The Languages Canada Syrian Refugee Initiative was launched in 2015, at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. At the time, Canada's refugee plan committed to welcoming 15,000 Syrian refugees, with full government sponsorship.
In recognition of the impact and importance of language education in properly and effectively integrating to a new home and surroundings, Languages Canada (LC) member programs donated over 15,500 weeks of language education across Canada through the Languages Canada Syrian Refugee Initiative. Since the launch of this initiative, over 160 refugees have benefited from the language education donations from over 50 member programs across the country. Several LC member programs also helped refugees through other initiatives, both before the launch of the Languages Canada Syrian Refugee Initiative, and actively ongoing through numerous different efforts.
Over the past two years, the number of incoming Syrian refugees has diminished, and publicly-funded language programs for settlement purposes have had the chance to adapt to better serve the Syrian refugee community. The Languages Canada Syrian Refugee Initiative has therefore been wrapped-up as of November 1st. Some members continue to offer space in their programs through other local community initiatives. We would like to thank all LC members who participated in this important initiative.
