By Stacie Smith: Executive Director
Back in June, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Equal Futures Gender Equality Summit in Ottawa. Thanks to their Youth Bursary Program and the support of The Sandbox Project, I was able to connect with change makers in gender equality, along with learning how to advocate for those who feel as though they don’t have a voice.
The theme of the summit was “Collaboration, Collective Action and Community”, which provided a forum for the gender equality movement to come together, in all its diversity, to build connections, strengthen capacity, share expertise, and shape a path towards a fairer and more equitable Canada.
We had the opportunity to hear wonderful keynote speakers, panels, and take part in workshops that helped to develop our knowledge and capacity in the world of gender equality. While these sessions were of great value, there were some that stood out more than others, which I will highlight in further detail.
Marci Ien - The Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth of Canada, the Honorable Marci Ien, gave the keynote address on day one of the summit. She highlighted how our voices mattered when coming to the table, demanding change, and that we are equal and just as important as everyone else. Being fearless and doing the things she didn’t do was an important take away from her speech, as our generation combats the battle of gender equality. There is a need to ‘rock the boat’ and stand up for ourselves and each other with true allyship; this will lead to successful collective action by everyone.
Advancing Gender Equality in Canadian Politics Panel - Fae Johnstone, Anjum Sultana, Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, and Rainn Willifeld discussed how the government can improve on advancing gender equality. One thing that stood out was Rainn discussing how belonging is true inclusion; how can we move around in that space of true inclusion and will they receive adequate support from others. Training around anti-oppression and anti-racism training needs to become mandatory for all workplaces and community organizations, in order to limit the amount of racism and oppression of others in those spaces. Another point made by Fae was around how people in Canada are ignorant to the fact that the same things that are happening in the United States, around targeting trans kids (girls in particular) and their right to access medically essential health services, as well as abortion rights, are also happening right here in Canada. During the recent Convoy in Ottawa, not only were there white supremacists, but there were also transphobes, anti-trans groups, and anti LGBTQ2+ groups in those spaces. Many more people need to realize that this is happening and need to fight back against the hate coming from these people.
Connecting with the other bursary recipients - Not only was the conference programming insightful and educational, the opportunity to meet other like-minded youth from the bursary program was inspirational. We all came from different parts of the country, which allowed us to share different perspectives from our own experiences in this sector. As someone who has white privilege, my eyes were opened to the experiences of others that I will never have to endure, which made this all the more important for me to use my voice to help others fight gender equality. The connections we made with each other during this summit will last forever, and I will always be grateful for the networking opportunities I experienced during this time. I look forward to the YCRH collaborating with them in the future.
A huge thanks to Erin Jex at CanWACH for all of the support and guidance during the summit. The YCRH is looking forward to collaborating with CanWACH and the Equal Futures Network, to continue advocating for gender equality in Canada. Youth voice needs to be in these conversations, as we are the future generation that will be or already in decision making positions that will affect us all moving forward.
