We have asked for your voice! We’ve heard you, and now we are responding!

The last few weeks have been particularly challenging for students, more specifically for Black students and BIPOC students (Black, Indigenous and people of colour). Please join us for this time to gather, reflect, acknowledge, recognize, express and be heard.

What to expect:
• Open conversation
• Lightly guided reflection activities

BIPOC Table Talk – June 17, 5:30pm-7:30pm — register at: bit.ly/BIPOCTableTalk 

Black Table Talk – June 18, 5:30pm-7:30pm — register at: bit.ly/VBlackTableTalk 

This event is a partnership between UTM Equity and Diversity Office, UTSC Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office, Hart House, UTM Indigenous Centre, UTM Centre for Student Engagement and the UTM International Education Centre.

This online event will be live streamed on the Centre for Ethics YouTube Channel 

With different voices and perspectives flooding the forum of public discourse over righting injustice, it is important to be reflective about the language of debate. The framing of public discourse can have implications for dialogue, substantive as opposed to symbolic justice, and progress.

MMSt Town Hall to consult on anti-racism actions

Click here to join the Town Hall on July 2nd.

 Panel Discussion: Anti-Racism & Mental Health – July 7, 2020

Presented in partnership with U of T Sport & Rec and the Toronto SAD Collective. This event is open to all U of T Community members.

Tuesday July 7, 2020 |  2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST | Zoom

This panel discussion will unpack ways to stay mentally well and resilient during the fight against anti-Blackness and racism.

Panelists will discuss how mental health differs in the communities they work with, and offer meaningful suggestions for support and healing.

Meghan Yuri Young, co-founder of the SAD Collective will be moderating this discussion.

A Q&A will take place after the discussion. If you have questions for the panelists on anti-racism and mental health, please submit them to diversityandequity.kpe@utoronto.ca . We will also be monitoring the chat during the panel and will accept questions from the chat directly related to the discussion. 

Panelist Info & Registration at: https://uoft.me/armhpanel

Panel includes:

• Natacha Pennycooke – Vice-chair, Association of Black Psychologists | Registered Psychotherapist with expertise on generational trauma in racialized communities
• Suzanne Stewart– Director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health | Associate Professor OISE – Indigenous healing in clinical counselling psychology | Chair of Aboriginal section of Canadian Association of Psychology
• Punita Lumb – Program Coordinator, Multi-faith Centre | PhD student, Equity in Higher Education | Award wining researcher in racism and equity studies
• Emillie Nguyen – Prevention and Promotion Worker, HongFook Mental Health Association

Diversity & Inclusion at the iSchool – A Panel Discussion

Thurs, Oct.1 @ 2pm Est: “Dibaajimowin, a narrative with Audrey Rochette” with Audrey Rochette, Indigenous Relations Consultant and Indigenous Partnerships & Relations Specialist at UofT’s Woodsworth College

Thur., Oct. 8 @ 2pm Est: “Hidden Voices – The Plurality of Provenance & the Deconstruction of Colonial ‘Truth’” with Jesse Boiteau, Senior Archivist, National Centre for Truth & Reconciliation

This speaker series is taking place as part of INF2125 Developing a Diversity-Mindset in the Information Professions, a course at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. See below for more details!

Registration:

Send your official university email, full name, which lecture you’d like to attend, and any accessibility concerns to jamila.ghaddar@mail.utoronto.ca.

Sponsors & Endorsers:

This speaker series has been generously sponsored by the Dean’s Office and the Master of Museum Studies Program at the Faculty of Information and University of Toronto. It is endorsed by the following student associations and groups at that Faculty: Doctoral Student Association and its Indigenous Connections Working Group, the Master of Information Student Council (MISC) and its Diversity Working Group, the Museum Professionals of Colour, and the Master of Museum Studies Association.

Lecture & Speaker Details:

Audrey Rochette is Anishinaabe from Waabadowgang- Whitesand First Nation. “Dibaajimowin, a narrative with Audrey Rochette” will draw on her rich academic, research and professional experience in a conversation on decolonization and responding to the Calls to Action of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission in the education, information and heritage sectors.

Audrey is an Indigenous Relations Consultant. Her passion for Indigenous relations was cultivated through her roles in the Indigenous community as the Senior Development Officer with Indspire, an Indigenous-led registered charity that invests in the education of Indigenous People and imagineNATIVE Film + Media, the largest Indigenous film festival in the world. Audrey completed her Masters in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto with research focused on decolonizing museums as well as Indigenous voices, language, and ceremonies in museums. She was also the lead Truth and Reconciliation Consultant for George Brown College, delivering a comprehensive report on Indigenous Education. Audrey was a junior fellow at Massey College where she served as the Co-Chair for the annual Chapel Symposium and a committee member for Indigenous Initiatives at the College. Audrey also sits on the Indigenous Advisory Circle for the City of Toronto, Museums. She currently works at the University of Toronto as an Indigenous Partnerships & Relations Specialist at Woodsworth College where she advances partnerships that facilitate the reciprocal exchange of knowledge.

Audrey is committed to positively impacting the under representation of Indigenous students in post-secondary education. Audrey served as Co-Chair of the University of Toronto Decanal Working Group on Indigenous Teaching and Learning, mandated to improve the education of faculty, staff and students about Indigenous language and culture. In this capacity, she participated in an extensive yearlong campus wide consultation process and helped author a comprehensive report on ways to strengthen Indigenous partnerships within the University of Toronto and to build curriculum, student research opportunities and co-curricular opportunities taught from an Indigenous perspective and incorporating Indigenous content. As an active and proud member of the University of Toronto she has contributed to several other programs, initiatives and events.

Jesse Boiteau is the Senior Archivist at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), and is a member of the Métis Nation. He completed his Masters in Archival Studies at the University of Manitoba, focusing on the intersections between Western archival theory and practice, and Indigenous notions of archives and memory to shed light on how the NCTR can accommodate and blend multiple viewpoints in its processes. Jesse works within a close archives team to process the records collected by the TRC, make new collections available online, and respond to access requests from Residential School Survivors. He is also continually researching ways to leverage new technologies to honour the experiences and truths of Survivors through innovative and participatory archival practices.

In post-TRC Canada, archives and archivists are beginning to acknowledge the role that archives have played in colonization and the urgent need to decolonize archival practices to accommodate the marginalized voices of those silenced by archival description and collection mandates. In the case of the archives at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), these are the voices of the Residential School Survivors, their families, and their home communities. These voices have the power to fill gaps in historical narratives and disrupt the roars of colonialism present across the millions of records created by the government departments and religious entities that ran the schools for more than a century. That said, how do we transition from acknowledging our past role as protectors of colonialism’s documented “success” to successfully implementing decolonizing practices? Jesse Boiteau’s presentation explores how the deconstruction of colonial records and colonial “truth” can help us understand and describe the plurality of provenance in archives. It will also confront our understanding of archival authorities to offer a more balanced relationship between the creator(s) and the so-called subject(s) of records by centering the latter as active participants in archival descriptive practices.

Defund the Police: Reinvesting in Our Communities

Online event when conversations starting on October 6 – through to November. Click event details for more information. Details on event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/miijim-food-as-relations-tickets-122187880239

The LCO is Ontario’s leading law reform agency.  The LCO provides independent, balanced, and authoritative advice on complex and important legal policy issues.  Through this work, the LCO promotes access to justice, evidence-based legislation and legal policies, and public debate on important and topical law reform issues.

The LCO’s current portfolio includes projects addressing AI and Algorithms in the Justice System, Consumer Protection in the Digital Marketplace, the Last Stages of Life, the Indigenous Last Stages of Life, Family Law Protection Orders and Environmental Rights.  The LCO is also developing a project on environmental issues.  Recent projects include Class Actions and Defamation Law in the Internet Age.

The LCO is governed by an 11-person Board of Governors.  The LCO seeks to ensure the LCO Board reflects the following:

• Experience or interest in law reform and/or Ontario’s justice system;

• Experience in policy areas or academic fields relevant to the LCO’s work (including law and
  other areas);
• Ensuring the LCO Board reflects Ontario’s diversity, including Indigenous and racialized representation;
• Ensuring the LCO Board includes members from across Ontario;
• Ensuring the LCO Board reflects the bilingual nature of Ontario’s justice system; and,
• Ensuring the LCO Board includes both lawyers and non-lawyers.

Appointments are for three years with a potential renewal for an additional term. The Board is responsible for the overall supervision of the LCO. This role includes approving the LCO’s Strategic Plan, projects, final reports, and recommendations as well as the LCO’s policies and budgets.  Applicants must be residents of Ontario.

To submit an application, please email a cover letter and resume in one pdf file to lawcommission@lco-cdo.org.  The application deadline is Friday, October 16^th, 2020.

For more information about the position, see here. You may also contact Nye Thomas, LCO Executive Director, at athomas@lco-cdo.org or 416-402-7267.

More information about the LCO is available at www.lco-cdo.org.

Raj Anand, Chair

On behalf of the LCO Board of Governors

 Kisîwâtisôwin: Self-Compassion & Relationship Workshop for Indigiqueers

 Navigating Grad School as a Racialized Grad Student

Oct 23, 1:30-2:30pm

https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home/gradlife.htm?eventId=27225

 Perspectives on Openness: Honouring Indigenous Ways of Knowing

—

Hi, all.

I am moderating a panel discussion next week entitled: Perspectives on Openness: Honouring Indigenous Ways of Knowing and it may be of interest to members of the Archive/CounterArchive project.

Description: October 19-26, 2020 is Open Access Week and this year’s theme is Open With Purpose: Taking Action to Build Structural Equity and Inclusion. In an era of open scholarship and research, how do we as a research community navigate and balance openness while respecting Indigenous knowledge and cultural expression? Hosted by the York University Libraries, and moderated by Stacy Allison-Cassin, Associate Librarian, this panel event offers an opportunity to encourage broader participation in conversations and actions around emerging scholarly communication issues and will center Indigenous approaches to open scholarship and research.

Join us with Alan Ojiig Corbiere, Assistant Professor (Department of History), Deborah McGregor, Associate Professor (Osgoode Hall Law School and Faculty of Environmental Studies), and Sean Hillier, Assistant Professor (School of Health Policy & Management) as they lead a discussion on the themes of openness, open scholarship, and Indigenous knowledge.

Please follow the link to register: https://yorku.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rvJ-NPVrTXqByUdag6LlMA

Stacy

Stacy Allison-Cassin, PhD

Associate Librarian

Department of Student Learning and Academic Success

Scott Library, York University

UofT DHN’s Lightning Lunch: Indigenous Data Studies Tuesday October 27, 2020 

In the second installment of this year’s DHN Lightning Lunches, Jennifer Wemigwans (Leadership, Higher and Adult Education), Karyn Recollet (WGSI), and David Gaertner (First Nations and Indigenous Studies at UBC), speak on their work in Indigenous Knowledge Education, performance in urban indigenous land relations, and cyberspace in/as a space for storytelling.

This month’s Lightning Lunch will take place Tuesday October 27th, 2020 from 12:30-1:30pm. Please register here: Tinyurl.com/dhn-Oct27

Speaker Biographies:

Jennifer Wemigwans is a new media producer/ helper, writer and scholar specializing in the convergence between education, Indigenous knowledge and new media technologies. Her work with diverse Indigenous Knowledge projects across Turtle Island break new ground in conceptualizing media studies and actively contributing to Indigenous resurgence. Dr. Wemigwans is an Assistant Professor in the Adult Education and Community Development program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

An urban Cree scholar/artist/and writer, Karyn Recollet’s work focuses on relationality and care as both an analytic and technology for Indigenous movement-based forms of inquiry within urban spaces. Dr. Recollet works collaboratively with Indigenous dance-makers and scholars to theorize forms of urban glyphing. Dr. Recollet is in conversation with dance choreographers, Black and Indigenous futurist thinkers and Indigenous and Black geographers as ways to theorize and activate futurist, feminist, celestial and decolonial land-ing relationships with more-than-human kinships, and each other.

David Gaertner is an assistant professor in the Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia. His articles have appeared in Canadian Literature, American Indian Cultural and Research Journal, and Bioethical Inquiry, among other publications. He is the editor of Sôhkêyihta: The Poetry of Sky Dancer Louise Bernice Halfe and Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island (with Sophie McCall, Deanna Reder, and Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill). His latest book, The Theatre of Regret: Literature, Art, and the Politics of Reconciliation is forthcoming from UBC Press (November 15, 2020).

 Anti-O Convos: Hot Topics | A Project of Possibility: Mending the Relationship

Wed, Oct. 28 @ 12pm

Register: https://harthouse.ca/events/anti-o-convos-a-project-of-possibility

Hosted by UTM EDIO Indigenous Initiatives Unit

Event time: Oct 29, 2020 11:30 AM EST

Often times when we engage in conversations around racism, it’s viewed from a binary lens – Whites racist towards Blacks; however, anti-Blackness is very pervasive in communities of colour, it shows up as prejudice, colourism and internalized racism. To work towards dismantling racism we have to address anti-Blackness that exists within POC communities, otherwise racism itself will never be eradicated. In this discussion, UTM’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office in partnership with UTM’s Connections & Conversations, will talk about anti-Blackness in communities of colour and discuss ways of standing in solidarity together with the following panelists:

Winnie Falkenstein – Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Director, UTSC
Cat Criger – Indigenous Advisor, UTM

Guest panelists:
Anu Radha – curator, community-based consultant, QTBIPOC Sauga
jeewan chanicka – former Superintendent of Equity, Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression and Superintendent of Schools in Canada’s largest school district

*Please note, this event is intended for those who identify as Black, Indigenous & People of Colour (BIPOC). People of Colour refers to those from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds such as: Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, multiracial, biracial, etc.*

*Please note, only those with Utoronto emails, ie. .utoronto.ca, mail.utoronto.ca, will be able to join this online workshop. If you register with an external email address you will be contacted given 24 hrs to re-register with your utoronto email address, if not your registration will be unfortunately removed. If you require an accommodation to join this virtual workshop, please contact UTM’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office at edo.utm@utoronto.ca.*

QUEER & TRANS STUDENTS OF COLOUR HALLOWEEN EDITION: GHOSTS, GAMES & GAB

Friday, October 30, 2020

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (EST)

Zoom Video Conference (Register for more details)

Join the Queer & Trans Students of Colour for a Halloween themed discussion and social featuring conversations about representation in the horror genre and appropriation during Halloween celebrations, followed by games! We will be playing some Jackbox games (like Trivia Murder Party, Quiplash 2 and Tee KO) and Skribbl.io. More game info below!

Game Info:

• Trivia Murder Party (Trivia game)
• Quiplash 2 (Coming up with phrases)
• Tee KO (Drawing game)
• io (Pictionary)

Registration required. If you have any accessibility needs that you require accommodations for to attend this event, please get in touch with us at sgdo@utoronto.ca. Attendees are welcome to wear Halloween costumes!

If you have any accessibility needs that you require accommodations for to attend this event, please get in touch with us at sgdo@utoronto.ca.

Registration is required. By registering you will be signing up to receive Zoom details for all of the 2020-21 Queer & Trans Students of Colour (QTSOC) events. These are drop-in events, so you are welcome to attend whichever session you would like. If you would like to be removed from the QTSOC events mailing list, email us at sgdo@utoronto.ca at any time.

Register for free to receive Zoom details to Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 Queer & Trans Students of Colour events.

Find out more about this event.

Join this event on Facebook.

 In Conversation with Gendai

We are proud to announce that we are hosting “In Conversation with Gendai” with Marsya Maharani and Petrina Ng, happening on Tuesday November 3rd from 5pm to 6pm EST over on our MPOC Bb Collab channel in the Virtual Inforum. You can also access the channel through the guest link which you can find here (direct link https://ca.bbcollab.com/guest/26def00ab6094af889cdf2f54335be3e )

As the new stewards of Tkaronto/Toronto-based collective Gendai, independent curator Marsya Maharani and artist Petrina Ng are building upon the organization’s twenty-year legacy of decentering whiteness by investing in BIPOC-led and equitable arts labour through collective research and practice. With research interests expanding from issues of decolonization, collective values, working conditions, alternative governance, and radical allyship, Petrina and Marsya are informed by their roles and responsibilities as racialized settlers and uninvited guests working and learning on Turtle Island. In 2020, Gendai launched its new direction with two programs: Gendai MA MBA, a think-tank for BIPOC-led arts collectives to co-learn and resource-share; and Gendai CO-OP, a peer-led accountability program for cultural institutions invested in improving racial equity. Working to simultaneously dismantle and strengthen cultural institutions, Gendai invests in racialized arts practitioners as the next generation of cultural leaders, radical thinkers, and visionaries who embody new pathways towards more equitable futures.

Other upcoming events include:

Nov 17 5-6pm EST:  A Talk with Twysted Miyake-Mugler from Toronto Kiki Ballroom Alliance

Nov 24 5-6pm EST: Zine-Making Workshop + Wellness Discussion with Melina Mehr

For information, contact mpoc.uoft@gmail.com

 There is No I in We: Ancestral Memory of Anti-Black Racism and Sexual Violence with Melissa Taylor

Our grief and trauma today is with our ancestors’ grief & trauma of yesterday. Our grief is not limited to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and those who passed before them; it is a collective experience of systemic anti-Black racism which leaves our nervous system in a constant state of fight, flight, freeze, and/or befriend. In this 1.5-hour workshop, *students will learn about ancestral memory, how to recognize when one is re-living a traumatic experience, what is the nervous system, how to regulate your nervous system and the importance of collective care.

*For Black Identified University of Toronto Students Only.

Thursday November 5, 2020
6:30p.m. – 8:00p.m. EST
Register here

To learn more about this event and further sessions in our series Healing Through the Intersections: Race, Black Identity and Sexual Violence, please visit our website.

 Black Like Us: Parenting from a Black Father’s Lens

Offered by the UofT Family Care Office

Date: Monday, November 9th, 2020
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

This webinar will look at parenting from the lens of Black fathers and what it means to parent Black children during a time of Covid-19 and Anti- Black racism. What does it mean to teach our Black children about self-love during a time of discrimination and hate?

Find out about strategies, tools, resources available to support Black children around education, policing and mentorship.

This webinar will also touch on allyship and what can non-Black folks do for their part to challenge anti-Black racism in Toronto.

Facilitator: Brandon Hay (MES), founder of the Black Daddies Club, www.theblackdaddiesclub.com.

Healing Through the Intersections Series: Race, Black Identity & Sexual Violence

We recognize that Black members of the university have been continuously and generationally subjected to anti-Black violence and its trauma, including forms of gender-based violence. We grieve the loss of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, and many more.

We standby our commitment to actively centre the lived experiences of Black survivors of sexual violence in our work while ensuring to hold space for those who live at the intersections of Indigenous, queer, trans, and disabled identities.

You may read our statement here.

We invite UofT Black students to attend the dedicated healing spaces held on October 22 & November 5, 2020. We invite UofT Black staff, faculty and librarians at UofT to attend the dedicated healing space held on October 27, 2020. We also invite UofT Black, Indigenous or Racialized students to attend the healing spaces on November 3 & 17, 2020.

To learn more about these events, please visit our website

A special Toronto Data Workshop meeting focused on racial discrimination in Canadian prison populations 

I’d like to invite you to a special Toronto Data Workshop meeting focused on racial discrimination in Canadian prison populations. Please feel free to share this invitation widely.

• What: A conversation with Globe and Mail data journalist Tom Cardoso on the stats & data underpinning ‘Bias Behind Bars’. In this series of articles Tom finds that ‘Black and Indigenous inmates are more likely to get worse scores than white inmates, based solely on their race’.  These scores contribute to the conditions a prisoner is subject to and parole decisions. More here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-investigation-racial-bias-in-canadian-prison-risk-assessments/.
• When: Monday 9 November @ 4pm.
• Details: 
  • Link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84277066292
  • Meeting ID: 842 7706 6292
  • Password: TO_data

Indigenous Interventions: Reshaping Archives and Museums

Indigenous Interventions: Reshaping Archives and Museums

Join us for a symposium co-hosted by the Field Museum, Northwestern University, and the Newberry in which artists, archeologists, curators, and scholars will discuss how Native people engage with and challenge archives and museums through art, community-based practice, scholarship, and curation.

Friday, November 13, 2020

9:30 am to 3:15 pm (EST)

This program will be held virtually on Zoom. Registration required.
[ https://www.newberry.org/11132020-indigenous-interventions-reshaping-archives-and-museums ]

UofT Equity Census

Count Yourself In

Equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental values at the University of Toronto. Building on U of T’s Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Excellence, we are committed to advancing equity within our practices and processes, and have launched the U of T Student Equity Census.

This Census is a tool that supports the University to better understand the demographics of our student population. The data we collect will be used to develop, assess, and maintain programs and initiatives that respond to the needs of our students. Through connections with other student-related data, we will be able to more effectively understand and improve the holistic experience of our students. This data will also help us to strengthen student recruitment efforts, access, and success strategies to address and eliminate barriers within our processes.

Your identity is complex and personal – we understand and respect that. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential. Through the participation of all of our students, we will be able to better understand and address the systemic barriers that our students face.

Advancing equity, diversity and inclusion is essential across the institution and we thank you for your participation and support for this ongoing and continuous effort.

About the U of T Student Equity Census

The U of T Student Equity Census is a voluntary demographic data collection initiative that involves a set of seven questions, all of which are voluntary and include a “prefer not to answer” response option.  

Who should participate

All undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Toronto on a part-time or full-time basis. 

How to participate

Beginning November 16, 2020, students can log in to complete the U of T Student Equity Census. The census can also be accessed via the notification links on ACORN and Quercus. Simply log in using your UTORid and fill out your responses – it should only take about five minutes to complete.

When to participate

The census launches on November 16, 2020. There is no deadline to complete the census – the information will be collected and updated on an ongoing basis. After submitting the census, you can log in to change or modify your responses at any time.

Privacy & confidentiality

Participation is voluntary and the information you choose to share is determined by you. All questions are optional, with a “prefer not to answer” option available every time. Your responses aren’t anonymous, but the data collected will be kept strictly confidential. Only aggregate data will be used in reporting.

U of T Student Equity Census Advisory Roundtable

The Advisory Roundtable will include a wide range of members of the U of T community. Members will be tasked with reviewing feedback on the census and developing a framework and best practices on how the University will report, share and use this identity-based data to support meaningful change.

We invite all members of our community to submit nominations of individuals to serve on this Advisory Roundtable. We seek to include a diversity of voices in this work. Members of the U of T community can nominate themselves or other U of T students, faculty, staff, librarians, instructors, and researchers to serve on the Advisory Roundtable.

The Advisory Roundtable will meet from December 2020 through to June 2021. Advisory Roundtable members should be available to join monthly online meetings, with some reading and preparation work between meetings. Given that we anticipate holding all meetings online this year, members do not need to be physically located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in order to serve on the Advisory Roundtable.

Nominations (including self-nominations) may be submitted online via the Advisory Roundtable Nomination Form by end of day Thursday, November 26, 2020. We ask nominators to briefly describe the nominee’s relevant lived experience, scholarly/research expertise or work experience in equity and inclusion, as well as any other experience(s) that would make the nominee a strong contributor to the Advisory Roundtable.

In addition to the role of the Advisory Roundtable, we invite all members of the student community to share feedback on the census questions and process. We will reach out to the community to connect more broadly and solicit feedback on the census in the coming months. The Advisory Roundtable will also compile a report of census feedback, which is set to be published by the end of next summer.

Questions about the U of T Student Equity Census Advisory Roundtable can be directed to Jessie Metcalfe, Assistant Director, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students at jessie.metcalfe@utoronto.ca.

 2020 BCALS Annual Winter event

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Date: Friday, November 27, 2020

Time: 10:00am – 2:30pm

Location: Online (via Zoom)

The registration deadline is Monday, November 23, 2020.

Registration: By donation

Recommended general registration: $10.00

Recommended student registration: $5.00

Please note that registration fees are by donation for this event. Donations will contribute towards panelist honorariums for their emotional and intellectual labour on this highly charged topic. Any remaining amounts will be donated to the Black Lives Matter movement. Donation receipts provided upon request.

Topic: This year’s Winter Event will focus on combating racism and addressing racial issues in academic libraries. In June 2020, BCALS released a Statement and Call to Action in response to the ongoing police violence and racial injustices against BIPOC not only within the United States, but Canada and across the world.

These issues of racial injustice extend to the library and information profession within Canada. We acknowledge that academic libraries and post-secondary institutions, including those in Canada, are embedded and complicit in the ideologies, structures, and actions of white supremacy and settler colonialism.  As an initial step in addressing these injustices, we invite you to explore the topic with us alongside a panel of experienced library and information professionals.  We seek to identify areas where we as individuals, institutions, and the field can grow and elevate practices to support our BIPOC colleagues and communities.

Panelists:

• Norda Bell: Associate Librarian, York University Libraries, York University
• David James Hudson: Librarian, McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph
• Ashley Edwards: Librarian, Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre, Simon Fraser University
• Maha Kumaran: Associate Librarian, Education & Music Library, University of Saskatchewan

All questions will be moderated. If you are interested in asking the panelists questions, please email bcals@bcla.bc.ca prior to the event with your question. We will NOT be taking new questions during the event due to the nature of the content.

In addition to the panel, there will be lighting talks on combating racism and addressing racial issues and the BCALS Business Meeting where BC academic librarians will share brief updates and news from their institution.

We will be recording the panel discussions and lightning talks to be shared via YouTube after the event.

Zoom connection details will be sent to all registrants prior to the event. We look forward to seeing you there!

 Critical Conversations on Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia and the Implications for Postsecondary Environments

Topic: Critical Conversations on Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia and the Implications for Postsecondary Environments

Speaker: Avvy Go, Barrister & Solicitor, Clinic Director, Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic

Date: November 25, 2020

Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Location: Virtual (Zoom)

Audience: Students, staff, faculty (please note that external community may join the session free of cost)

About the speaker:

Avvy Go is the Clinic Director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic and a co-founding steering committee member of Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change. Since her call to the Bar in 1991, she has worked exclusively in the legal clinic system, serving the legal needs of low income individuals and families. Immigration, human rights, and employment law are some of the main areas of law that she practices in. Between 2001 and 2019, Avvy served as a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. She also served on the LSO’s Access to Justice Committee, the Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee and the Human Rights Monitoring Group. Apart from her legal practice, Avvy spends much time doing community organizing and advocacy work. Avvy has received numerous awards, including OCASI Life Time Achievement Award, Senate of Canada 150 medal, SOAR Medal, Order of Ontario, the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers’ Lawyer of Distinction Award, City of Toronto’s William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations and President’s Award of the Women’s Law Association of Ontario.

For further information and registration for the Race, Equity & Action Speaker Series, please visit the ARCDO website.

Data & Sovereignty: Resisting Colonial Logics For Racial Justice 

Description

Recent attentions to the collection, use, dissemination, ownership, and impacts of demographic data have convened several historical contradictions, resurfacing the contours of the false promise of equity from quantitative data collection. COVID-19 has positioned a number of initiatives that claim to address injustice and inequities in health or elsewhere though data collection often without the needs of those mined for data at the centre of these conversations. Regularly, these data are on or about Black, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Latinx, Asian, South Asian, Caribbean, and other non-white groups, people living with mental health issues, disabilities, those who are houseless or underhoused, low-income, people living with substance use needs, and 2SLGBTQ+ populations while also collecting information on gender. These initiatives that collect and do not deliver have not gone uncontested.

Presentations

Gikendamaawin e-aabadak – use of information: an Indigenous perspective on data sovereignty
Bernice Downey, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, School of Nursing/Department of Psychiatry and Neuro-Behavioural Sciences, Director, McMaster Indigenous Research Institute

Date: Thursday, December 3, 2020

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm 

Details of event: https://libcal.mcmaster.ca/calendar/scds/data-and-sovereignty 

In recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

This event is being co-hosted with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Office and AccessAbility Services, University of Toronto Scarborough

Date: December 3, 2020

Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

Topic: The Intersections of Disability and Multiple Identities: Fighting Stigmas, Advancing Opportunities

Objectives:

To emphasize the connections between ableism and racism and the tools needed to fight stigma, advance opportunities, and increase the accessibility of racial justice movements

Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Roberta K. Timothy, PhD, RP

Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
Social and Behavioural Health Science, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Adjunct Professor, Graduate Program in Critical Disability Studies, York University

Panelists:

Rabia Khedr

Access, Equity and Inclusion Consultant

DiversityWorx

Meenu Sikand

Executive Lead, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Register online

Format: Virtual – Zoom Platform

Audience: Students, staff, faculty (please note that external community may join the session free of cost)

Further information on the Race, Equity & Action Speaker Series, please visit the ARCDO webpage.

If you require accommodation, please email s.baig@utoronto.ca directly and we will work with you to make appropriate arrangements. Live captioning will available to all participants during the session.

Taking Care of You: Release, Recenter & Rebuild through Meditation and Movement for BIPOC Staff, Faculty and Librarians

The December clinic and activation is creating intentional community spaces for Black, Indigenous and Racialized staff, faculty and librarians, to be filled with community connection, dialogue and a reprioritization of care and compassion for the self. We invite you to join us as we recharge and prepare for the Winter holidays.

Black Staff, Faculty and Librarians

December 4, 2020
9-10am
Register online

Indigenous and Racialized Staff, Faculty and Librarians

December 8, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Register online

The impacts of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Asian and South Asian racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and the many manifestations of racism are realities racialized communities continue to navigate.

Restore @ U of T is a series of sessions designed for racialized communities at U of T to discuss and address the impacts of racism through restorative activities. Activities are primarily open to racialized students, staff, faculty and librarians; some sessions are open to all university members.

To view the full schedule of Restore activities please visit the ARCDO website.

December 1, 2020 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Moving Forward: Addressing Islamophobia & Fostering Allyship on Campus
Facilitated by: Aasiyah Khan, National Council of Canadian Muslims

Learning Objectives:

• Define and identify manifestations of Islamophobia
• Better understand intersectionality and the unique experiences with barriers and challenges encountered by the varying communities that practice Islam (e.g. Intersection of Islamophobia and anti-Black racism)
• Explore the role of allyship and solidarity as professionals/faculty

How to Register:

Employees can register for these sessions from either of the following links:

ARCDO Training and Workshops webpage

Multi-Faith Centre webpage

More Information:

Should you have any questions, please contact:

Saimah Baig (s.baig@utoronto.ca) OR Punita Lumb (punita.lumb@utoronto.ca)

Advancing Inclusion: Addressing the Impact of Anti-Semitism on University Campuses
Facilitated by: Rabbi Julia Appel, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

Learning Objectives:

• Increase understanding of how anti-Semitism manifests in the postsecondary environment
• Engage in discussion on the impacts of anti-Semitism
• Identify strategies and share resources to address anti-Semitism in postsecondary environments

 How to Register:

Employees can register for these sessions from either of the following links:

ARCDO Training and Workshops webpage

Multi-Faith Centre webpage

More Information:

Should you have any questions, please contact:

Saimah Baig (s.baig@utoronto.ca) OR Punita Lumb (punita.lumb@utoronto.ca)

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to join us online for Archive/Counter-Archive’s 2020 Symposium, which will take place on December 10 and December 11, 2020. The theme this year is Black lives and archival histories in Canada.

The Symposium will consist of one keynote and two panels. The talks will not be recorded.

Day One, Thursday December 10, 2020

12:00PM-1:30PM EST: Keynote: Deanna Bowen “Berlin, Berlin.” Moderated by Monika Kin Gagnon.

Deanna Bowen’s presentation involves self-reflection and presentation of two interdependent exhibitions presented at the 2020 Berlin Biennale and the Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery September 18 – February 28, 2021. Respectively, “The God of Gods: Berlin, Berlin” and “Black Drones in the Hive” extend critical interventionist research of the White nationalist ambitions that inform Canada’s cultural history and national narrative.

Make sure to REGISTER on Eventbrite for the keynote:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/archivecounter-archive-2020-symposium-keynote-deanna-bowen-tickets-129363133615 Facebook Event

Day Two, Friday December 11, 2020

12:00PM-1:30PM EST: PANEL 1: Place-based/Institutional Engagements with Black Histories: Janie Cooper-Wilson, Melissa Nelson, and Andrea Fatona in conversation. Moderated by: Warren Crichlow.

This panel will discuss caring for diverse Black Archives from inter-generational perspectives. Panelists will explore the range of contemporary practices with community and institutional archives, their creation, and presentation. The discussions will engage with various types of preservation, research, archival pedagogy and training practices from Black practitioners in community, academic, artistic, and professional archival contexts. Each will speak from their own experience in archives: both material place-based practices and online engagements.

Janie Cooper-Wilson: Proactively Dealing with Racism in the Archives

Andrea Fatona: Collecting and Re-coding Black Canada

Melissa Nelson: Critical Archival Thought: Integrating Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy and Training

Make sure to REGISTER on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/panel-1-place-basedinstitutional-engagements-with-black-histories-tickets-129369933955

Facebook Event

2:30PM-4:00PM EST: PANEL 2: Artistic Engagements with Archives: Nadine Valcin, Cara Mumford, and Debbie Ebanks Schlums in conversation. Moderated by: Malini Guha.

This panel will bring together artists engaging with Black and Indigenous archives and histories, individually but also in relation to each other. Remediation is a practice that creates tension between the “official” archive and the archive that is generated from the artistic process. What is created for community out of these remediations is a way to remedy the erasure and/or misrepresentation of Black and Indigenous histories in the colonial archive. The panelists will speak to questions about missing archives and the creation of accidental archives that emerge out of their creative processes. Through the act of revaluation, there is room to challenge national discourses.

Debbie Ebanks Schlums: Locating Archives in the Jamaican Diaspora

Nadine Valcin: The Accidental Archive: Searching for Blackness in Canada’s National Audio-visual Archive

Cara Mumford: Treble and Bass: Layering Archival VHS with Phytograms in the creation of “René Highway’s Prism, Mirror, Lens”

Make sure to REGISTER on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/panel-2-artistic-engagements-with-archives-tickets-129370628031

Facebook Event

For more information about our Symposium, keynote, and panels, go to:  www.counterarchive.ca

IC-Ethics and On Possible Futures 

In response to the overwhelming amount of support and interest expressed in the panel, IC-Ethics and On Possible Futures has decided to broadcast the event on the IC-Ethics Facebook page. As such, we have migrated the event over to Zoom, which carries broadcasting properties.

If you would like to attend through Zoom, make sure to RSVP through Eventbrite, which you can access here or head over to the IC-Ethics Facebook page through here.

As a reminder of what the event is about:

This panel was organized by Dulcina Abreu and made possible with the generous donations from ICOM-COMCOL and the Department of Curatorial Practice at the Maryland Institute College of Art. It will feature Chrischene Julius, Acting Director of the District Six Museum (South Africa), Renatta Bittencourt, Education Director of the Moreira Salles Institute (Brazil), Leila Grothe, Associate Curator at the Baltimore Museum (US), and Craig Middleton, Curator at the National Museum of Australia and author of the publication Queering the Museum, in a discussion moderated by Ana Wotten, founder of the American Alliance of Museums LGBTQ+ Professional Network. The keynote will be given by Puawai Cairns, Director of Audience and Insight at the National Museum of New Zealand. The event will be live captioned and recorded. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Thank you to everyone who has shared the event and we will station someone at our BB Collab channel to redirect people to Zoom or the Facebook page.”

Decolonizing Community-Based Research Learning Series

Community-Based Research Canada (CBRCanada) welcomes you to participate this winter and spring 2021 in an extended six-part online learning and discussion series exploring the topic of Decolonizing Community-Based Research.

January Sessions

Webinar: January 21, 12 noon ET
Uplifting Indigenous Community Wisdom – Skookum Lab’s Journey in Indigenous Social Innovation

Speakers: Jeska Slater, Skookum Lab’s Indigenous Social Innovation Coordinator and Krystal Dumais, Skookum Lab Ambassador

Through a highly collaborative and Indigenous social innovation process, Skookum Lab’s goal is to make Surrey British Columbia a great place for Indigenous children and youth. The lab is engaging community, organizations, and government agencies to address the systems that create and sustain Indigenous child and youth poverty in Surrey BC, now home to the largest Indigenous population in the province. Join us for a presentation on how uplifting Indigenous community wisdom has been a transformative process both on a systems level and within the community itself.

Register Here

Live Discussion: January 28, 12 noon ET
Uplifting Indigenous Community Wisdom

Participate in a live discussion with fellow community-based researchers across the country to reflect and explore how to integrate learnings from the “Uplifting Indigenous Wisdom” webinar into our own research projects and work.

Register Here

The University of Toronto is a CBR Canada member institution.  All individuals employed, studying, or affiliated with the University of Toronto are eligible to participate in CBR Canada events.

Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize (Emerging Leader) 

The Ludwik and Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize is presented annually to recognize an Influential Leader and an Emerging Leader, who have made positive and lasting contributions to education and action against discrimination. Past winners have included individuals who have been recognized for their scholarship, personal service to others, or activities in support of the University of Toronto’s commitment to the values of human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion. The Emerging Leader is a new category created this year to encourage the nomination of students or staff who have made significant contributions to equity and inclusion at the university, as well as social justice and advocacy either on or off campus.

Nominations for the Emerging Leader Award are due by Friday, January 22, 2021.

White Privilege – What to do with it

Please join UTM’s EDIO and Hart House for a conversation on White Privilege – What to do with it? This session is designed for white students, faculty and staff who want to build their capacity about privilege and whiteness. Please note this session is led by white folks for white identified folks at U of T.

To register, please go to the https://harthouse.ca/events/anti-o-convos-white-privilege-what-to-do-with-it

Toronto Film & Media Seminar | Curation as Decolonial Practice

January 29, 2021 • Socializing at 4:00pm • Talks begin 4:30
Please register at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/curation-as-decolonial-practice-tickets-136885862299

Drawing from artist and scholar David Garneau’s notion of a decolonial practice as one that offers direct challenges to “colonial habits” and worldviews, this panel with Niki Little, Howard Adler, and Thirza Cuthand explores the question of how curation can function as a decolonial practice.

Celebrating Black History Month – A&S Decanal Lecture

The Coromantee War: Charting the Course of an Atlantic Slave Revolt – Decanal Lecture
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021
7:00 – 8:30 pm EST
Free, Open to Public
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kFf572T1Tyq0fDjBPTpVYgTo celebrate Black History Month, Dean Melanie Woodin, Faculty of Arts & Science, invites everyone to hear distinguished historian and Harvard Professor Vincent Brown on “The Coromantee War: Charting the Course of an Atlantic Slave Revolt”. Professor Melanie Newton from the Department of History will moderate the discussion.The Jamaican Coromantee War of 1760-1761 shows how the turmoil of enslavement, which ruptured systems of social authority and cultural continuity among Africans, figured the development of enslaved militancy as it originated, traveled, took root, and germinated in far-flung contexts.

Anti-Oppression and Anti-Racism 101 Workshop

Free, members-only online workshop led by artist and educator Rania El Mugammar.

When: Friday, February 5th, 10:30-1:00 EST

Where: Zoom (details to be sent to registrants upon registration)

Cost: Free for AAO members.

Registration is limited to 100 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the workshop here!

This foundational workshop introduces participants to the power dynamics of racial and colonial oppression situated within a Canadian and global context. Learners of all walks discover the language of social justice, and explore models to create more equitable communities. Individual activities, group exercises, and discussions allow us to examine decolonizing, intersectionality, positionality, privilege and oppression in Canadian cultural, political and historical contexts. The session will also provide context and examples of racism and anti-racist interventions within our communities and institutions. Institutional and social dynamics are explored as learners navigate opportunities for intervening in interpersonal harm and institutional oppression. Participants explore internalized, interpersonal and institutional racism. The frameworks, attitudes and values of anti-racism are central to the workshop. 

Black History Symposium: Honoring the Diversity of Black Leaders and Agents of Change

ARCDO Celebrates Black History Month 2021!The Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO) invites you to join our upcoming programming for Black History Month in February 2021. These events are free and open to students, staff, faculty and external community members.

Black History Symposium: Honoring the Diversity of Black Leaders and Agents of Change

Monday, February 8^th, 2021 • 10:00am – 12:00pm EST

Join us for a keynote address by Dahabo Ahmed Omer, Executive Director of the Black North Initiative, followed by a panel discussion.

Format: Keynote followed by a panel discussion with community leaders and agents of change.

Platform: Virtual- Zoom.

Audience: This event is free to attend and open to students, staff, faculty and external community members.

For further information and registration, visit the ARCDO website!

Black faculty in conversations with our communities

Feb 10, 2021 04:30 PM EST Webinar Registration Link
The Equity Committee at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education hosts the second installation of its Black Faculty in Conversation series on Feb. 10. Hear from scholars George Dei, Njoki Wane, Ann Lopez, Fikile Nxumalo, Lance McCready, Rosalind Hampton and Andrew Campbell.

Black History Month Lunch n’ Learn | Black Athletes on the Margins: I am More!

Feb 11, 2021 12:00 PM EST  Webinar Registration Link
A Black History Month lunch & learn on Feb. 11 will gather Black professional athletes from different sport backgrounds to discuss their varied athletic experiences. This event is presented by U of T Mississauga’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office, the U of T Mississauga chapter of Connections & Conversations, the International Education Centre and the Department of Recreation, Athletics & Wellness. All are welcome.

Queering the Future: Making the World Livable – Summit

This year, the theme is Queering the Future: Making the World Livable. This summit aims to highlight the flaws in the system, answer questions from artistic and academic perspectives offering up a space for open dialogue between students and professionals. How does the law affect the lived experiences of queer and non-gender-conforming BIPOC? How does race amalgamate with gender and sexuality to further oppress folks marginalized in these regards? And in what ways could we as university students begin to actively engage with these issues?

For more information, including presenter bios and a schedule, and to register, please visit: https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/events/queering-the-future

The Worldbuilding of Wakanda | Black Panther and Afrofuturism

Date: Thursday, Feb 11, 2021
Time & Duration: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm (EST) (2h)
FREE: https://harthouse.ca/events/the-worldbuilding-of-wakanda
On February 11, Hart House’s Black Futures programming is honoured to present a panel discussion event featuring three prominent Black writers: Antoine Bandele, Stephanie Chrismon and Rashid Mohiddin. The Worldbuilding of Wakanda will explore how the elements of science fiction and fantasy intersect with African representation and the ways in which the film Black Panther presents its progressive themes through the unique setting.  

Library and Archives Canada launches the Price McIntosh Bursary to support diversity in Canada’s libraries and archives

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is excited to announce the launch of its new Price McIntosh bursary, which was made possible by the generous support of the Price McIntosh family.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to Indigenous persons (First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation), persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities who wish to pursue studies in fields related to libraries and archives.

LAC will award up to $10,000 per funding cycle: $5,000 per selected student registered in full-time studies and $2,500 per selected student registered in part-time studies at Canadian colleges or universities for the 2021-2022 academic year, in a program that leads to a career in libraries or archives.

All eligible students are invited to submit their applications for the 2021-2022 academic year by October 15, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Daylight Time).

Guidelines, eligibility criteria and the application form are available on the Price McIntosh Bursary web page. For any questions, or to request alternative formats, applicants may contact LAC:

Phone: 819-997-0893 (or toll-free at 1-844-757-8035)
TTY: 613-992-6969 (or toll-free at 1-866-299-1699)
Email: bourse-bursary@bac-lac.gc.ca
Website: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/price-mcintosh-bursary/Pages/price-mcintosh-bursary.aspx

Parenting BIPOC Children in Today’s Climate – Panel Discussion

Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Location: The webinar link will be shared with you via email prior to the session start time.

With the recent unfortunate events in the media we understand that many BIPOC children and their parents may be feeling overwhelmed and parents may need some guidance on how to have these difficult discussions with their children.

Join us as we discuss different techniques and strategies parents can engage in to discuss current events and overall conversations about the reality of discrimination with their children.

Facilitators:

Michael White – Director, First Nations House Indigenous Student Service

Martina Douglas – Director, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at Faculty of Information

Yasin Dwyer – Chaplain, University of Toronto

Registration required. Current University of Toronto students, staff, faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and their partners are welcome. If you have any access needs to ensure your full participation in this event, please contact the Family Care Office and we will try our best to work with you and make appropriate arrangements.

Register for workshop

Speaker Event: “Honoring East Baltimore’s Native Past, Present, and Future”

Presented by UMD iSchool Center for Archival Futures and the Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy Office

Date: Wednesday November 3rd, 2021
Time: 06:00 PM
Location: Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union
and via Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/event/1428203
No registration required!

iSchool calendar link:https://ischool.umd.edu/events/cafe-mica-talk-ashley-minner
Ashley Minner (Lumbee) will share about her practice as a community-based visual artist and scholar working in collaboration with the American Indian community of East Baltimore to honor their past, present, and future.

Speaker Biography:
Ashley Minner is a community-based visual artist from Baltimore and an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She received her MFA (’11) and MA (’07) in Community Arts from Maryland Institute College of Art, and her PhD (’20) in American Studies from University of Maryland College Park. Ashley currently works as an assistant curator for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

INDIGENOUS WORKSHOP: STORYTELLING IN ACADEMIC ASSIGNMENTS

Nov 4, 2021 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Indigenous Learnng Strategist presents on Indigenous frameworks, processes, protocols of preparing and sharing the story of your required work; review of Seven Grandfather Teachings in relation to UT Academic Integrity. Registration Deadline: Nov 4, 2021 12:00 AM

Register for Event

How First Generation, Southeast Asian, Latin American & African Black Caribbean Students Redefine Success

November 9, 2021, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Explore examples of success, and develop an awareness of how these ideas shape experiences of school. We will expand the idea of success, practice recognizing success on our own terms, and develop strategies for sharing this with family and peer groups!

Registration Deadline: Nov 9, 2021 03:30 PM

Register for Event

EDI in Higher Education Workshop w/ Dr. Nicole Kaniki – Thursday Nov. 11

Please join the iSchool’s Learning Hub and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit on Thursday November 11, at 2 pm for a workshop on EDI in Higher Education, facilitated by Dr. Nicole Kaniki, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research and Innovation, at U of T. In this role, she supports EDI efforts across the institution in research practices. Nicole is the former Special Advisor on Anti-racism to the President of Western University, and has over six years of experience in research administration and EDI roles. She holds a MSc Kinesiology, and a PhD Health and Rehabilitation Sciences from Western University. More recently, she completed a MA Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Western doing research in Black Feminist Narratives in the Academy. Dr. Kaniki has a passion for social justice and uses an anti-racism and decolonization framework in her EDI work.

Session description:

This session will include historical frameworks of oppression, definitions and foundational understanding of language and terms used in EDI and how systems of oppression operate in academia. We will work through principles and best practices of EDI, and how these can be applied in the higher education environment in curriculum, research, and leadership.

Registration: https://ischool.utoronto.ca/iskills/edi-in-higher-education/

Audience: Students, Staff and Faculty

In this session, we delve into how Imposter Syndrome & Marginalization can manifest in a student experience, and we discuss learning strategies that can lessen the impact of these feelings.

Registration Deadline: Nov 16, 2021 12:00 PM

Register for Event

Presented by the UTM Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office and U of T Hart House

Thursday, November 18, 2021
Join us in a conversation with Lorena Garvey that seeks to share stories about land acknowledgements, treaties, and how we can improve relationships with Indigenous communities.

Register to attend.

If you require an accommodation to join this virtual session, please contact UTM’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office at edio.utm@utoronto.ca.*

Overview
The purpose of Anti-O Convos (short for, Anti-Oppression Conversations) is to create braver spaces to engage in conversations that explore current events and popular trends in social media, while unmasking misconceptions about various groups/communities/people.

Each session will include a different speaker, perspective and topic led by students, staff, faculty and/or community members. Look out for upcoming sessions by following utmedo and harthouseuoft

A talk plus Q & A with Dr. Ann Lopez

November 18, 2021
7 – 8 p.m. ET

Live or on demand. Free.
Register Now

Fellowship Circle – Accelerate Her Future

Are you a self-identifying Black, Indigenous or woman of colour student or recent grad from a Canadian postsecondary institution or in the workforce for three years or less and pursuing a career in business or STEM? Looking for community, mentorship and career development programming tailored to your needs? AHF’s Fellowship Circle is a by-application 10-week program offering group mentorship circles, career learning labs, and networking opportunities. Invest in your future and a great community – apply today!

Watch this video to hear what program graduates have to say: https://youtu.be/l4mAX4OYnPU

Apply to become a Fellow by Nov 21: https://accelerateherfuture.com/fellowship-circle/become-a-fellow/

Eligibility:

• Self-identify as a Black woman, Indigenous woman, or woman of colour (i.e. Arab, East Asian, Latina, Middle Eastern/North African, Pacific Islander, South Asian, South-East Asian, West Asian, etc.) based in Canada
• Currently a student at or recent graduate from a Canadian postsecondary institution; or have been in the workforce for 3 years or less
• Pursuing a career in business or STEM
• Committed to completing AHF’s Fellowship Circle program requirements including attending weekly sessions on Thursdays, Jan 20 – March  24 2022, 7:00 – 9:00 pm EST.

Benefits for Fellows

The Fellowship Circle is a unique opportunity to invest in yourself. Here are a few of the benefits for Fellows:

• Participate in virtual small group mentoring circles
• Attend virtual career learning labs, panels and fireside chats led by engaging facilitators, mentors, leaders and recruiters
• Develop and expand your gender and racial equity knowledge
• Access AHF tools and resources to support your success in the program
• Expand your network of peers and influential industry leaders
• Attend a virtual wrap-up networking event and receive a certificate upon program completion
• Gain access to AHF’s private online community consisting of program alumni

Fellowship Circle Application Key Dates: 

• Applications Open: Oct 15, 2021
• Applications Close: November 21, 2021
• Successful Fellows Contacted by: Dec 21, 2021
• Limited financial bursaries available for accepted applicants on a case by case basis (see Fellowship application)
• Fellowship Circle Winter Cohort will run January 20 – March 24 2022, every Thursday, 7:00 – 9:00 pm EST

Restore Session: Conditions of Care

Thursday, November 25, 2021 • 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Conditions of Care
Historical and contemporary trauma and oppression impact the ways that Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (QTBIPOC) folks are able to navigate the world. This workshop explores practices of self and community care through embodied approaches (yoga, breath, movement). This workshop is a space for QTBIPOC folks only.

Facilitator: Yamikani Msosa

Open to faculty, staff, students, and librarians at the University of Toronto who identify as members of the QTBIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ community. Further information and registration

Resiliency through Adversities 

Please join the iSchool’s Master of Museum Studies (MMSt) program and the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Unit (EDIU) for a panel discussion on the experiences of BIPOC professionals in the museum sector, entitled Resiliency through Adversities. This virtual panel event will take place on November 25^th @ 2pm via Zoom.

For more information and to register, please go to Webinar Registration.

This event is open to all MMSt and CDP learners; however, iSchool faculty and staff are welcome to attend. We look forward to you joining us for this informative and insightful discussion.

Jesse Wente’s “Unreconciled”

Innis College is hosting Indigenous advocate, broadcaster and alumnus Jesse Wente for a virtual book talk on November 25. Wente will discuss new book, Unreconciled: Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance, which explores the concept of reconciliation and how to build a respectful relationship between the nation of Canada and Indigenous peoples. For event information and registration, go to Jesse Wente’s “Unreconciled”

Race, Health & Happiness Podcast Focus Group

The RHH feedback focus group will take place online and is scheduled for Friday, November 26^th, 2021 from 12:00pm-1:30pm. We are aiming for a small group of about 6-8 people in attendance. People are welcome to eat their lunch during this informal gathering. RHH listeners who are interested in participating can sign-up through the RHH Focus Group Sign-Up Sheet. Please note that submission of your personal information is not required to sign up for the focus group. Furthermore, your e-mail address will be used solely for the purpose of the RHH podcast focus group and will not be shared with any third party.

During this focus group:
1.       Data will be collected in an anonymized form where individuals will create a self-generated identification code to submit information
2.       Data will be gathered and viewed by only myself and a student volunteer from the RHH team
3.       Aggregate data will be used to provide feedback to the RHH team regarding the podcast as a learning tool
4.       Feedback gathered from the focus group will be used to develop a journaling template available for RHH podcast listeners to download after each episode
5.       Shortly after the focus group, a $25.00 gift card will be sent to each participant in gratitude for their time and feedback

Once you have signed up, we will contact you closer to the date with instructions on how to join the online focus group.

Navigating Academics as a Racialized Student: Microaggressions

November 30, 2021, 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Microaggressions are indirect, often subtle forms of discrimination that have the power to accumulate into a much more challenging university experience. This session will discuss student’s own experiences with microaggressions in the classroom and university, and talk about potential ways to handle such situations.

Registration Deadline: November 30, 2021 12:00 AM

• Moderator: Mark Campbell, assistant professor of music and culture (U of T Scarborough)
• Cheryl Thompson, assistant professor of creative industries (X University)
• Collette “Coco” Murray, PhD candidate and African/Caribbean arts-based educator (York University)

Every Friday in February, join us for facilitated editing sessions on Zoom: you can learn the basics or get a refresher on editing Wikipedia and Wikidata, then learn and write alongside others who are passionate about improving digital coverage of Black histories and experiences.

Register for the kick-off event and weekly editing sessions. You can also join the event and edit at your own pace throughout the month. For full details, visit the event page.

This event is organized by U of T Libraries, York University Libraries, X University Library, and Toronto Public Library. We look forward to seeing you!

This event will include a keynote presentation from Professor Moya Bailey, followed by a film screening and discussion of the CBC documentary HERStory in Black.  The film screening portion of the event includes a 45 minute screening of the documentary, followed by an (approximately) 20 minute open discussion with participants.

For more information go to ARCDO celebrates Black History Month.

Join us for a virtual viewing of “Healing in Color” which explores themes of mental health, wellbeing, trauma, and healing through art. The documentary film will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with the director, Nana Adwoa Frimpong, and cast & crew. This screening is in support of Black Mental Health Day, which is observed every year on March 1st to highlight the mental and physical impacts of anti-Black racism on Black communities.

This event is brought to you by the UTSC Mental Health Network, UTSC Health & Wellness Centre, UTSC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office, UTSC Development and Alumni Relations Office, and the Racialized Student Collective (Scarborough Campus Students’ Union).

Registration Deadline: March 1, 2022 06:30 PM. Sign up on CLNx

Click here to see past events

During this informative and engaging emotional liberation circle, participants will experience healing and community. The facilitator will support participants to reflect on the impact of racialized and sexualized trauma and changes they have made to cope. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between intentional self, community care practices, and thriving in systems where anti-Black racism operates. Please note: This is a closed session for Black staff and faculty offered in partnership with the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office.

Learn More and Register: https://bit.ly/38qDM7e

Three days, register for each.

Friday, May 20 4:00-6:00 pm   Saturday May 21 9:30-12:00    Monday May 23 9:30am-12:30pm 

A writing retreat for Indigenous grad students, Indigenous faculty, and grad students in Indigenous studies.

• Open to all Indigenous and non-indigenous students interested in learning about the history of lacrosse
• Features Indigenous workshop leaders Kevin Sandy and Dawn Maracle

JOIN US ON JUNE 22 FROM 1-3 P.M. AT VARSITY CENTRE!

REGISTER AT Indigenous History of Lacrosse Workshop.