Hockey Sticks and Bagpipes: Wilmot Says Welcome to Refugees
Wilmot Responds has made a video to celebrate the historic arrival of newcomers to the area.
New Hamburg, Ontario, January 15, 2016 (Newswire.com) - In December 2015, the people of Wilmot township, plus elected officials, came together to make a video and offer a warm welcome to our new friends and neighbours.
Individuals, families, church congregations, businesses, service clubs, township staff, our local hockey team: everyone shot their contributions on phones and tablets, which we spliced together to form a compilation of 52 videos featuring over 350 people.
"I'm hoping the video can be shown to newcomers so they understand how welcome they are in our community."
Nigel Gordijk, Video creator
The video - titled "Wilmot Says Welcome" - starts with Wilmot's Mayor Les Armstrong, and also includes Councillors Jeff Gerber and Barry Fisher. Harold Albrecht MP and Michael Harris MPP also contributed. Submissions included English, French, Spanish, German, Celtic, Arabic, plus hockey sticks and bagpipes.
The video's creator, local graphic designer Nigel Gordijk, said: "I'm hoping the video can be shown to newcomers so they understand how welcome they are in our community."
Gordijk is providing pro bono marketing and communication services to Wilmot Responds, the local response to the refugee crisis. The organization is a community effort to raise funds, coordinate donations and offer practical support for refugee families in Wilmot and the surrounding areas. It is an informal partnership between local churches, communities and individuals.
The idea came to him when he saw the ffirst refugees were arriving at Toronto's Pearson Airport. The hashtag "Welcome to Canada" started trending, so he thought "What if we could do a video and get people to actually contribute their own videos?"
The short video clips were taken with cellphones or tablets, which makes it look "a little rough around the edges," Gordijk added. "That helps it look like more of a grassroots project."
The finished video can be seen at www.wilmotresponds.ca/welcome/.
Music: "Hard Times Come Again No More" - Stephen Foster. Performed by Diana and Mike Erb.
