Events

Call for Participants: Gender Equity Project

The Breaking the Glass Ceiling Project invites women and gender-diverse faculty members to participate in a SIF-funded project that aims to increase gender equity and inclusivity within faculty positions and faculty leadership of the UBC Faculty of Medicine.

Options for confidential and/or anonymous participation: online open-ended survey or individual/group interview.

For further information or to schedule an interview, please contact med.genderequity@ubc.ca or visit the project website.

IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu

Thank you for joining us on Monday, January 9th, 2023 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (PST), for “IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu”. Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, FRCPC, MACP, FCAHS is a Professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair, Department of Medicine at UBC and Providence Health Care.

This virtual event is part of the IBPOC Voices, a new monthly series led by Dr. Neila Miled the anti-racism Advisor.

IBPOC Voices is an opportunity to meet and have a conversation with guests who identify as Indigenous, Black and people of color. This series centers IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and highlights how they navigate the different challenges and how they engage with equity, diversity and inclusion. It is also a space where guests talk about their vision of an equitable and just environment. This series is an opportunity to open spaces where we know each other more and create a sense of community because “We are fully dependent on each other for the possibility of being understood and without this understanding we are not intelligible, we do not make sense, we are not solid, visible, integrated; we are lacking. So, travelling to each other’s “worlds” would enable us to be through loving each other” (Maria Lugones)


A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu

Dr. Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, FRCPC, MACP, FCAHS is a Professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair, Department of Medicine at UBC and Providence Health Care. She is a Scientist with the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences and her research area falls under the broad umbrella of urban health research. Dr. Palepu is a General Internal Medicine specialist and practices with clinical trainees on the Clinical Teaching Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital. She is also an associate editor for the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Moderator

  • Dr. Neila Miled – Anti-Racism Advisor

Topic: IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu

Date: Monday, January 9th, 2023

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm PST


What Will I Learn?

You will learn more about IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and how IBPOC navigate the different challenges and engage with equity, diversity and inclusion.

December 2022 Newsletter

Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Register for upcoming events and find the latest resources
Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Faculty of Medicine
December 2022 Newsletter | Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
 

Welcome the REDI December newsletter

We're excited to bring you the third newsletter from the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI), and our final send for 2022. Explore upcoming events in the new year, stories, and links for recordings from previous speakers.

 

Events

Indigenous Speaker Series: From Cultural Genocide to Cultural Safety: Setting Up a New Standard of Healthcare in BC, Wed January 18, 2023

From Cultural Genocide to Cultural Safety: Setting Up a New Standard of Healthcare in BC

Join us virtually on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 from 12–3:30 pm. This fifth Indigenous Speaker Series session features a panel that brings together BC healthcare organizations and their senior representatives to discuss the work of cultural safety, cultural humility, and the broader work in regards to the recommendations from In Plain Sight, Truth and Reconciliation, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan. This important and timely dialogue will highlight the work being undertaken across the province in an effort to reconcile and redress the relationship between Indigenous peoples and health care professionals and systems.

REGISTER
 
IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu, Monday January 9, 2023

IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu

Join us virtually on Monday, January 9, 2023 from 12–1 pm for a conversation with Dr. Anita Palepu, a professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair in the Department of Medicine and Providence Health Care.

The IBPOC Voices series centers IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and highlights how they navigate the different challenges and how they engage with equity, diversity and inclusion. It is also a space where guests talk about their vision of an equitable and just environment.

REGISTER
 
It Starts with Us: Contextualizing and Educating about the Holocaust, Monday January 25, 2023

It Starts with Us: Contextualizing and Educating about the Holocaust

Join us on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 from 12–1:30 pm in commemoration of the upcoming International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This event will feature introductory remarks by Executive Director of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) Nina Krieger, a historical overview by historian Professor Chris Friedrichs and a keynote address by hidden child Holocaust Survivor Dr. Robert Krell. Following the presentation, an audience Q & A will be facilitated by VHEC’s Program and Development Manager, Dr. Abby Wener Herlin.

REGISTER
 

Stories

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

On December 6, we commemorated the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. We remember the 14 women who were murdered while attending a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. This crime is recognized today as an act of violence against women consistent with the definition of femicide.

LEARN MORE
 
The Missing Billion: Reimagining Health Systems That Expect, Accept and Connect 1 Billion People with Disabilities

The Missing Billion: Reimagining Health Systems That Expect, Accept and Connect 1 Billion People with Disabilities

The Missing Billion 2022 report shows that people with disabilities experience 2.4-fold higher mortality rates than people without disabilities. "There are more than one billion people with disabilities worldwide. That is 15% of the world’s population. People with disabilities often have greater health needs, but experience more barriers to accessing care because of health systems failures at all levels. As a result, people with disabilities frequently have poorer health outcomes." Read the report and watch the short movie to learn more about how health care systems "must expect, accept, and connect people with disabilities to quality care."

READ THE MISSING BILLION REPORT
 

Recordings

Indigenous Speaker Series: We Are All That Is Possible - Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills. Watch the recording

We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

Watch the recording for a conversation with Joanne Mills. In this fourth session of the Indigenous Speaker Series, we had an opportunity to better inform our sensibilities and perceptions about Indigenous peoples whom are both challenged with, and gifted with, developmental disabilities.

WATCH THE RECORDING
 
IBPOC Voices: A conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen. Watch the recording

IBPOC Voices: A conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen

Watch the recording for a conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen. Dr. Veerapen is the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development, and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine. She is committed to remaining responsive to emerging needs in undergraduate and postgraduate education in the Faculty of Medicine.

WATCH THE RECORDING
 
View REDI's Education & Training Core Offerings
 

Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Faculty of Medicine
317 – 2194 Health Sciences Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3

redi.med.ubc.ca

 
 

The Missing Billion: Reimagining Health Systems That Expect, Accept and Connect 1 Billion People with Disabilities

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

Written by Catalina Parra

The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women is commemorated in Canada on December 6th. We remember 14 women who were murdered while attending a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. The perpetuator, Marc Lépine claimed to be fighting feminism as he stated in his suicide note: “I have decided to send the feminist, who have always ruined my life, to their Maker.” Lépine blamed women for his failure to gain entrance to the engineering program. However, at the time, many people described his actions as the work of a madman, disconnecting the violence from his hateful and misogynistic attitudes. 

This crime is recognized today as an act of violence against women consistent with the definition of femicide. This dark episode in our history is also known as the École Polytechnique massacre or Montreal Massacre. The Canadian Parliament has designated December the 6th as a day in which Canadians remember those who have experienced gender-based violence and those who we lost to it. 

We remember:

  • Geneviève Bergeron
  • Hélène Colgan
  • Nathalie Croteau
  • Barbara Daigneault
  • Anne-Marie Edward
  • Maud Haviernick
  • Maryse Laganière
  • Maryse Leclair
  • Anne-Marie Lemay
  • Sonia Pelletier
  • Michèle Richard
  • Annie St-Arneault
  • Annie Turcotte
  • Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

Although 33 years have passed, misogyny still exists today and we must reaffirm our commitment to fight hatred. Currently, women, girls and LGBTQIA2s+ individuals continue to face unacceptable violence and discrimination. Approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner (Canadian’s women’s foundation). Gender-based violence increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been reports from police services, shelters, and local organizations of an increase in calls related to gender-based violence across Canada during the pandemic (Government of Canada). 

Additionally, it is important to note the intersectionality of racism, ableism and gender-based violence. 

*Women with a disability are three times more likely to experience violent victimization than women living without a disability (Adam Cotter, Statistics Canada, 2021).

*Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada, and 16 times more likely than white women. (National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, 2019)

*Women who identify as lesbian or bisexual are three to four times more likely than heterosexual women to report experiencing spousal violence. (Laura Simpson, Statistics Canada, 2021)

Ways to honor victims and survivors:

  • Wear a white ribbon in support of the global movement of men and boys working to end male violence against women.
  • Attend a vigil in your community.
  • Observe a moment of silence on December 6th at 11am.
  • Inform and educate others about the École Polytechnique massacre and the ongoing fight to end violence against women.
  • Add your voice to the conversation and share the ways you are being part of the solution to end gender-based violence. 

Sources:

  1. Canadian Women’s Foundation
  2. Call it Femicide: Understanding sex/gender – related killings of women and girls in Canada, 2020
  3. Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability
  4. Criminal Victimization in Canada
  5. The Canadian Encyclopedia

November 2022 Newsletter

Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Register for upcoming events and find the latest resources
Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Faculty of Medicine
November 2022 Newsletter | Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
 

Welcome the REDI November newsletter

We're excited to bring you the second newsletter from the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (REDI).

Read on to learn about upcoming events, stories, and find links for recordings from previous speakers.

 

Events

We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

Join us virtually on Wednesday, December 7 from 12–1:30 pm for this fourth session of the Indigenous Speaker Series with Joanne Mills, Vice President of Quality Services & Indigenous Relations at Community Living British Columbia.

Joanne Mills is a proud Cree woman from Ochekwi-Sipi Fisher River Cree Nation, a signatory to Treaty 5 in Manitoba. She’s been a force of change and purpose for Indigenous peoples who have for too long been marginalized and labeled as living with developmental disabilities.

REGISTER
 
IBPOC Voices: A conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen

IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen

Join us virtually on Friday, December 9 from 12–1 pm for “IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen”. Dr. Kiran Veerapen is the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development, and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine. She is committed to remaining responsive to emerging needs in undergraduate and postgraduate education in the Faculty of Medicine.

REGISTER
 
REDI Empower Hour | Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation

REDI Empower Hour | Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation

Join us virtually on Thursday, November 17 from 5–6 pm for a REDI Empower Hour session with Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup. We invite you to bring your favourite meal, pull up a virtual chair, and we’ll talk about the bits and pieces of a meaningful conversation, and chew on the many and layered flavours of telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

REGISTER
 

Stories

Healthy Environments in Academic Research Teams (HEART)

Healthy Environments in Academic Research Teams (HEART)

The Graduate and Postdoctoral Education Office is developing an exciting new program called Healthy Environments in Academic Research Teams (HEART). HEART aims to equip you and your team with the knowledge and tools you need to create a genuinely healthy and inclusive research environment for everyone.

They want to hear your thoughts on what makes a healthy research environment in the Faculty of Medicine.

LEARN MORE
 
EDI champions and Allies Series: Dr. Tal Jarus

EDI Champions and Allies Series: Dr. Tal Jarus

In this edition of the EDI Champions and Allies, meet Dr. Tal Jarus, professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.

LEARN MORE
 

Recordings

Recording: Transformative Change According to Doug Kelly: Creating the BC First Nations Health Authority

Transformative Change According to Doug Kelly: Creating the BC First Nations Health Authority

Grand Chief Doug Kelly joined us on November 9 for the third session of the Indigenous Speaker Series. We learnt about his work and leadership in the creation of the First Nations Health Authority, and his experiences and insights as the former Chair of the First Nations Health Council. Grand Chief Kelly reflected on what we can be learnt about the self-determination of BC First Nations, what’s needed to strengthen the work in relation to Truth and Reconciliation, and how health and academic systems can better plan and respond to the unique needs of First Nations in BC.

WATCH THE RECORDING
 
Recording: IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Adrian Yee

IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Adrian Yee

Dr. Adrian Yee joined us on November 4 for an “IBPOC Voices Conversation”. Dr. Yee is the Director of Curriculum, within the Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Program. He provides leadership for UGME to ensure a high-quality educational experience across all four sites and all four years of the curriculum. IBPOC Voices is a series that centers IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and highlights how they navigate the different challenges and how they engage with equity, diversity and inclusion.

WATCH THE RECORDING
 
Watch Recording: Diagnosing Truth, Healing and Conciliation Inside BC Health Care Systems with Dr. Danièle Behn Smith

Diagnosing Truth, Healing and Conciliation Inside BC Health Care Systems with Dr. Danièle Behn Smith

Dr. Danièle Behn Smith, Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Indigenous Health, joined us on October 17 for the second session of the Indigenous Speaker Series. Listen to Dr. Behn Smith’s unique perspective on how health and academic systems can best approach the work in relation to the processes of Truth and Reconciliation.

WATCH THE RECORDING
 
View REDI's Education & Training Core Offerings
 

Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Faculty of Medicine
317 – 2194 Health Sciences Mall
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3

redi.med.ubc.ca

 
 

EDI Champions and Allies Series: A Conversation with Dr. Tal Jarus

Meet a UBC faculty who is creating an impact

EDI champions and Allies Series: A Conversation with Dr. Tal Jarus

In this edition of the EDI champions and Allies, meet with Dr. Tal Jarus, Chair of the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Department’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (JEDI)

Dr. Tal Jarus was born and raised in Israel where she established a career as an Occupational Therapist and Professorat Tel Aviv University. She immigrated to Canada in 2006. In the past 12 years, Dr. Jarus has focused on justice within the health professions, specially advocating for diversifying the health professions and mitigating barriers for students who identify as belonging to equity-denied groups when navigating the learning and working environment.


What motivates you to engage in JEDI work?

“When I came out of the closet, having first-hand experience of being marginalized impacted me significantly. It was shocking to realize that before coming out of the closet, a lot of these injustices were not clear to me. I wasn’t even aware of my privileges until some of my privileges were taken away. I did not know what it was to feel marginalized.”Dr. Jarus mentions that the lived experience with discrimination opened her eyes to the many ways in which systemic oppression harms people, “when I see that someone’s rights are being denied, I cannot ignore it; I must take action.So, with those realizations, I became very engaged in justice work. Interestingly, my social activism never infiltrated my professional work up until 15 years ago, while I was in a leadership role and realized the systemic inequities in higher education.”


What are the challenges to JEDI work?

Some of the most significant barriers to this work are systemic issues. “The way our educational and practice systems are structured benefit mostly white able-bodied males […] there is a ‘normal’ way of doing things, the ‘right’ way to study, the ‘right’ way of sharing knowledge” says Dr. Jarus. Attitudes, structures of power and biases within the system are major roadblocks for JEDI work. As long as we continue to have dominant Eurocentric perspectives in leadership, the status quo will remain, and the needed change will be minimal and/or slow. Inspired by the need to address these inequities, Dr. Jarus began to plan and implement initiatives with the goal of creating inclusive and accessible health professions educational programs. Her work in the past few years focused on three areas: 1) increasing accessibility in the health professions, 2) exploring how to decolonize the health professions, and 3) increasing the reach to equity-denied youth who are interested in health professions as a career. 

  1. Inclusive and accessible health professions educational programs

When Dr. Jarus started working at UBC as a department head, she noticed that although the number of disabled students has increased in the classroom, adequate accommodations were not established in order to provide accessible spaces for the students to thrive. Dr Jarus notes that “Occupational Therapy is the profession where you accommodate people and you advocate for inclusive society.” It was in that moment that she realized there was a gap between thediscourse and the reality. “It is not enough to focus on diversifying the health professions. We cannot put people there just to face bias and ableism because we would be setting them up to fail […] we need to walk the talk.”

Dr. Jarus shared how these realizations created some tension and emotional heaviness. “What are we doing?” was a prevalent question accompanied by feelings of frustration because as, at that time, the head of the Occupational Therapy department, it was imperative for her to lead change.  Since then, Dr. Jarus is leading local and national studies exploring the barriers to the participation of disabled students in the health professions, and developing innovative solutions and strategies to increase accessibility and sense of belonging. One innovative aspect of those projects is how the team disseminate their findings, using theatre.

Research Based Theater (RbT) – Alone in the Ring

“There was a study conducted in which we interviewed disabled students. As I was reading the interviews and quotes, it was heart breaking. I thought: I have to find an avenue to share these stories in a way that reaches both the heart and the brain. In order to create a change, if you do it from an entire theoretical perspective, it will not work.”

In 2018, Dr. Jarus partnered up with the Faculty of Education to implement a methodology that translates research to real life experiences through theater. It is a mode of inquiry and knowledge mobilization that seeks to raise awareness and inspire audiences to be agents of cultural transformation. Dr. Jarus says, “I was amazed and struck by howimpactful it was. We performed in front of thousands of people and the number of testimonials was impressive.”

Recently the team received the 2022 D2L Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning for their Ring: Innovation in Pedagogy, from the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

To learn more, visit the Inclusive Campus – Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy website, RbT to promote social Change: Alone in the Ring

  1. Decolonizing and indigenizing the health professions educational programs

Dr. Jarus states “When I first moved to Canada, I was not aware of colonization in Canada- I left my country because I did not want to be part of the ongoing occupation, and I had no idea I moved to a colonized country.” She says that educating herself about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada has taken her years because “you do not get information in an organized way. You get bits and pieces.”

Dr. Jarus observed that there are very few Indigenous students in the OT program and this prompted her to start working on a strategy to change this situation.

Indigenous Student Perspectives

At the first phase of this project, In 2019, Dr. Jarus spearheaded sharing circles with Indigenous students from the health and human service programs at UBC. Those circles fostered safe spaces for Indigenous students in the Health Professions to share their stories and experiences in our learning environments The results from those sharing circles were published in this article – “Barriers and Facilitators for Indigenous Students and Staff in Health and human services educational programs.”

In 2021, Dr. Jarus together with Indigenous and settler faculty and staff created spaces to hold sharing circles under the leadership of an Elder Advisory. These sharing circles fostered culturally safe spaces for Indigenous Peoples and settlers in the Health Professions to learn together and plan actions around decolonizing and Indigenizing the health and human service professions’ educational programs. Dr. Jarus says “Change needs to come from within the programand this includes non-Indigenous people of course.” The circles of learning and change were a cohort-based program with Indigenous and non-Indigenous faculty, students and staff. The objective is to foster meaningful dialogue and reflection on topics such as decolonization of the Health professions, language & history, inclusive recruitment processes, decolonization of curriculum, the most effective ways for community engagement, and the need to acknowledge and uphold other ways of knowing.

Dr. Jarus mentions that when meeting with the Elders to share with them the impact of the Circles of Learning and Change, an important instruction from the Elders was, “We want to hear the story, do not show us the graph. Tell us how people feel.” This resulted in an animated infographic video that was created together with the Elders to outlining the major learnings from these conversations, the barriers to the work, and the vision for the future in a visual way. 

Through our conversation with Dr. Jarus, it is clear that it is necessary to bring heart to this work and foster spaces for honest and vulnerable conversations where stories can be shared, heard and held in respect. It is the act of actively and deeply listening what will ultimately help us moving forward in the effort to transform our culture.

To find details and materials from this initiative visit, Latest Circles Event Resources

  • Communities of Practice

Dr. Jarus advised that the Circles of Learning and Change were enriching spaces that allowed people to learn a lot about themselves, but also revealed that we are just at a tipping point of the work that needs to be done. People felt that this was not enough and they want to see more of these conversations occurring on campus. Therefore, a Community of Practice (CoP) was initiated to allow the conversations. 

All members of the two Circles of Learning and Change cohorts joined the CoP, which was developed with the objective of giving continuity to opportunities for conversation and experience sharing. In the CoP, members exchange learnings about ongoing initiatives related to decolonizing and Indigenizing the HHS programs and provide feedback to each other. The group meets on a monthly basis and each program (e.g. nursing, pharmacy, social work, occupation therapy, etc.) is charged with facilitating one meeting. Elders always join these meetings as they are central to this work.

  1. Increasing the reach to equity-denied youth who are interested in health professions as a career– the 2022UBC Health Profession Summer Program

Dr. Jarus notes that in order to transform the healthcare system for all, it is imperative that “people in Health professions need to be representative of the population we serve. We need to have more individuals with the diverse backgrounds and lived experiences from equity-denied groups in the health professions. In order to accomplish this, we should be reaching out to potential learners while they are youths.”

To this end, 4 health programs at UBC (OSOT, PT, Dentistry and Pharmacy) held the first 2022 UBC Health Profession Summer Program – now called D’HoPE –Diversifying Health Profession Educationwhich hosted equity-denied youth from high schools and undergrad programs for one week. The students attended presentations on the different programs available in the health professions, admission processes, equity and the importance of diversity. In the fall the program continues via group and individual mentorship program.

Dr. Jarus stresses the importance of holding these sessions given that many equity-denied youth do not view these professions as options.


How can we move forward?

“I think we have to find a way to reach out to people. Getting people to hear the stories might be helpful but this is not where we end.” Dr. Jarus notes that it is crucial to have people reflect on their own privileges with a concomitant effort to hear the stories of other individuals. RbT or sharing circles can help open the hearts but we also need to keep people engaged. Creating and strengthening JEDI action networks is crucial.

It is also important to acknowledge that some people may not understand the necessity of this work; therefore, one must find an avenue to reach out to them in a way that is constructive and conducive to change. “You want to raise your concerns in a way that people can hear them.” Says Dr. Jarus. “We need strong leaders who recognize their privilege and are committed and firm in trickling down a culture of change.” Promoting justice and enacting change require ongoing commitment and readiness to experiences uncomfortable situations – “it is a marathon, not a sprint.”


What is your vision?

That the health professions education and practice go through a radical systemic change – to start with, that thehealth professions become rightly so diversified and accessible and that there will be a strong sense of belonging for people coming from equity-denied groups.” The hope is that the Health Professions will not only reflect the society we serve, but will be truly accountable for being engaged in social activism. The talk needs to be walked.

REDI Empower Hour | Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation

Join us for the November 17th REDI Empower Hour.

REDI Empower Hour | Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson - Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation

Parts Known and Unknown: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup Talks About the Bits and Pieces of a Meaningful Conversation

Um. Let’s see. I’m writing this bit of narrative as I’m devouring a Banh Mi sandwich. It’s delicious. As I am chomping, slurping and thoroughly enjoying my meal I’m struck by the absence and impact of Anthony Bourdain. For me, and right from the start, he was like a friend that was altogether strange and familiar. And since his passing, and as much as he did in life, the meals that I enjoy these days are the meals that I enjoyed as a child. My Gran’s homemade duck soup or my Great-Grandmother’s barbeque sockeye salmon, and she would make the cedar stick herself and fasten a whole fish on it and cook over an open fire. My Mom’s fresh bread enjoyed with a bowl of beef stew made from scratch, or the egg, bacon and cheese sandwich wrapped in foil that I would demolish on the way to school on the 3-hour return trek from Nitinaht Lake to Port Alberni. This makes me think about the spaces where we all feel welcome – the kitchen table that you grew up around, your Grandmother’s home, a favorite restaurant, a community picnic, a smorgasbord, holiday meals – and it is food. Tony said, “When someone cooks for you they are saying something. They are telling you about themselves – where they come from, who they are, what makes them happy.” So, bring your favorite meal, pull up a virtual chair, and we’ll talk about the bits and pieces of a meaningful conversation, and chew on the many and layered flavors of telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

Facilitator: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, Indigenous Advisor

Date: Thursday, November 17th, 2022

Time: 5:00 – 6:00 pm PDT

Please note that the event will not be recorded


What Will I Learn?

Anthony Bourdain said, “Perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.” So, what we’ll strive to learn about is our potential for curiosity and compassion for and with each other.


Facilitator: Derek Thompson - Thlaapkiituup, Learning Environment Advisor, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Facilitator: Derek Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, Learning Environment Advisor, Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion


What is the REDI Empower Hour

The Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion is proud to present a new REDI Empower Hour series featuring our team of advisors: Robyn CampolDr. Neila Miled and Derek Thompson. This fresh and informative series will be spontaneous and conversational in its approach to talk about issues that are timely and relevant. These sessions will also highlight the importance of showing up to these necessary conversations with presence and persona – so bring your very best of curiosity and energy!

Each session will also provide an opportunity for the participants to engage in a Q & A or to simply to reflect on the merits of the conversations. This exciting series will be offered monthly, with each advisor presenting their own one hour session.

IBPOC Voices: A conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen

Thank you for joining us on Friday, December, 9th, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (PST), for “IBPOC Voices: A Conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen”. Dr. Kiran Veerapen is the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development, and Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine. She is committed to remaining responsive to emerging needs in undergraduate and postgraduate education in the Faculty of Medicine.

This virtual event is part of the IBPOC Voices, a new monthly series led by Dr. Neila Miled the anti-racism Advisor.

IBPOC Voices is an opportunity to meet and have a conversation with guests who identify as Indigenous, Black and people of color. This series centers IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and highlights how they navigate the different challenges and how they engage with equity, diversity and inclusion. It is also a space where guests talk about their vision of an equitable and just environment. This series is an opportunity to open spaces where we know each other more and create a sense of community because “We are fully dependent on each other for the possibility of being understood and without this understanding we are not intelligible, we do not make sense, we are not solid, visible, integrated; we are lacking. So, travelling to each other’s “worlds” would enable us to be through loving each other” (Maria Lugones)

Dr. Kiran Veerapen, Assistant Dean of Faculty Development,
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine (bio)

Dr. Veerapen trained in Rheumatology in the United Kingdom and practiced in Malaysia from 1986 to 2004. As a pioneer Rheumatologist in Malaysia, she led the field in early descriptive and epidemiological studies in the region.


In 2004, she moved to British Columbia and has been involved in Medical Education since 2006. In 2008 she completed a Master’s degree in Medical Education through the University of Dundee and in 2012, she was awarded a PhD from the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program at the University of Victoria. Her doctoral thesis is entitled “The impact of uniprofessional medical and nursing education on the ability to work collaboratively”.


As Assistant Dean, Faculty Development, she is committed to remaining responsive to emerging needs in undergraduate and postgraduate education in the Faculty of Medicine. Her current interests are developing contextually relevant longitudinal programs for residents and teachers and innovative strategies for Inter-professional Faculty Development.

As Director of Assessment for Undergraduate Medical Education, UBC, she has led the development and implementation of Programmatic Assessment.


Moderator

  • Dr. Neila Miled – Anti-Racism Advisor

Topic: IBPOC Voices: A conversation with Dr. Kiran Veerapen

Date: Friday, December 9th, 2022

Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm PST


What Will I Learn?

You will learn more about IBPOC experiences and knowledge, and how IBPOC navigate the different challenges and engage with equity, diversity and inclusion.

Recording: We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

Thank you for joining us on Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (PST), for “We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging” with Joanne Mills, Vice President of Quality Services & Indigenous Relations at Community Living British Columbia. Joanne Mills is a proud Cree woman from Ochekwi-Sipi Fisher River Cree Nation, a signatory to Treaty 5 in Manitoba. She’s been a force of change and purpose for Indigenous peoples who have for too long been marginalized and labeled as living with developmental disabilities. In this fourth session of the Indigenous Speaker Series, we had an opportunity to learn more about the about Indigenous peoples who are both challenged with, and gifted with, developmental disabilities.

We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

Thank you for joining us on Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm (PST), for “We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging” with Joanne Mills. This virtual event is presented by the Indigenous Speakers Series

Joanne Mills, Vice President of Quality Services & Indigenous Relations at Community Living British Columbia (Bio)

Joanne Mills is a proud Cree woman from Ochekwi-Sipi Fisher River Cree Nation, a signatory to Treaty 5 in Manitoba. Through marriage, she is deeply connected to the Haida Gwaii, and is a member of the Ḵ’uuna Llnagaay – Skedans Raven Clan. She is a mother of three beautiful children including an adult daughter living with a disability, and is a grandmother of two.


Joanne is the Vice President of Quality Services & Indigenous Relations at Community Living British Columbia, and has singlehandedly made transformative changes in how CLBC better responds to First Nations and Indigenous communities. She has created a new Indigenous Relations Team that will help advance the goals in the CLBC Strategic Plan, and in the 2022/23 CLBC Service Plan to build trusting relationships with First Nations and Indigenous communities, and to improve the awareness of available supports and services by increasing CLBC staff understanding about First Nations and Indigenous history and culture.


Joanne believes that she is “very privileged to be chosen for this important work and I feel that my life’s journey has prepared me to support our most precious people, and I look forward to working in partnership with First Nations and Indigenous communities to build a meaningful, culturally relevant model of care, and to collaborate with the CLBC Leadership Team to bring to life our collective vision of – Lives filled with possibilities in welcoming communities.”

Moderator

  • Derek K Thompson – Thlaapkiituup, Indigenous Advisor

Description 

Who we are and where we come from is a common thread of Indigenous – First Nations, Inuit, Métis – pride and belonging in our communities. In our communities we believe that each human being has a life force, a spirit, a soul, and a singular purpose, and that we must respect the spirit in all others. When a family is blessed with the birth of a new member, we gather, we share a feast, and pass the baby around. We sing ceremonial songs to make the baby precious, and usually the newborn is given an ancestral baby name. We greet babies as though we have always known them and speak good words of encouragement to them. We make every effort to uphold and cherish all children because as we grow into adults that sense of belonging and purpose is signaling that he or she is important and precious to the family and community.


We must reflect on, and challenge, the kinds of images that come to mind when we think about people living with developmental disabilities from a western perspective and construct, which is typically deficit-based. It’s important that such reflection address how the oppression, assimilation and racism against Indigenous peoples in Canada correlates to the experiences we see today in supporting Indigenous people and families with developmental disabilities. Taking an ahistorical approach to supporting our families and communities in this context is no longer tolerable.


There is an urgent need to create a meaningful dialogue about our understanding of Indigenous people living with developmental disabilities. There is an equal urgency to figure out how to better support First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals, families and communities with the necessary resources to ensure a confidence of independence, care and belonging for those challenged with disabilities.


Joanne Mills is the right person for the right time to reflect on the principles and perspectives of disability and belonging. She’s been a force of change and purpose for Indigenous peoples who have for too long been marginalized and labeled as living with developmental disabilities. This important and timely conversation will provide an opportunity for us to better inform our sensibilities and perceptions about Indigenous peoples who are both challenged with, and gifted with, developmental disabilities.


Topic: We Are All That Is Possible: Indigenous Principles and Perspectives of Disability & Belonging with Joanne Mills

Date: Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Time: 12:00 – 1:30 pm PST


What Will I Learn?

You will learn about Indigenous principles and perspectives of disability and belonging.


Continue Learning

“The time to make things happen is now. The time to seek out our individual and shared power is now.”

Learn more about REDI’s Indigenous Initiatives here

Discover more about REDI’s Indigenous Speakers Series here

Find REDI’s Indigenous-Specific Resources here