being part of a multitude of artistic
events.
As one of the Volunteer Coordinators who facilitated these mentorship circles
during the past three months, I had the great pleasure of witnessing the extraordinary transformation many of the participants – mentors and mentees
alike. The circles fostered greater understanding, tolerance and appreciation
for different cultural backgrounds they represented. New friendships were
formed, skills were developed and confidence were built. The program is truly
a reflection of what Canada and Toronto, one of the most diverse cities in the
world, is all about.
Inside this issue:
A Transformative
Experience
1
The Info Team
2
The gift that keeps
giving
3
Arts Marketing
Team
4
My Luminato Experience
5-6
Contact Us
7
“At CultureLink we
believe that:
 Newcomers are
critical to
Canada’s future;
 Our staff and
volunteers are our
organization’s
most important
resources”
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 2
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Mary Pigott
This was the third year that CultureLink and Luminato have partnered to give newcomers to Canada the
opportunity to volunteer at this unique, 10-day, multi-arts festival in June. It was the first time, however, for
a CultureLink Info Team.
Three CultureLink mentees were chosen in April for this new initiative: Janet Wei, Safoura Hakami
and Samantha Sun. Safoura is the most recent newcomer, arriving from Iran just nine months ago.
Janet emigrated from China two years ago. Samantha is from Taiwan and has lived in Canada for six years.
Their CultureLink mentor, Mary Pigott, has volunteered with
Luminato since 2007, when the festival was launched. She
has been an Info Team member since 2008, when Info Teams
were initiated. Mary also joined the CultureLink-Luminato
program when it began in 2011.
All Info Team members must be ready to answer a wide
variety of questions, not just about Luminato, but also about
Toronto. To prepare for this challenging role, the CultureLink
Info Team went on three excursions to learn about the city:
(1) a 5-hour tour of 35 sites in Toronto; (2) a half-day visit
to Harbourfront; and (3) a trip to the Scarborough Bluffs.
Members of the group also attended Luminato’s Info Team
training sessions; listened to Luminato Talks by both
Artistic Director Jorn Weisbrodt and CEO Janice Price; and
participated in CultureLink’s Social Media Workshop. Finally,
the team spent many hours together studying the Luminato
program book and watching many of the scheduled performers
on YouTube.
Armed with all this knowledge, the CultureLink Info Team
bravely set off on its three Luminato shifts: the first in the
Distillery District, the second in Brookfield Place, and the final
one at “The Hub” (David Pecaut Square). The three venues were very different and gave the mentees the
opportunity to interact with the public in different ways. They were also able to enjoy the artistic activities at
each of these locations. The “Future Tastes of Toronto” in the Distillery District was especially popular!
By the time Luminato ended on June 23, the three CultureLink mentees had been transformed. When the
group first met in early May, most of the mentees were familiar with only a few locations in Toronto, felt their
English was poor, lacked confidence in speaking with the public, and were concerned about what they had
to learn. By the end of their third shift, they were all very outgoing, confident, knowledgeable, articulate, and
delightfully enthusiastic. In short, they no longer needed a mentor!
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 3
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Ivonne Bayonna
CultureLink through its mentorship program has provided me with an incomparable opportunity to give back
to the community in a way that you can see the difference you are making.
I was able to use my work skills to the best of my capability in order to create a bridge between the skills of
new immigrants and the requirements of the Canadian workplace. We discussed topics anywhere from
proper emailing to office politics. All of these lessons were successfully applied through our volunteer hours
at the Luminato festival, where the experience not only became richer but also had the chance to meet new
people from different industry fields and different backgrounds; learn from each other, share experiences,
reinforce teamwork; and create for the new immigrant a sense of belonging in their new home country.
Being in Toronto also allows for great opportunities to roam around and explore this wonderful city where
you can still feel close to home even though you might be thousands of kilometres away. I thank Culturelink
for their great efforts in providing a helping hand through an experience that can be sometimes
overwhelming for new immigrants and allowing them to feel like there is a great support network where all
you need is the gift of time.
I thank my mentees to allow me into their lives and for teaching me so much during our time together.
Each one of them taught me a lot and these are life lessons that I will always cherish and keep very close to
my heart.
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 4
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Armando Pemberton
Volunteering with the 2013 Luminato Festival was an amazing experience. The energy was felt on the first
day of assignment. I have volunteered before, but I have never seen such outstanding management of
a team of volunteers as numerous as the 2013 teams. The CultureLink mentors were fantastic.
The city of Toronto was transformed with activities promoted by the Festival. It gave me a great opportunity
to hold a small conversation with more than 100 people from all backgrounds through the Audience
Research managed by the Marketing Team. Visitors from different countries were part of the survey as well.
But most of all, the artistic expressions that brought so many Torontonians together: the concerts,
the classical music, the plays … the list is endless. It was a magnificent opportunity for us newcomers to
understand the life and culture of a metropolis like Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world.
As part of our cultural integration, the Marketing Team visited 3 historical landmarks on Doors Open day.
It was the initiative of our mentor Ivonne so we could practice our public speaking skills. I happened to be
carrying my camera and so I became the impromptu cameraman. I even made a video!
Last but not least, the Citizenship Ceremony within the Festival was fantastic. The speeches at the
ceremony were inspirational. I was part of one of the round tables were I heard closely the journey of about
7 immigrants who became Citizens that day. My thoughts were: I will be there in a couple of years!
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 5
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Amelia Zheng
It is my first time to be a volunteer for Luminato Festival. It is such a great journey, so I have to share
my happiness and gratitude to my beloved Luminato Festival. As part of CultureLink volunteer team, we
got all the information as a group from the volunteer coordinator, which does help a lot to avoid potential
misunderstanding. As a volunteer, we all received training before we started. I still remember during that
training, the volunteer coordinators tried their best to explain the process and plan, and made great effort to answer everyone’s questions. We felt so welcome from then
on.
I have to say, volunteering at the Hub and Stockpile was
a remarkable experience! At the Hub, we passed our
welcome to visitors along with the Hub information; at
Stockpile, we shared the joy of participants who won wonderful prizes. It is especially amazing at the Hub because
we were not only playing the role as a volunteer but also
as an audience. As a new immigrant to Toronto, it was my
first opportunity to get to know these Canadian musicians
and artists. It felt terrific!
I really enjoyed the time volunteering with Luminato, and
I can’t wait for the return of the Festival next year.
About Luminato - CultureLink Project
In Spring 2011, when CultureLink Host Program, a newcomer befriending pogrom with 20+ years of history, was
transforming into a mentoring program, Luminato reached out to the new Mentorship Program for partnership opportunities. It was love at the first glance: Luminato would like to enhance the diversity in its volunteer base and
engage newcomers to explore Toronto’s cultural life; CultureLink was excited about this perfect opportunities to
experiment its new mentoring model - Civic Engagement mentoring. All worked out well and we now just completed
our Year Three. Planning for next year’s project is under way already. As the partnership matures more and more
we can expect it to bear more wonderful fruits in the future.
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 6
Luminato Edition
June 2013
By Anna Paula Lima
This is my first time volunteering for CultureLink-Luminato and it's been an amazing experience.
My mentoring circle and I went on Saturday May 25 to Doors Open event. We visited the Ingram Arts
Gallery in Yorkville and the Gardiner Museum.
Although I've been in Toronto for a long time, I did not know much about the history of Yorkville from the
60's until we visited the Ingram Arts Gallery.
We were very lucky on our visits. We had the great opportunity to speak to the artist Alain Bonder who had
his work displayed at the Ingram gallery and we met Kathy Vender, the terracotta sculpture artist who
will have her work shown at the Gardiner Museum from May 30 to Sept 15. It was great to talk to these
amazing artists and know more about their artwork.
WELCOMING
COMMUNITY NEWS
CultureLink
Mentorship Program
Volume 4, Issue 6
Page 7
Luminato Edition
June 2013
CultureLink is a settlement agency located at Bloor and
Dundas West in downtown Toronto.
For 25 years, we have upheld our mission:
CultureLink is dedicated to facilitating the Independence
and full participation of newcomers in Toronto’s diverse
community. CultureLink works within an antidiscriminatory framework to ensure a respectful, safe
and inclusive environment.
We hope you have enjoyed this issue our Welcoming
Community Newsletter, and that you will look forward to
future newsletters.
2340 Dundas Street West, Suite 301
Toronto, ON M6P 4A9
Phone: 416-588-6288 Fax: 416-588-2435
Visit us at:
www.culturelink.ca
Www.celebrateculturelink.ca
CONTRIBUTORS
Fei Tang
CCMP Manager
Newsletter Supervisor
Tatiana Baltrushevich
CCMP Worker
Saskia Rinkoff
Volunteer Coordinator,
Luminato Festival
Mary Pigott,
Ivonne Bayona
Anna Paula Lima
CCMP Mentors
The Welcoming Community News invites you,
the members of the CultureLink Community to
share your story with us. Please send your story,
comments and thoughts to:
ftang@CultureLink.ca
Please note that the submission deadline for our
July edition is: Friday, July 26, 2013
Armando Pemberton,
Amelia Zhang,
CCMP Mentees
The newsletter can be read online at http://www.culturelink.ca/index.php/publications
Photo Credits: Mentorship Program Team Members, Mentors and Mentees