Ontario

EXCERPTS

On March 8 2022 from 7 to 8:30 pm Councillor Kavanagh will again host a virtual meeting with an emcee and 4 special panelists.

Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions – all day, every day.

We can break the bias in our communities.

We can break the bias in our workplaces.

We can break the bias in our schools, colleges and universities.

Together, we can all break the bias – on International Women’s Day (IWD) and beyond.

Meet our Emcee

Suzanne Obiorah 

Title: City of Ottawa Director, Gender, Race Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Relations and Social Development 

Suzanne is the Director of Ottawa’s first Gender and Race Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Relations and Social Development service. Under Suzanne’s leadership, her team is working on strategic plans to embed the principles of inclusion and accessibility across the work of all city departments. Suzanne has worked in a variety of health and social services settings for nearly 19 years. Throughout her career, she has championed equity work within our community.

Meet our Panelists

Barbara Dumont-Hill

Title: Grandmother Barbara

Barbara Dumont-Hill is Algonquin Anishabeg from the Kitigan Zibi Community in Quebec. She has served for several years as a spirit keeper for Carleton University, Algonquin College, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa. She travelled across Canada as an advisor with the Canadian Department of Justice to witness the Missing and Murdered Women and Girls National Inquiry. Barbara’s wok has inspired her path to honour and empower Indigenous women and youth. Barbara Lives in Bay Ward.

Fae Johnstone 

Title: Executive Director, Wisdom2Action

Fae Johnstone (she/they) is a trans-feminist activist and the Executive Director of Wisdom2Action, a social enterprise and consulting firm working with nonprofits and governments across the Canada to advance 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion, improve mental health services, and combat gender-based violence. 

Salwen Kayembe 

Title: Intern, Bay Ward City Councilor’s Office

Salwen Kayembe is a student at the University of Ottawa currently working as an intern for Councillor Kavanagh at City Hall. Salwen grew up in Bay Ward, as the second of four children in an Ottawa Community Housing neighbourhood. She aspires to raise awareness of racial injustices, to help eliminate bias, and to empower Black women in reaching their full potential.

Simone Godbout

Title: Founder, Marlow, and SheBoot’s Crowd Favorite Winner 

Simone Godbout is the co-winner of the Crowd Favourite Award in the 2021 Invest Ottawa SheBoot Program. The award recognizes their new local business, Marlow, which produces environmentally conscious menstrual products, and seeks to encourage healthy conversations about menstrual and sexual health.

EXCERPTS

People & Planet Over Profit: Revolutionary Love for All

International Women’s Day Toronto Virtual Rally 2022

Join us Saturday as we celebrate this important day in gender justice and the activism of women, non-binary and gender diverse people.

We look forward to gathering with you all virtually and celebrating this important day in gender justice.

Organized by Women Working with Immigrant Women and the IWD Toronto Organizing Committee

Funded by CUPE Ontario, Ontario Federation of Labour, SEIU, Society of United Professionals, Unifor, USW

ASL interpretation available.

EXCERPTS

You spent the month of February learning about Black history in Canada and wondering how do I address anti-black racism? In this Black History Month follow-up conversation, Natalie Royer, Belonging Specialist at Saroy Group, will share her story as a Black ECE navigating the sector and facilitate a dialogical space for us to "look deep within [ourselves] and ask the hard questions: Why do I choose to do nothing? What am I afraid of? Why do I think it is not my place act?" (Royer, 2021, para 9).

This conversation is a space for critical thinkers to explore ways to address anti-black racism in early childhood education. The session will consist of facilitated small group discussions offering various opportunities for participants to recognize and respond to the work that needs to happen.

To prepare for this conversation, you are invited to read and engage with the Re-imagining Early Childhood Care and Education in a Post-George Floyd World: An Open Letter and to think with the following questions:

• What you believe the barriers are now?
• How do we overcome these barriers as a sector and in our own practice?

You can share your ideas, questions and/or possibilities about how we can address anti-black racism in early childhood education in this Padlet.

We highly encourage you to attend this Black History Month follow-up conversation. This is an extraordinary opportunity to generate ideas, questions and possibilities together about how we can address anti-black racism in early childhood education. We're sure that your ideas will make the facilitated small group conversations, a rich and meaningful experience.

Natalie Royer is a belonging consultant, strategist and coach at Saroy Group Inc. She provides training sessions primarily in the education sector and consults with companies and organizations on how to promote a space of belonging using an equity, diversity and inclusion lens. She has worked in the healthcare sector (i.e. Hospital For Sick Children) and she has taught at colleges and universities for over 10 years. With a background in early childhood education, she advocates for the next generations and hopes as leaders we can create an inclusive space where everyone can thrive.

This conversation will not be recorded to ensure a safe/brave space for all participants.

Access Information: The AECEO is committed to ensuring that our learning experiences are accessible to all educators; including educators with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We believe that taking care to create a learning experience where no person's voice, spirit, or knowledges are lost because they are unable to attend, benefits everyone. ASL-English Interpretation and live captioning will be available at this session. Please contact info@aeceo.ca for access inquiries.