OCASI Professional Development Conference

Mark your calendars!

Pending funding approval, the OCASI Spring 2010 Professional Development Conference will take place on May 12-14, 2010 at the Nottawasaga Inn, Alliston, Ontario.

We would appreciate your contribution. You can participate by completing the Training and Professional Development Needs Assessment Survey. Besides, you can also become a Professional Development Conference Advisory Committee member, or provide your input through other means of participation.

Please note that we have a Call for Proposals only once a year previous to the Fall Conference. Last Fall we received over 100 responses to our Call for Proposals and we will be continue using them for the Spring 2010 Conference. However, if needs arises, we will do a targeted search for facilitators.

2010 OCASI Training and Professional Development Needs Assessment Survey

The OCASI Training Team once again invites your valuable input on the 2010 OCASI Professional Development Conference. Even if you are not planning to attend this year’s Conference, your contribution is still very relevant to the sector. We are particularly seeking feedback from frontline workers, program coordinators and managers.

The survey is available online at: www.ocasi.org/pdsurvey

Please respond to the survey by Friday, January 15 at 5:00 PM.

This committee is comprised of representatives from OCASI member organizations, OCASI staff, and the OCASI Membership Services Committee. Meetings will take place monthly at the OCASI office, or via conference call for committee members outside of Toronto or who choose this mean of participation.

The purpose of the Committee is to provide input and advice regarding the format, content and evaluation of the 2010 OCASI Professional Development Conferences, taking into account the training needs of the OCASI membership and other immigrant and refugee service providers.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Provide input and advice on the format and content of the conference
• Share expertise, information and resourcesIdentify trainers and facilitators
• Identify trainers and facilitators
• Ensure that the conference addresses the different needs of the OCASI membership in the various regions of Ontario

Option # 1: Joining the PD Conference Advisory Committee

If you are interested in joining the Conference Advisory Committee, contact the Conference Team, Annie Zhang, Events Coordinator at azhang@ocasi.org, or Paulina Maciulis, Conference Coordinator at pmaciulis@ocasi.org, before Wednesday Jan 13, 2010 with your complete contact information and indicating that you have chosen Option # 1.

Option # 2: Providing input though other means of participation

Your input and participation is important to the relevance and success of the conference. As an OCASI member agency, you can also participate in any of the following ways:

• Provide your personal and agency input directly to the Conference Team
• Discuss the issue at your regional meetings.
• Provide your personal and agency input to your Regional Director

Please contact Annie Zhang or Paulina Maciulis with your complete contact information and indicating that you have chosen Option # 2.

Next PD Conference Advisory Committee Meeting

The next Committee meeting will take place January 20, 2010, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the OCASI office. Conference Call information will be provided to Committee members as soon as they join the Committee. Agenda and other documents will be provided by Jan 13, 2010.