IDERD / en U of T to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination /news/u-t-mark-international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/UofT89996_2022-10-17_UofT-Fall-stock_Polina-Teif-10-crop.jpg?h=f8255f12&amp;itok=H_SVWUMj 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-03/UofT89996_2022-10-17_UofT-Fall-stock_Polina-Teif-10-crop.jpg?h=f8255f12&amp;itok=zAu4xpAF 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-03/UofT89996_2022-10-17_UofT-Fall-stock_Polina-Teif-10-crop.jpg?h=f8255f12&amp;itok=reuU68ip 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-03/UofT89996_2022-10-17_UofT-Fall-stock_Polina-Teif-10-crop.jpg?h=f8255f12&amp;itok=H_SVWUMj" alt="a closeup of flowers near Robarts library"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-03-20T13:32:56-04:00" title="Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - 13:32" class="datetime">Wed, 03/20/2024 - 13:32</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>(photo by Polina Teif)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/adina-bresge" hreflang="en">Adina Bresge</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anti-racism-cultural-diversity-office" hreflang="en">Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sexual-violence-prevention-support-centre" hreflang="en">Sexual Violence Prevention &amp; Support Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/diversity-and-inclusion" hreflang="en">Diversity and Inclusion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/iderd" hreflang="en">IDERD</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/equity" hreflang="en">Equity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hart-house" hreflang="en">Hart House</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-continuing-studies" hreflang="en">School of Continuing Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sexual-gender-diversity-office" hreflang="en">Sexual &amp; Gender Diversity Office</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Ƶ is bringing together perspectives from across the tri-campus community to mark the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day" target="_blank">International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination</a>&nbsp;(IDERD).</p> <p>Established by the United Nations, IDERD is observed on March 21, the day that in 1960, police opened fire on a group of peaceful protesters in Sharpeville, South Africa, killing 69 people.</p> <p>U of T recognizes IDERD annually as part of its ongoing commitment to eliminating racial discrimination and racism across the university while promoting a more inclusive learning and working environment.&nbsp;</p> <p>Presented by the Institutional Equity Office and the&nbsp;<a href="https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/">Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office</a>&nbsp;in collaboration with the Rotman School of Management’s Equity, Diversity &amp; Inclusion Office, this year’s event –&nbsp;<a href="https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/programs/iderd/">Faith, Hope and Dialogue: Strengthening Anti-Racism Tools and Strategies for the Path Ahead</a>&nbsp;– will be held in Rotman’s Desautels Hall and broadcast via livestream.</p> <p><strong>Nythalah Baker</strong>, director of U of T Mississauga’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/edio/">Equity, Diversity &amp; Inclusion Office</a>, and&nbsp;<strong>Natasha Prashad</strong>, adviser in the Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office, will emcee the proceedings, which are set to open with remarks from&nbsp;<strong>Jodie Glean-Mitchell</strong>, executive director, equity, diversity and inclusion in U of T’s Division of People Strategy, Equity &amp; Culture.</p> <p>Glean-Mitchell is also scheduled to speak on a panel about the challenges and opportunities of navigating EDI work alongside&nbsp;<strong>Allison Burgess</strong>, director of U of T’s&nbsp;<a href="https://sgdo.utoronto.ca/">Sexual &amp; Gender Diversity Office</a>,&nbsp;<strong>Bharat Saini</strong>, director, equity, diversity and inclusion in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, and&nbsp;<strong>Angela Treglia</strong>, executive director, sexual violence strategy, prevention and support at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.svpscentre.utoronto.ca/">Sexual Violence Prevention &amp; Support Centre</a>. The discussion will be moderated by&nbsp;<strong>Alexie Tcheuyap</strong>, associate vice-president and vice-provost, international student experience.</p> <p>Later,&nbsp;<strong>Cherilyn Scobie Edwards</strong>, senior director of U of T Scarborough’s&nbsp;<a href="https://edio.utsc.utoronto.ca/">Equity, Diversity &amp; Inclusion Office</a>, will moderate a discussion featuring the perspectives and reflections of Black women in leadership. Panellists include&nbsp;<strong>Catherine Chandler-Crichlow</strong>, dean of the School of Continuing Studies,&nbsp;<strong>Sharon Grandison</strong>, director of human resources in the Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education,&nbsp;<strong>Janelle Joseph</strong>, assistant professor of critical studies of race and Indigeneity at KPE, and&nbsp;<strong>Lesa Williams-George</strong>, director of equity, inclusion and transformative practices at Victoria College.</p> <p>There will also be a panel on enhancing community strategies to address anti-Asian racism on campus moderated by&nbsp;<strong>Loretta Ho</strong>, program and faculty development consultant in the Division of the Vice-President and Vice-Provost. The panellists include&nbsp;<strong>Vikram Chadalawada</strong>, director, IT strategy, innovations and digital transformation at Student Life,&nbsp;<strong>Joyce Hahn</strong>, chief administrative officer in the Division of the Vice-President &amp; Provost,&nbsp;<strong>David Kim</strong>, warden at Hart House, and&nbsp;<strong>Afsana Miah</strong>, vice-president, academics and student affairs in the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union at U of T Scarborough.</p> <p>Art therapist and psychotherapist&nbsp;<strong>Phuong Nguyen</strong>&nbsp;will close out the proceedings with art-centred activities that centre hope, restoration and care.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 20 Mar 2024 17:32:56 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 306903 at ‘We all need to be changemakers’: U of T marks International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination /news/we-all-need-be-changemakers-u-t-marks-international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">‘We all need to be changemakers’: U of T marks International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-03-21-IDERD_Polina-Teif-8-CROP.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=RR02TjdQ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-03-21-IDERD_Polina-Teif-8-CROP.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=8YhoA580 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-03-21-IDERD_Polina-Teif-8-CROP.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=EeIB-KB0 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-03-21-IDERD_Polina-Teif-8-CROP.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=RR02TjdQ" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>mattimar</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-21T14:47:37-04:00" title="Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - 14:47" class="datetime">Tue, 03/21/2023 - 14:47</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">From left: panel members Pardeep Singh Nagra, Hiren Mistry, Umberin Najeeb and Anna Shternshis (photo by Polina Teif)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anti-racism-cultural-diversity-office" hreflang="en">Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anne-tanenbaum-centre-jewish-studies" hreflang="en">Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/iderd" hreflang="en">IDERD</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/equity" hreflang="en">Equity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/meric-gertler" hreflang="en">Meric Gertler</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Members of the Ƶ community gathered in-person and online Tuesday to <a href="https://people.utoronto.ca/news/recognizing-the-international-day-for-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination-2023/">mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD)</a>.</p> <p>Presented by U of T’s Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office, the event held at the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy comprised panel and community discussions, and was attended by students, staff, faculty and alumni from the three campuses. It was also available via livestream.</p> <p>People around the world have observed IDERD since it was established by the United Nations to denounce apartheid and honour the lives of 69 peaceful demonstrators killed when police opened fire on a crowd of protestors in South Africa on March 21, 1960.</p> <p>U of T President <b>Meric Gertler </b>said IDERD is an opportunity to reflect on the university’s current approach&nbsp;and to determine where improvement is still needed.&nbsp;</p> <p>He noted that there’s been a “long history of equity work at the Ƶ, which is a key part of our institutional-led campaign to eliminate racism and advance inclusive excellence,”&nbsp;and that&nbsp;anti-racism working groups across the three campuses have made tangible progress in addressing racial and religious discrimination in teaching and learning, student experience, faculty and staff recruitment and engagement, and community-based research.</p> <p>“We know that the entire university community is collectively responsible for addressing all forms of racism and that every member must participate to achieve the deep and lasting change that is needed,” President Gertler said.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2023-03-21-IDERD_Polina-Teif-5-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>U of T President Meric Gertler said the university community is collectively responsible for addressing all forms of racism&nbsp;(photo by Polina Teif)</em></p> <p>The event also featured remarks by <b>Nouman Ashraf</b>, an associate professor, teaching stream, at the Rotman School of Management, a panel discussion moderated by Leigh Naturkach, the executive director of the Mosaic Institute and a steel pan performance by Devindra Ramoutar, and a closed session community discussion focused on the themes of faith and racial discrimination.</p> <p>Members of the public panel included: physician<b> Umberin Najeeb</b>, associate professor and vice-chair of culture and inclusion in the department of medicine at Temerty Faculty of Medicine; <b>Anna Shternshis</b>, director of Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies and Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish studies, <b>Pardeep Singh Nagra</b>, human rights and equity adviser at the Halton District School Board: and Hiren Mistry<b>, </b>vice-principal at White Oaks Secondary School.</p> <p>They discussed their personal and professional experiences with racial and religious discrimination – and how that has shaped their work. Panel members also emphasized the importance of addressing intersectionality, understanding one’s own implicit bias and being an active listener as ways to address discrimination and racism in education and in society. &nbsp;</p> <p>Najeeb said she remains hopeful in her equity, diversity, and inclusion work because of the changes she’s seen throughout her career.</p> <p>“In medical education, we never used to speak about faith,” she says, noting that the Temerty Faculty of Medicine <a href="https://meded.temertymedicine.utoronto.ca/accommodation-accessibility">now asks students</a> if they require religious accommodations during their studies. “My program never asked me that. I didn’t know I could get days off for religious celebrations like Eid.”</p> <p>While Najeeb said the work can sometimes be exhausting, she said she is encouraged by the conversations that are now taking place.</p> <p>“We can all only stay hopeful if positive changes continue to happen,” Najeeb said. “We all need to be changemakers.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:47:37 +0000 mattimar 180928 at Students, staff and faculty recognized with IDERD awards for anti-racism, equity efforts /news/students-staff-and-faculty-recognized-iderd-awards-anti-racism-equity-efforts <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"> Students, staff and faculty recognized with IDERD awards for anti-racism, equity efforts</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/0J5A0169-main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=QXHBs5we 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/0J5A0169-main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=CHD5s-Se 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/0J5A0169-main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=oF4XGqmX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/0J5A0169-main.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=QXHBs5we" alt="Photo of IDERD Recognition Award winners"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>perry.king</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-03-22T11:49:16-04:00" title="Friday, March 22, 2019 - 11:49" class="datetime">Fri, 03/22/2019 - 11:49</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">This year’s winners of the IDERD Recognition Award comprise three campus groups and seven individuals, including students, staff and faculty (photo by Luke Ng)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/perry-king" hreflang="en">Perry King</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anti-racism-cultural-diversity-office" hreflang="en">Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/iderd" hreflang="en">IDERD</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/diversity" hreflang="en">Diversity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-staff" hreflang="en">Faculty &amp; Staff</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Seven people and three organizations&nbsp;have been recognized for making strides in equity and anti-racism work with an International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD) Recognition Award.</p> <p>The award celebrates&nbsp;the&nbsp;work of students, staff and faculty&nbsp;to create diverse, equitable and inclusive teaching, learning and working environments. The honour has been awarded since 2012 and is a mainstay of the annual IDERD Conference, which took place on Thursday.</p> <h3><a href="/news/international-day-elimination-racial-discrimination-conference-addresses-opportunities-around">Read more about the IDERD Conference</a></h3> <p>“It’s important to publicly showcase the work that many people are doing to create more inclusive communities in their spaces and hope that, as we celebrate the work of both groups and individuals – and the innovative and creative things they’ve been doing – that it inspires other people to learn and engage in their own efforts in the elimination of racism and discrimination of many forms,”&nbsp; said&nbsp;<strong>Kelly Hannah-Moffat</strong>,&nbsp;vice-president, human resources and equity.</p> <p>Hannah-Moffat&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Jodie Glean</strong>, the recently appointed director of U of T’s Anti-Racism &amp; Cultural Diversity Office, were on hand to greet the winners.</p> <p>The call for nominees garnered a large and diverse pool of people, said Hannah-Moffat, both within and outside the university.&nbsp;“This is not just about what we’re doing locally at the university but how much we’re impacting local communities. That, for me, is very inspiring and motivating and demonstrates how much this work matters.”</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__10525 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" height="453" src="/sites/default/files/DSC_0851.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="680" loading="lazy"></p> <p><em>Deb Raji and Mikhail Burke are co-winners of this year's award (photo by Luke Ng)</em></p> <p>Inside U of T, the winners came from multiple departments, faculties and campuses.</p> <p><strong>Deb Raji</strong>, a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, <a href="/news/study-u-t-engineering-student-mit-takes-aim-biased-ai-facial-recognition-technology">was the lead author on a recent study</a> that showed a need for stronger evaluation practices of artificial intelligence products to mitigate gender and racial biases. One of the younger recipients of the award, Raji says she was compelled to be active in equity issues out of necessity.</p> <p>“I was at the intersection of so many perspectives – an immigrant child, a person of colour, a female in engineering,” said Raji, who added that she&nbsp;initially felt isolated on campus.</p> <p>“It wasn’t until I was contributing to the field that I understood&nbsp;my perspective has value and I can actually highlight different problems by virtue of the different ways I can view different issues,” added Raji, who recently presented her AI findings&nbsp;at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence conference on AI ethics and society.</p> <p>Her effort&nbsp;got the attention of <strong>Mikhail Burke</strong>, the dean’s adviser on Black inclusivity initiatives at the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering. The fellow IDERD Recognition Award winner, who is a student inclusion and transition adviser, is guiding efforts to assess barriers of access, inclusion and success for current and prospective Black engineering students, staff and faculty.</p> <p>Burke also nominated Raji for the IDERD award.&nbsp;“It was a no-brainer,” he said.</p> <p>Early on in his role with the faculty, he had provided Raji with resources to assist her budding AI initiatives. “As I got to know Deborah from the initial interaction, and seeing all the work she has done within machine learning and AI – the intersectionality between an equitable lens with her technical background and interests – that was just amazing to me,” he said.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__10527 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" height="453" src="/sites/default/files/DSC_0917.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="680" loading="lazy"></p> <p><em>Mikhail Burke (photo by Luke Ng)</em></p> <p>Burke, who earned his&nbsp;PhD in engineering at U of T and whose&nbsp;mother was a lecturer at New College, has long wanted to see&nbsp;more students that looked like him at U of T. Exposed to STEM learning at a young age, he is motivated to navigate issues like barriers to access and inclusion in engineering&nbsp;– about which he has seen more progress.</p> <p>“I now feel there are more people within engineering who are creating a space that empowers that work. I’m grateful to those people,” he said after accepting his award onstage.</p> <p>Raji was grateful for Burke’s nomination, which she sees as a show of support.</p> <p>“I feel one of the values of having more diverse communities [is] that there’s more of those opportunities for mentorship that feels real,” she said. “I’m really appreciative to Mikhail.”</p> <p>This year’s award winners also included <strong>Henry Ssali</strong>, the executive director of the African Alumni Association, whose work celebrates the diversity of U of T graduates, and Mental Health on the Margins (MHOTM), an organization founded and run by a group of psychiatry residents that provides&nbsp;a platform for discussion on important social justice topics “at the margins” of the curriculum within health-care education.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__10526 img__view_mode__media_large attr__format__media_large" height="453" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A0124.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="680" loading="lazy"></p> <p><em>U of T Scarborough’s Connections and Conversations group was one of three groups to win the IDERD Recognition Award (photo by Luke Ng)</em></p> <p>U of T Scarborough’s Connections and Conversations group is another of this year’s recipients. It began as an informal meetup off-campus where racialized staff could share and discuss their experiences in the workplace and has grown to become part of a larger initiative with chapters on all three campuses – connecting the shared experiences of staff members across the university.</p> <p>The group serves as a safe space for staff to talk about issues like dealing with colleagues who are not culturally sensitive, barriers to advancing one’s career and how to engage allies in understanding and supporting racialized colleagues who face discrimination, said&nbsp;<strong>Holly Andrews</strong>, a member of the Connections and Conversations executive team and a student housing assistant with U of T Scarborough’s Student Housing and Residence Life.</p> <p>When Andrews first came to work at U of T Scarborough, after working on the downtown Toronto campus, Connections and Conversations served as a warm welcome to the community on campus.</p> <p>“Here is a group that's actually working towards eliminating possible discrimination and working towards affecting systemic racism in a way that is constructive,” says Andrews, days before the award ceremony.</p> <p>Andrews says she’s received similar comments from those who attend Connections and Conversations meetings.</p> <p>“People are impressed and quite happy to know they can attend workshops and get real concrete ways to make a difference in their own departments.”</p> <p>Receiving the IDERD recognition award is “really huge for the group,” Andrews says.</p> <p>“We want to do more. We want to continue this work. We invite people to come talk with us.”</p> <hr> <p>Here is the full list of individual winners:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Janelle Baptiste-Brady</strong>, PhD student and co-ordinator, Centre Integrative Anti-Racism Studies (CIARS), Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</li> <li><strong>Jenny Blackbird</strong>, co-ordinator, Ciimaan/Kahuwe’ya/Qajaq Indigenous Language Initiative Program, Centre for Indigenous Studies</li> <li><strong>Mikhail Burke</strong>, dean’s adviser on Black Inclusivity Initiatives and Student Inclusion &amp; Transition Mentor, Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</li> <li><strong>Seán Kinsella</strong>, co-ordinator of Residential Transition Programs, Student Housing &amp; Residence Life, Ƶ Mississauga</li> <li><strong>Hana Lee</strong>, associate registrar, Admissions and Registration, Faculty of Medicine</li> <li><strong>Deborah Raji</strong>, fourth-year undergraduate student, Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</li> <li><strong>Henry Ssali</strong>, office assistant/receptionist, Office of the President</li> </ul> <p>Here is the list of groups who have won the award:</p> <ul> <li>Mental Health on the Margins, Ƶ (members: <strong>Katrina Hui</strong>, <strong>Elaine Bradley</strong>, <strong>Aarti Rana</strong>, <strong>Beverly Guan</strong>, <strong>Zenita Alidina </strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Zainab Furqan</strong>)</li> <li>Muslim Justice Collective, Ƶ (members: <strong>Aysha Ahmadjan</strong>, <strong>Lama Ahmed</strong>, <strong>Nooria Alam</strong>, <strong>Iman Bakkioui-Lahroussi</strong>, <strong>Ifrah Farah</strong>, <strong>Ahmed Hegazy</strong>, <strong>Khalood Kibria</strong>, <strong>Atif Khan</strong>, <strong>Habiba Maher</strong>, <strong>Aliza Rahman</strong>, <strong>Naima Raza</strong>&nbsp;and <strong>Sofietou Sakho</strong>)</li> <li>UTSC Connections &amp; Conversations, Local Executive Committee, Ƶ Scarborough (members: <strong>Amorell Saunders N’Daw</strong>, <strong>Danielle Bannis</strong>, <strong>Kimberley Tull, Holly Andrews</strong>, <strong>Denise Lopes</strong>, <strong>Jeevan Kempson, Kyomi Duncan-Hastings</strong>, <strong>Neil Chakraborty</strong>, <strong>Lisa Nagapen</strong></li> </ul> <h3>​<a href="http://antiracism.utoronto.ca/programs/iderd/iderd-award-recipients-2019/">Read more about the winners here</a>&nbsp;</h3> <h3><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hruoft/sets/72157707854066134/">View more photos from the event here</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 22 Mar 2019 15:49:16 +0000 perry.king 155694 at