Reflections by Arundati Dandapani, IACC’s CI2.0 Conference Chair, Founder and CEO, Generation1.ca
At the crossroads of multiculturalism and innovation, the Insights Association’s Canada Chapter (IACC)’s Cultural Intelligence 2.0 conference convened trailblazers across industry to confront the growing importance of cultural intelligence in Canada’s rapidly diversifying landscape. Set against the inviting backdrop of George Brown College’s waterfront campus overlooking the sunlit Lake Ontario, this year’s conference brought together a dynamic mix of business leaders, students, and global talent to explore the transformative role of diversity in shaping the future of business, enterprise and society.
Pat Pellegrini, President of IACC and CEO of Vividata, set the stage with a simple yet powerful message: in an increasingly interconnected world, understanding and engaging with diverse cultures is not just an option, but the key to unlocking innovation and long-term success. He highlighted IACC’s achievements, past and present leadership, and laid the groundwork for the future, before passing the spotlight to the Conference Chair.
As Chairperson of the conference, I was honoured to lead this pivotal conversation. In my keynote address titled ‘Future-Ready in North America,’ I posed the question: Are we truly prepared for the next onslaught of global challenges and opportunities manifesting as the next wave of immigrants? I emphasized the urgent need for businesses to adapt to the fluid and shifting cultural dynamics of today’s global post-digital workforce. With Canada’s unprecedented immigration growth and its strategic relationship with and proximity to the US, I encouraged organizations to learn from global examples—both successes and failures—when building inclusive cultures for immigrants.
It’s vital for businesses to rethink strategies to remain competitive in an ever-evolving increasingly diverse marketplace. By 2050, 1 in six people living in high income countries will be immigrants, and the reliance of Western nations on immigrant influxes from lower income countries will only grow. As an advocate and recognized data leader in immigrant integration and multiculturalism, I not only author and present widely on these topics but am constantly working to empower and champion Generation1.ca’s core constituents: our members of immigrant newcomers navigating their journeys as movers and arrivers in every sense armed with an entrepreneurial energy and greater ambition for their new lives, often lacking the industry connections and networks necessary for smoother transitions and success in North America, despite high levels of education, literacy, and digitalization, diverse cultural competence skills and often professional experiences. Find a PDF of my presentation here. Contact Arundati@generation1.ca if you would like an exclusive presentation to your teams on the changing multicultural environment in North America!
A fantastic element of this year’s event was the attendance of my students, mostly international students (“ideal immigrants” as they are known in Western democracies like Canada, US, UK, Australia, etc. spending upto $20 billion annually in the consumer economy in Canada and upto $40 billion in the US), representing a significant portion of our audience, typical of gatherings I convene. My students also see these opportunities as an extension of my classroom – field trips! Their keen presence underscored the future workforce’s diversity and the pressing need for businesses to align their talent strategies with the new global immigrant realities I have written about extensively and been recognized for on global stages as part of my book and impact.
In my address, I also introduced Generation1.ca’s Future Ready Innovators Credential, designed to fast-track immigrants into the workforce by equipping them with key skills essential for success in today’s globalized economy. This data-driven credential is grounded in insights from Generation1.ca’s ongoing waves of our Global Industry Skills Study of industry employers and aims to empower immigrants and international students looking for new opportunities to advance in the sector and their careers. My steadfast commitment to building new pathways to industry manifests in how Generation1.ca helps immigrant newcomers with transferable skills transition into careers across diverse data and adjacent fields well-supported by our highly successful career fairs and case competitions and supporting organizations – IACC has been a past sponsor as well.
Lisa Covens, Senior Vice President at Leger, unveiled through her insightful presentation Cracking the Newcomer Code, a survey of over 2,100 recent Canadian immigrants. Their study collected data solely from their inhouse LEO panel, highlighted the shared economic concerns of immigrants and the general population but emphasized the greater urgency for economic security, jobs, housing, and healthcare among newcomers than the Canada-born. With Canada aiming to welcome 500,000 immigrants annually, mostly under 55 and seeking economic opportunities, education, and family reunification, the data revealed challenges in employment and financial self-sufficiency especially for racialized immigrants. Despite these obstacles, the majority of newcomers reported feeling welcome and integrated (even if this was less among racialized immigrants) and not regretting their decision to move, showcasing their resilience and optimism. Find more of their results here.
In an environment today where the racialized population of Canada stands at close to 10 million, representing a jump in the past four decades from 5% to 27% of the total population based on Statistics Canada data, Rupen Seoni, Chief Client Officer of Environics Analytics, demonstrated the power of micro-targeting in reaching cultural markets, citing data from their work and also a recent McKinsey report. It became clear that, in today’s world, marketing strategies must be hyper-personalized to reflect the unique characteristics of diverse communities. These data are important for monitoring your competitive advantage and also seeing how your competitors are performing against you. They help clients with their PRISM segmentations and AccultuRates segmentations on immigrant status, visible minorities, language and religion attributes to understand better their lifestyles and acculturation journey. Find his presentation here.
Joycelyn David, Owner and CEO of AV Communications, spoke about the crucial role of multicultural marketing and the importance of avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches in a country where 65% of the population identifies as multicultural. The first half of her presentation focused on the persisting issue of the lack of representation in marketing and the high proportion of multicultural marketers and advertising professionals reporting microaggressions at work based on the results of POCAM’s latest Visible and Vocal study. The second half of her presentation emphasized that AI-powered tools can either amplify or harm cultural representation if not used responsibly. For AI to serve multicultural audiences, it must be trained with culturally diverse data inputs. This conversation will become even more critical as businesses seek to develop AI systems that reflect the true breadth of Canada’s demographic and sociological diversity.
Integrating cultural intelligence into business strategies allows companies to reflect Canada’s rich diversity and foster long-term success in a fast-evolving multicultural environment where over 1.5 million newcomers are expected to arrive in Canada over the next three years in addition to 700,000+ international students according to IRCC reports. Rahul Sethi, Managing Director and Edward Der, Head of Insights from CulturaliQ discussed emerging trends in multicultural research, emphasizing the importance of understanding cultural nuances that impact today’s newcomer. They took us through a study they did for Imagine Canada, an association that strengthens Canadian charities and non-profits to better serve individuals and communities that sheds light on some of the reasons behind why this group feels overlooked including barriers they faced in the workplace. Interesting attributes tracked included newcomers’ commitment to volunteerism within immigrant communities, indexing higher on giving back when compared to native born populations. This desire to give back to the very systems that supported them—whether to food banks, shelters, or places of worship—underscores newcomers’ deep-filled purpose towards community building, commitment to integration and long-term resilience, concluded the team. Find their presentation here.
A central theme of the conference was the crucial role of authentic representation in achieving true inclusivity, rather than relying on surface-level categorizations of cultural groups, such as Hispanics. The presentation, Loving Life: Connecting with the Hispanic Community in Canada, by Vividata and TLN Media Group, showcased the resilience and vibrancy of immigrant communities, with examples of successful initiatives like Toronto’s Salsa on St. Clair and the growth of multicultural media in Canada resonating deeply with their core communities. Brands are encouraged to engage with their communities consistently throughout the year, not just during cultural festivals and celebrations. Mike Fragomeni, Insights Marketing Director of Vividata and Daniel Di Felice, Head of Insights, and Camila Gonzales, TV Host from TLN Media Group provided valuable insights into fostering genuine connections with the Hispanic community. Despite the rich ethnic diversity within this group, they are united by a shared language—Spanish—which deeply ties them to their heritage and culture. Brands that acknowledge and embrace this cultural connection are better positioned for success within this dynamic and growing LatinX community. Find their presentation here.
The day’s discussions culminated in a powerful and insightful panel, Creating Inclusive Futures for Multifaceted Identities and Insights, which I had the privilege of moderating featuring esteemed industry veterans such as Jake Dheer (Senior Manager, OMNI TV), Rahul Sethi (CulturaliQ), Jessica Borges (Group Vice President, Visionnaire), Camila Gonzales and Daniel Di Felice (TLN Media Group), and Joycelyn David (AV Communications). Our discussion captured the complexities and aspirations of modern multiculturalism, examining Canada’s diverse cultural markets and highlighting the critical role of empathy, authentic engagement, and cultural fluency in shaping strategies that resonate with sensitivity and precision.
An OMNI TV poll revealed that over a third of new Canadians experience workplace discrimination, particularly around race or ethnicity, with more than half (56%) believing it is harder to advance professionally in Canada. A significant portion (35%) attributes this challenge to a lack of professional networks and the non-recognition of foreign credentials. In this challenging landscape, Generation1.ca stands as a vital connector, bridging the gap between newcomers and industry employers, and creating opportunities that foster their career advancement and integration.
Globally, 61% of immigrants express concern about rising anti-immigrant sentiments, according to the same poll, while foreign interference is also cited as a major issue in upcoming elections. These pressing global and domestic challenges were discussed candidly in our panel, which served as a critical platform for exploring the current state of inclusion and charting new paths toward a more equitable global and North American future.
The Cultural Intelligence 2.0 Conference was not just a discussion—it was a rallying call for organizations and businesses to embrace a more inclusive, data-driven, and empathetic future. Attendees left empowered with actionable insights to build stronger, more meaningful relationships with diverse audiences and to harness the vast opportunities presented by our multicultural society. Following my closing remarks, and those of our IACC President’s Pat Pellegrini, Environics Analytics’ President Jan Kestle praised the agenda and the speakers, urging the continuation of this vital dialogue in the years ahead.
As we look to the future, one thing is clear: organizations that prioritize cultural intelligence will not only succeed but lead in our rapidly diversifying world. If you are committed to multiculturalism and diversity in business, I encourage you to subscribe to our Culturally Significant newsletter for the latest events, data stories, and insights affecting newcomers to North America. Follow us on LinkedIn to stay engaged with this growing movement.
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