Truth & Reconciliation – 2 Day Conference

Join us in June for this very special 2 day event.

To register for this event

Click here

In this two day institute participants will be led through transformative learning to help position themselves within reconciliation work while creating a personalized decolonizing statement that informs practical interventions. A consistent barrier for folks in enacting reconciliation in social service is questioning if we are the right person to take on this work and where to begin? The three main components of the program will address (1) each of our unique opportunities to create change (2) a theory of change based on relentless incrementalism, and (3) developing a personal theory of decolonizing that is actionable and can inform future work.

DAY ONE

The first day of the institute will support participants to apply a framework of identity/responsibility/role to recognize the spaces where they hold unique leverage and authority to create sustainable change. With our various identities (race, gender, class, etc) we each occupy unique spaces to influence change and should be cognizant of the most appropriate and impactful ways for this to happen. Moreover, given the various disciplines we work in, it is critical to consider the histories of colonization we take on or assume when working in a field, as communities may often view us extensions of that institution instead of as individuals. Lastly, we should consider our role where we carry the greatest amount of leverage or authority to develop reconciliation work in the spaces we can have the most impact, and free ourselves of the responsibility of attending to everything and becoming overwhelmed. In addition, we will use the framework of relentless incrementalism to recognize how we can start with small focused projects to create incremental growth.

DAY 2

Building from recognizing the unique places we can create incremental change, we will support participants to establish a personalized decolonizing framework that can direct practice. There is a common misunderstanding of what decolonizing is, or that there is just one definition. In this session participants will be exposed a rich diversity of what decolonizing can be and build a decolonizing statement that aligns with how they see themselves in this work. This practical tool will be used to inform how to decolonize so many facets of your work, but through a relentless incrementalism framework that allows change to happen methodically and not overnight.