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The Switchboard Confluence event in June 2025 brought together technology innovators and refugee resettlement professionals to reimagine newcomer support through emerging technologies. Participants shared practical tools, techniques, and examples of how ethical and affordable technologies can address current resettlement challenges, with an emphasis on reaching and serving clients who are not located in proximity to services and resources.

At the March 2025 Metropolis Conference I participated with Peel Newcomer Strategy Group (PNSG) on a panel presentation. If you weren't in the room, you may think you missed it. But, thankfully recently ran a similar panel and the 2024 P2P conference, virtually, so there is a recording. I didn't participate then, but I also have a recording of a very similar presentation I did on the topic of digital inclusion/equity and digital transformation in the sector.

I originally presented this at the Arab Community Centre of Toronto's Josoor Project Conference in March 2024: "Digital Inclusion: From Research to Application - Opportunities, Challenges and Strategies." You can view the video as well as read my full remarks in text.

In this December 2018 video I thought out loud about the future of immigrant/refugee settlement work, but really human service more broadly. We've learned a lot since then. Experienced a lot. I thought it would be interesting to reshare this 2018 reflection now to see where we're at. And not much has changed.

What's in the CFP related to digital that should be acted on?They'll fund your tech. But what should you ask for? I don't have a crystal ball or insider view of IRCC, and they're being vague in some areas. But there are a few areas that seem fairly clear to me where I want to make recommendations. I'm also pointing out areas of the CFP that you need to make sure you actually find and read.

In this episode of the Technology and Human Services podcast I’m speaking with Sampada Kukade from Skills for Change, a Toronto based settlement and employment organization that is no stranger to technology innovation. However, what you’ll find in this conversation, and what I find infinitely useful is that even organizations who are large and growing such as Skills for Change still need support in their digital transformation. And as part of their support, Skills for Change joined a pilot project called Charity Growth Academy run by CanadaHelps, which has been providing organizations, nonprofits, specifically, and charities with support around their digital transformation.

In this newsletter update I provide links to a number of upcoming events related to digital transformation, along with tech-related news and reports, and some immigration and diversity-related stories.

I was asked to contribute to a Future of Good article evaluating the recent federal budget. My high-level evaluation in is the article, but I thought about it a lot when I replied. I'm posting my entire response here.

Refugee 613’s Digital Messaging for Settlement and Integration (DMSI) project has explored the benefits of addressing this challenge by offering newcomers free, easy and fast access to settlement information in their own language and customized to their needs, via off-the-shelf apps on their smartphones. This article discusses the learning from the latest DMSI pilot, the Afghan Digital Service, which uses a private, moderated group on Telegram to provide key settlement information to more than 700 Afghan newcomers.