IIM offered integrated intercultural programs and services to the public and to different institutions and organizations of Quebec society. These services were gradually developed to meet the requests and needs of community at large and institutions and continued until IIM closed its doors in 2012. These services were conceived to compliment and support deepening the learning process of pluralism and interculturality offered through the activities and programs of the IIM.
Reference (brochures)
- Bilingual Intercultural Library: an information and documentation centre on different religions and cultures, was established (1963-) and developed into an intercultural library recognized as essential resource for the public, government and institutions, as well as for other organizations in matters related to pluralism and interculturality. These works cover disciplines such as philosophy, comparative religions, anthropology, sociology, psychology. The library contained books/monographies, local, national, international journals and periodicals; audio and video cassettes; geographic and ethnographic maps etc.
- Ethnodoc-Quebec and Ethnodoc-Canada (1985-): A database on community-based resource organizations at the local, national and international levels, containing over 600 notices.
- Speakers Bureau/Resource-Persons services (1967-): Firstly, Jacques Langlais, Robert Vachon and Kalpana Das, were regularly invited as guest speakers in various seminars, conferences and colloquia in different institutions, NGOS, community groups etc. Secondly, a collaboration was established with a selected group of cultural resource persons from different religious and cultural communities, to speak on specific religion or culture, experiences of immigration etc. This service was sought mainly by various institutions, international organizations, social service agencies, community organizations and so on.
- Intercultural Newsbulletin: A publication that served as an information/communication tool to announce upcoming activities and programs of the IIM, but primarily the activities related to diversity, intercultural/ethnocultural activities, inter-faith/inter-religious events etc., including references to other organizations and institutions of Montreal and regions of Quebec.
- Consultation and Counseling Services (1970s-2012): These services were sought by individuals, family members like parents experiencing intercultural/inter-religious conflicts in their lives. Professionals such as teachers, school administrators, social workers, sought assistance, government functionaries, community workers etc. dealing with intercultural issues at workplace. At an average of 20 such consultations/counselling per month were provided free of charge.
Intercultural Training: (digitized documents)
General Goals and Approach:
- To help participants develop skills to understand persons, families and communities of diverse religious, cultural and racial backgrounds.
- To help acquire intercultural competencies to work in a pluriethnic settings.
- To invite participants/social actors to seek alternatives.
The pedagogical approach to these training programs involved a synergy between theory and praxis. It attempted to bring participants to recognize and integrate the knowledge and knowhow of various cultures into their professional practices.
Two modalities for these training workshops:
- Regular Training workshops offered at IIM: participants were required to register individually to attend these workshops. A Syllabus of the contents was prepared for each workshop according to the thematic, issues, and objectives.
- Customized Training workshops: These training programs were offered on the basis of the nature of requests made by the institutions, organizations and groups. The contents are defined and adapted to the needs and realities of a group preceded by a needs assessment process.
Two categories of programs: (brochures)
General programs:
- Cultural Awareness workshops
- Intercultural communication workshops
- Intercultural understanding and intercultural relations
- Intercultural mediation
Specific programs: (Brochures)Interculturality and Community Development
- Interculturality, Education, Teaching
- Interculturality and Social and Health Care intervention
- Cultural pluralism, International Development and Human Rights
Follow-up Intercultural Consultation Service:
This service was provided to compliment the learning of the participants during the training workshops and to the decision makers/administrators of institutions, organizations.
- Professional support for organizations and institutions to analyse their needs regarding diversity in their workplaces and set objectives for a training session
- Support to develop intercultural training programs and services, including evaluation.
- Follow-ups and supervision for intercultural intervention
- Provide opinion and advice on projects, programs, and theses concerning pluralism, diversity and interculturality, interreligious and race relations
- Help community organizations in their organizational development in their mission to serve increasingly diverse communities