I read your article of January 14 in The Press with great interest. Your testimony is very touching, very inspiring and meets my deepest convictions. In our interconnected world, as you have pointed out, it is important to live memorable experiences, to seek common denominators, to unite, to train visionary and unifying leaders who have the collective good at heart and live it- together.
When I arrived at UQAM more than 20 years ago, my colleagues at the School of Languages noticed that their students who had to learn French to integrate into their new host society were unable to meet Francophones with whom to exchange ideas to practice French. On the other hand, my future teacher students had few immigrants in their network of acquaintances. From this observation was born the intercultural twinning project.
Initially, the pairings were aimed at exchanges between immigrant and teaching students in authentic situations.
Over the years, pairings have been offered to students in social work, psychology, communication, sociology, careerology, language teaching. Pairings have also been organized in several CEGEPs between Anglophones and Francophones, between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals in human sciences, police techniques, nursing programs and also in universities here and elsewhere. Our research group has established a community of practice on twinning in partnership with community groups to maintain ties during the pandemic2.
As you mentioned, the immersive experience is crucial in mitigating polarization, prejudice and discrimination, and its positive impact on intergroup relations and social cohesion is well established.
As you said so well, it is time to give back, not only individually, but also collectively and institutionally.
I would echo the words of Marco Micone who proposed that French, whether it be a mother tongue or a second language, should become a fraternal language for all citizens of Quebec. The immigrants of yesterday are the members of today’s host society and the immigrants of today will be the members of the host society of tomorrow.