CONNECTING EDUCATORS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

We facilitate and provide virtual space for educational professionals at all levels (elementary, secondary, college, university) to have meaningful conversations about social justice issues.

Talking Together for Change offers you the chance to put DEIJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, justice) learning into practice as you explore your identities, acknowledge how your work and personal life is impacted by systemic oppression and/or privilege, and reflect on how you can positively affect change.

“Affinity groups allow for an exploration of one’s own identity, celebration of shared identity, and debriefing of the common challenges and experiences that members of the identity group face.”

~Rosetta Lee

We would like to acknowledge the territory we are on and to think about the histories this place is grounded in, both Indigenous and colonial. We recognize current caretakers of this land, and the treaties we are in relationship with as residents of this place.

The Talking Together for Change facilitators live on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabek, and the Chonnonton peoples. We are governed by several treaties, including the Dish with One Spoon, the Two-Row Wampum, and Between the Lakes Treaty No. 3. We welcome those who are joining us from across Turtle Island. For thousands of years, Turtle Island has been home to First Nations, Inuit, Métis people, and to the many Indigenous people who continue to call this land home. 

Although this acknowledgement is for a virtual environment, our bodies are connected to a territory, and we each have a connection to and understanding of the places we call home. People across this northern section of Turtle Island are bound by the Treaties signed between First Nations and the British and Canadian governments. Every person is bound by the Treaties which provide guidance for how this territory is to be shared and used for generations to come. Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and musician Leanne Simpson writes, “treaties are not just between Indigenous nations and the Canadian state; they are carried and acted out through the actions of individual people.” Part of our commitment to action is to begin every session with a land acknowledgement, and to direct 15% of resources from Talking Together for Change sessions to local organizations by and for Indigenous people, Black people, and People of Colour.

“Diversity work is not only about accumulating the value of diversity, as a form of social currency, but also re-attaching the word to other words that embody the histories of
struggle against social inequalities.”

Sara Ahmed, "The Language of Diversity"