A Challenging Year for DEI, But a Hopeful One Ahead

The diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sector had a challenging year, here in Canada but especially in the United States. It was a combination of social, economic, political, and organizational pressures. 

Inclusive City Planning: Q&A with Alexandra Lambropoulos

Inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism (IDEA) are foundational to my work in urban planning because cities thrive when they reflect and serve the diverse populations that inhabit them. IDEA informs my personal research interests in community economic development because it focuses on building strong, resilient local economies that benefit all residents.

Resiliencing Habits for Changemakers

You read that right, resiliencing is not a typo! Resiliencing is what I call the habits and actions that help us move through life’s challenges.
I have supported people and organizations with change for much of my career. In the past few years, I have noticed things feel different.
People talk about facing many changes all at once, needing to keep on top of shifting expectations, experiencing tensions and friction, and feeling an overall sense of pressure to accomplish more, faster.

North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner

Marie Wilson’s newly-published “North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner” is a tour de force.
Richly woven, it is part memoir, part documentary. It’s also the kind of book you’ll want to read more than once – not only because it reveals an important part of Canadian history, but because the overall story is so compellingly told.
The book starts with a story about Wilson’s mother-in-law watching Canadian TV at home in the Northwest Territories.

Well, America, You Are Welcome!

“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs… [Haitians] are eating the pets of the people that live there.” – Donald Trump

Before we address the culinary habits of my Kin, I wanted to begin by raising the illustrious feat of winning a war without the trappings of conventional warfare, as Haitians are poised, once again, to fight in the war for democracy in the U.S. without any act of violence. This time our sheer migrant presence might be the weapon. Once done, we can then argue about whether dogs taste like chicken, or vice versa! Oh…the inhumanity of it.

Reading for Reconciliation: Indigenous Reading List

As the Month of June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, it is a great time to explore the world of Indigenous literature. Reading books written by Indigenous authors serves as a gateway to understanding Indigenous culture and history. By exploring Indigenous literature, we can learn about the diverse experiences of individuals who have endured historical marginalization, and whose narratives are frequently excluded from mainstream discourse. In addition, we are amplifying indigenous voices and perspectives. Honouring Indigenous literature is crucial to decolonization and reconciliation efforts.

Indigenous peoples no longer invisible

Most Canadians are not aware that the overwhelming majority of people who identify as Indigenous in this country are more than likely their neighbours.

The most recent census figures revealed that over one million of the 1.8 million people in Canada who identify as First Nations, Inuit, and Metis are now living in urban centres. Only about one third of registered Indians still live on the reserve lands of 634 First Nations.

Once out of sight and out of mind, the result of assimilationist government policies for most of Canada’s first century, Indigenous peoples are becoming much more visible.

ANTISEMITISM: What educators need to know and do

The goal of inclusive education and its inherent quest for equity and justice isn’t passive. It calls for us to join the struggle against all forms of racism and bigotry and to accept the responsibility to promote human rights for all our students and colleagues.

The Achuar Dream Culture and My Mother’s Death Process

It was my second week living in the Ecuadorian Amazon. I travelled by a 4-person Cessna 40 minutes into the first community, and then another 30-minute jungle flight into a second community. This was Achuar territory. This small community, which you could access only by plane or canoe had a distinctive open-air feeling, with a sunset that stretched beautifully along the Pastaza River.

Pursuing DEI Despite the Pushbacks

In recent times, there has been notable pushback against Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEIJ) initiatives, with some people and groups expressing strong opposition to these efforts.