SPU Professors Win SSHRC Grant to Support Muslim Newcomers in the Capital Region

OTTAWA, Tuesday, September 13 – Professors at Saint Paul University have been awarded a one-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to undertake a new project entitled Towards Muslim Newcomers' Inclusion in the Capital Region: Communication and Social Innovation.

Working in partnership with the Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA)—the oldest Muslim Mosque in the Ottawa region—the project is led by Dr. Aliaa Dakroury, Associate Professor in the School of Social Communication in collaboration with Dr. Jamel Stambouli, Associate Professor in the Élisabeth-Bruyère School of Social Innovation, Faculty of Human Sciences.

“Muslim newcomers face a host of barriers as they establish themselves in a new community and non-profit organizations such as the OMA work hard to provide services in support of its members,” explains Dr. Dakroury. “Our goal is to contribute our expertise and practical techniques in communication and social innovation in order to support the OMA. This will include reviewing and developing services that will help newcomers succeed in their new home.”

One of the objectives of this project, which will debut in September 2022 is to develop a series of group sessions, webinars and hands-on workshops to address topics such as employment and business skills, workplace culture, interpersonal communication dynamics, intercultural and inter-faith communication and mental health.

“This is an action-oriented project and we hope that it will result in tangible outcomes that respond directly to the goals of Ontario’s Newcomer Settlement Program and the objectives of the OMA for its members,“ says Dr. Dakroury. “And while the focus for our project is on Ottawa, the knowledge we gain will be shared with the Muslim community at large with the hope that the outcomes can be useful across Ontario and nation-wide.”

Towards Muslim Newcomers' Inclusion in the Capital Region: Communication and Social Innovation is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grants.

For more information, please contact:
Julie Bourassa
Communications Officer, Saint Paul University
613-236-1393, ext. 2310
jbourassa@ustpaul.ca