This November marks several commemorative days that are relevant for the Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) to acknowledge given their implications for the sense of inclusion and belonging for our diverse domestic and international campus communities.
November days of significance
November marks the 3rd annual Hindu Heritage Month and the second anniversary of Lebanese Heritage Month in Canada. Such heritage months invite us to learn more about and support the preservation of the cultures, histories and universal rights of diasporic communities in Canada.
During this month, we also commemorate the rights of transgender people and women. Trans Week of Awareness takes place from November 13 to the 19, culminating in Trans Day of Remembrance – a worldwide observance on November 20. UBC will fly the transgender flag during the week and lower all flags on the 20. Soon after, we recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th, which kicks off 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. To learn more about the trans rights, trans inclusion and trans affirming care as well as campus events and resources broadly attending to gender-based rights and gender equity/justice at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses – visit events.ubc.ca/tdor.
November is also the month in which communities across the world are invited to recognize the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, observed on November 29.
The EIO always acknowledges days of significance with full awareness of the socio-cultural and geo-political context of the day, and the complexity of impacts on UBC’s diverse and globally interconnected communities. Faculty, students and staff continue to feel the reverberations of the ongoing and expanding violence associated with the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon conflict – whether we have ancestral and diasporic ties to and/or family in the region, or we are deeply emotionally and intellectually engaged with the region through research and teaching, or we are involved in professional and scholarly collaborations in the region or we deeply empathize with the devastation in the region and are searching for ways that we can make a difference in promoting peace and justice.
Through these difficult times, the EIO continues to engage community-building initiatives to promote and protect human rights, educational and employment equity, as well as a sense of inclusion, belonging and safety. I want to share some of the most recent work in this regard.
Protecting rights and freedoms
Aligned with our mandate, we continue to work with UBC leaders and community members to foster living, learning and working environments that are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence based on protected human rights grounds. We reiterate the university’s obligations to protect human rights and academic freedom as well as the value of freedom of expression including the freedom to peacefully protest to our society.
In response to inquiries and concerns related to discrimination, the EIO continues to offer confidential and impartial human rights advising, facilitation of informal resolution, and referral to campus resources, including the Investigations Office, where appropriate.
Promoting education and community-building
To foster a culture of respect for human rights and encourage constructive critical debate and dialogue, the EIO will soon be releasing an online educational series, including a module on UBC’s obligations under its Discrimination Policy as well as modules on various forms of discrimination, including anti-Arab, anti-Asian, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and anti-Jewish discrimination.
To facilitate community-building, the EIO is partnering with academic residential colleges to pilot restorative community practices, which offer voluntary opportunities for resident community members to participate in series of conversations aimed to enhance the sense of inclusion, belonging and safety across the diverse community.
To encourage critical and constructive academic dialogue and debate, the EIO is offering financial sponsorship of academic and co-curricular events, in accordance with the Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism Enhancement Fund eligibility criteria and guidelines for sponsorship of campus community-led equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives
For more information, contact the Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion.