The refugee myth-busting campaign was actually a campaign that we did in 2012 and 2013, so it was prior to the arrival of the Syrian refugees specifically. It was in response to the number of refugees we had in the community and some of the misconceptions. If you're getting into trouble, then that becomes sort of a pervasive perspective of refugees.
I think refugee settlement is about nation building, and that has been part of Canada's proud history. Particularly in terms of the next generation, it's the whole promise of this group. In Surrey 60% of the Syrians who have arrived are children and youth, so I think if we work with those families and with those young people, they will become the next citizens contributing to the community.
In our myth-busting campaign there was a focus on the education sector, so we developed training from elementary school through to the post-secondary level. With the little guys it was around artwork and stories that the children produced. With the high school and post-secondary students, it was workshops that were developed by a team of young people. It was making sure that as refugee children and youth hit the education sector, their needs were understood and they were properly supported and encouraged and that there were expectations for them to succeed.
We also did some digital storytelling. Some young refugee youth were trained and made videos about their experiences, about their views on issues in terms of English language training and so forth. Then we created some materials that a community...just in terms of who were the refugees, what were the numbers, etc. I think often the community thinks the numbers are much larger than they are, whereas in fact they really are a small percentage compared to our total immigrant population.