Canada

For Youth Initiative and Early Childhood Development Initiative invites you to join them for a discussion on advocacy and support for Black children and youth. FYI works with youth aged 13-25 who identify as Black and ECDI works with newcomer West African families with children aged 6-12. This workshop will provide space for us to have a dialogue and learn about ways to strengthen parental and youth capacity to ensure optimal success in the education system.

Register here: https://forms.gle/WQtZVqS8DDum9PiKA

For more information email:

- mbagirakandi@ecdinitiative.org
- cornelious@foryouth.ca
- mishka@foryouth.ca

A new federally sponsored child-care program is unfolding across Canada. This initiative didn’t fall from the sky – it’s the result of decades of agitation by child-care activists in Toronto and the rest of the country. We are bringing together a panel to discuss the campaigns for decent, publicly supported child care and to assess how this new program measures up.

Panelists

Lisa Pasolli is Assistant Professor of history at Queen’s University and the author of numerous publications on the history of child care in Canada.

Martha Friendly is Executive Director (and founder) of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit and has written about and advocated for good child care for some fifty years. 

Julie Mathien worked for many years as Director of the Early Learning and Child Development Branch of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and recently wrote a history of the Campus Community Co-operative Day Care Centre (she also participated in the occupations required to get funding for that centre fifty years ago).

Jessica Tomas works at the U of T Early Learning Centre and is Diversity Officer and Vice-President of Advocacy on the executive board of CUPE Local 2484 and a board member of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.

Note: Registration is not required. See ZOOM link below. 

ZOOM MEETING LINK
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83234095991?pwd=S3ByWjVxdXlBaTlTaXJZMzNWMDhOUT09
Meeting ID: 832 3409 5991 • Passcode: 257194

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+15873281099,,83234095991#,,,,*257194# Canada

Meeting ID: 832 3409 5991 • Passcode: 257194
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcigVcOio4

Register here

ABSTRACT: In recognition of the first annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, this presentation addresses the colonial truths that remain embedded in the early childhood service sector as a way to generate pathways toward reconciliation with Indigenous communities in Canada. This presentation is offered through an Indigenous integrative framework to bring a critical analysis of colonialism in early years programs and offer tangible steps toward better relations with Indigenous communities, children, and families through self-reflection and self-location.

SPEAKER BIO: Nicole Ineese-Nash (she/her) is an Assistant Professor cross-appointed to the schools of Early Childhood Studies and Child and Youth Care at X (formerly Ryerson) University, with a background in Early Childhood Studies (MA) and Social Justice Education (PhD). As an Anishinaabe (Oji-Cree) researcher and educator, Nicole's work focuses on Indigenous experiences of social systems, understandings of land knowledge, and community-based research. Through an interdisciplinary Indigenous lens, Nicole's research explores Indigenous youth and child experiences in various educational contexts, including land education programs, disability services, schools, and community settings. Nicole is particularly interested in supporting Indigenous youth to connect with their ancestry, land, and cultures as a way to promote wellness, and has founded Finding Our Power Together, a national non-profit organization, in order to support Indigenous youth in realizing their own goals.