Grande Prairie Intercultural Association

By Liam Verster

Grande Prairie Intercultural Association

GPIA Academy program to help newcomers, immigrants prepare for life in Canada

Mar 23, 2021 | 12:09 PM

The Grande Prairie Intercultural Association (GPIA) is planning to launch a new program to help educate immigrants and newcomers on a range of topics to help them thrive in Grande Prairie and in Canada.

The new GPIA Academy (The Academy) program will help newcomers learn more about the country, as well as what resources are available and how they can be accessed.

The Academy will host several virtual information sessions, and GPIA’s Program Coordinator and Secretary, Maureen Edomwonyi, says those sessions will cover a wide range of topics.

“Some of the topics we will be looking at law in Canada; the Canadian school system; the Indigenous Peoples of Canada; the political system; mental health amongst immigrants and newcomers to Canada; experiences in Canada; and cross-cultural parenting in Canada,” says Edomwonyi.

Through these sessions, the GPIA can educate people on how their new host-country operates, and help them get a leg up.

“We all have our different challenges in life, but the education that they will get from the GPIA will help them to navigate their lives better and have an easier integration and be contributing members of the community.”

Edomwonyi adds that it’s also important to offer these sorts of educational tools as “integration is a lifelong process.”

She says people often make mistakes and become frustrated with trying to live in a new country, but through this program they can be better prepared for potential challenges and know what resources are available to help them overcome those hurdles.

The Academy will also provide insight into daily life in Grande Prairie, as well as start building connections within the community.

The GPIA Academy will run virtually twice a year in eight-week blocks, with two-hour long information sessions going once a week. The program will run in the spring and again in the fall, with the first round starting this May, though specific dates have yet to be finalized.

The GPIA Academy is being launched in partnership with the Grande Prairie Public Library, which is helping to host the information sessions.

Registration for the Academy is now open, and can be accessed through the GPIA website.