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8- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 21, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Ontario aims to break the barriers for new media Continued from page 1 expertise with everyone in Canada." Looking into the crowd of the program's students, who came to hear him speak, Colle talked about just how much incite their diverse backgrounds had to offer. "We could probably have an instant CNN panel right here about global affairs, climate change issues, every aspect of the world's economy. I'm sure we have the expertise with our writers and journalists who are here today to do that," he said. Course designer, Joyce Wayne outlined what the program is all about. Minister Mike Colle OPRAH LET THE SECRET OUT NOW... Will support you in manifesting your hearts desire through its simple yet powerful technique Abundant prosperity...A loving relationship... The career of your dreams...Can be yours! Release your blocks Re-create your life story Receive a full toolbox of support March 3 & 4 ­ 9:00 a.m. ­ 5:30 p.m. Oak Park Neighbourhood Centre River Glen Mews Plaza 2530 6th Line, Oakville, Ontario $195.00 (A $50.00 non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot.) The weekend includes: The complete L.A.M.P. series workshop, Lunch on both days The Lamp Workbook and a journal To register contact Debbie Long 289-242-4476 Email: dlong@moving-beyond.ca "It's a one-year graduate certificate course for internationally trained writers. It's for people who come here from other countries and are having trouble getting a job in the mainstream media," she said. The program offers academic courses, work placements and most importantly, language training. "Language is a big challenge," said Wayne. "If you're a writer that is the tool of your trade so we have to get everyone's language up to speed." Helping students to get their credentials in order has been another challenge Wayne has been struggling with. "A lot of our students are refugees, they come from countries where they can't get their transcripts and we have to find a way to recognize their accomplishments," she said. In these cases Wayne looks to the student's work itself to gain an understanding of where they rank in their profession. "We can tell from their work, their publications that they had in fact completed a lot in their home countries." Wayne says the experience of teaching such an international group of people has been beyond rewarding. "It's been wonderful. It's opened my eyes to so many things," she said. "I always say this to my students `there's one person in the class learning more "We are poised to be very powerful, as a country and as a province because of this intellectual talent." Minister Mike Colle than anyone else and that's me.' They bring me the whole world and I can only bring them Canada." Ontario's major media organizations, such as the CBC, the Toronto Star, the Hamilton Spectator and Canadian Press, have rallied around their internationally trained colleagues by becoming partners in the program. "This is about recruitment because we need a more diverse media," said Jim Poling, Managing Editor of the Hamilton Spectator and chair of the program's advisory committee. "In my newsroom I need journalists from diverse backgrounds. I can't tell all the stories that are out there unless I have people who understand the language, the culture, the context, the geopolitics. That's what we are dealing with in a microneighborhood level these days." One way Poling and other media leaders are helping is by granting every student a scholarship that will take care of half the program's $4,400 tuition. "The faint hope of living the Canadian dream sud- FINAL CLEARANCE Men's & Ladies' Waterproof Warm Winter Boots 50-70 Ladies' Samples Sizes 6-7 % OFF 1/2 Price This Week Only! Walkers Ln Appleby Ln In the plaza across from Appleby Mall, north west side Main intersections Appleby Line & New Street X Appleby Mall New St Mon - Wed 10am - 6pm Thurs - Fri 10am - 9pm, Sat 10am-6pm Sun 12pm-5pm Burloak Dr 470 Appleby Line 905-639-2016 QEW N Fairview denly seems not so faint," said Teenaz Javat, a program student who served as a senior business writer in her native India. "As the course unfolds over the next 10 months we can consider ourselves either the pioneers of a movement to integrate foreign trained personnel or guinea pigs in this great experiment. "I for one want to see this glass as half full." Another student Luis Alberto Matta, did a Master's thesis on agrarian reform and rural development as a perspective to build peace in his native Columbia. He has also lectured in Columbia and Spain on a range of issues from globalization and agrarian conflict to human rights. Matta lives in Canada now because his work attracted the attention of the Colombian army and various paramilitary groups who threatened his life, causing him to flee Columbia with his family in 2002. "When I came to Canada I brought a lot of dreams but my first experience was very difficult," said Matta. "English was my first problem and the second problem was my lack of Canadian experience." Matta began earning money for his family any way he could first as a cleaner, then as a truck driver and even as a dish washer, but with the emergence of the Canadian Journalism for Internationally Trained Writers program, Matta is jumping at the chance to start up his career again. "I interpreted this program as the light at the end of my tunnel," he said. "This program offers me an amazing opportunity to get experience in the protocols of the Canadian media. I am learning how they work here." Matta says he is looking forward to once again writing about social problems as he did in Columbia. Fayyaz Walana was a chief reporter in Pakistan until he ran afoul of the country's President Pervez Musharraf. "In one media briefing I asked him a very tough question and he was unable to answer. I was already writing in my daily column about the government corruption because corruption was going on over there in the financial departments," said Walana. "So after that the intelligence agencies started working against me and I had to leave the country." Upon his arrival in Canada Walana worked as a convenience store attendant while he studied to become a financial planner. Despite his current career Walana is glad a course has been designed that will fast track him back to the profession he has a true passion for. "I have almost 10 years experience working as a journalist. I have the attitude of a journalist and I would love to go back to my old field," he said. "Now we are learning and we are networking, we are meeting people and I hope we will find our way."