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Developing the London, Ontario Model to Preserve the Story of Italian Canadians in London.

In Summer 2014, Professor Antonio Calcagno convened an initial meeting with various people of the Italian-Canadian community in London to gather information about the work and history of the Italian-Canadian presence in London, Ontario. Much information came forward and people were very willing to help out in various ways. As a result, another meeting was scheduled for the Fall, with key members of the community, to continue discussing next steps.

In preparation for this meeting, Antonio Calcagno and Caroline di Cocco of ICAP met at the end of the summer to share what had been done in other communities and to discuss the next steps for London, Ontario. The second community meeting was held with representatives of the Marconi Club at King’s College on 8 October 2014. At this meeting the facilitating work of ICAP was explained. All present agreed there was urgency to collecting and preserving recordss of the Italian-Canadian community in London. It was also acknowledged that this responsibility rested with the community members themselves. At this meeting it was agreed that a larger community committee should be formed to bring together leaders in five key areas: academia, religion, arts and culture, business, and social/community. These people were identified and will be contacted to attend a general meeting where the work of ICAP will be discussed and the actual work of identifying, collecting, cataloguing and storing of relevant materials can be organized.

Additionally, the third general meeting will discuss further the delegation of tasks such as a) writing/recording; b) promotion; c) archival work of identifying, storing and collating, etc. An expert from ICAP will be invited to hold a workshop on this topic. This local committee will appoint a chair to coordinate the project in London.

Community discussions with key individuals and organizations and creating a committee are the initial steps to moving this project forward in London. ICAP is pleased to have played a role in facilitating this discussion with the Italian-Canadian community in the city.

Caroline Di Cocco and Antonio CalcagnoIn Summer 2014, Professor Antonio Calcagno convened an initial meeting with various people of the Italian-Canadian community in London to gather information about the work and history of the Italian-Canadian presence in London Ontario. Much information came forward and people were very willing to help out in various ways. As a result, another meeting was scheduled for Fall with key members of the community to continue discussing next steps.

In preparation for this meeting, Antonio Calcagno and Caroline di Cocco of ICAP met at the end of the summer to share what had been done in other communities and to discuss the next steps for London, Ontario. The second community meeting was held with representatives of the Marconi Club at King’s College on October 8, 2014. At this meeting the facilitating work of ICAP was explained. All present agreed there was urgency to collecting and preserving relevant materials of the Italian-

Canadian community in London. It was also acknowledged that this responsibility rested with the community members themselves. At this meeting it was agreed that a larger community committee should be formed to bring together leaders in five key areas: academia, religion, arts and culture, business, and social/community. These people were identified and will be contacted to attend a general meeting where the work of ICAP will be discussed and the actual work of identifying, collecting, cataloguing and storing of relevant materials can be organized.

Additionally, the third general meeting will further discussion the delegation of tasks such as a) writing/recording; b) promotion; c) archival work of identifying, storing and collating, etc. An expert from ICAP will be invited to hold a workshop on this topic. This local committee will appoint a chair to coordinate the project in London.

Community discussions with key individuals and organizations and creating a committee are the initial steps to moving forward this project in London, Ontario. ICAP is pleased to have played a role in facilitating this discussion with the Italian-Canadian Community in London.

Caroline Di Cocco and Antonio Calcagno