Penticton’s City Hall is more accessible than ever thanks to a joint partnership program.
The City of Penticton partnered with South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS) to change the signage for City Hall and make it more accessible to new Canadians and those who speak English as an additional language.
Mayor Andrew Jakubeit thanks SOICS's Nora Haft-Hunt (left) and Tahira Saeed (R) for all their efforts, particularly for proofreading multiple languages. (Photo Credit: City of Penticton)
“New signs may seem like a small addition to the City Hall space, but they are symbolic and reinforce how welcoming Penticton is for visitors and newcomers alike,” said Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit. “We thank South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services for devoting time and energy to this project, and making City Hall a more inviting and friendly place to visit.”
Renovations to City Hall were done in 2014 and involved moving customer-focused services downstairs for a one-stop shop on the first floor. As a result, signage had to be updated, and SOICS approached City staff about making the building more accessible. “We were excited to be included in the City Hall renovation,” said Tahira Saeed, Program Manager for SOICS. “It is a central resource location for our newcomer clients and offering a friendly atmosphere is key to their feeling welcome.”
There is now a feature wall in the City Hall front lobby, highlighting the word “welcome” in English and in 15 other languages: Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Punjabi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.
MLA Dan Ashton poses with Mayor Andrew Jakubeit and SOICS's Tahira Saeed at the new welcome wall. (Photo Credit: City of Penticton)
The City says that new Canadians and immigrants are key to the growth of the South Okanagan, and as such, nurturing their experience is a key economic development strategy for Penticton. The South Okanagan–Similkameen region had 460 new immigrants between 2001-20006, representing about 26 per cent of the region’s net growth.
Currently, the area welcomes about 100 immigrants every year, and growth projections estimate that this number will double.
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