Resources and support for the UBC Community amidst geopolitical tensions

Resources and support for the UBC Community amidst geopolitical tensions

September 27, 2023

News and Stories |

UBC stands in support of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities

September 20, 2023

UBC prides itself on our diverse and vibrant learner, scholar, and professional communities – our local and global excellence and relevance is strengthened by this diversity, including the presence and contributions of 2SLGBTQIA+ students, faculty and staff. 

The increasing backlash against efforts to enhance the human rights, accessibility, inclusion and wellness of sexual orientation and gender identity minoritized peoples is extremely concerning. The waves of anti-SOGI protests planned across Canada do not align with UBC’s values. UBC is committed to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms – which are extended to all citizens. The Human Rights Commission has reinforced this sentiment in their own recent statement. 

The question is not one of choosing between competing rights and freedoms but rather of reconciling and balancing these rights and freedoms to promote accessibility, equity, inclusion, and justice for all.

Whatever one’s ethno-racial background, religious belief, or political affiliation, human rights and freedoms (justice) for any group cannot be attained without ensuring the human rights and freedoms of all humanity.  

The validation and empowerment of individuals and communities is key to human and just institutions and societies.

To the 2SLGBTQIA+ community at UBC, know that you are valued and that we stand behind you.

For support, please consider the following options available to you:

  • For safety and security planning or to report an incident of hate, please contact 911 in case of emergency or contact UBC Campus Security at UBC Vancouver (604-822-2222) and UBC Okanagan (250-807-8111).
  • For confidential advising on experience of harassment and discrimination, please contact the human rights team (604-827-1773) at the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.
  • Students can also access:

Should you have concerns reaching out to or have had negative experiences with any of the services listed here, please get in touch with us at the Equity & Inclusion Office. We will help facilitate a connection and ensure you are provided with an appropriate and trauma-informed response.

Dr. Arig al Shaibah

Associate Vice-President Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Gage Averill

Provost & Vice-President, Academic (Vancouver) 

Dr. Rehan Sadiq

Provost & Vice-President, Academic (Okanagan) 

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Fostering inclusivity through SOGI education: A shared commitment

September 20, 2023

News and Stories |

Remarks: Mahsa Amini Memorial Event

September 15, 2023

The following remarks were delivered by Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion during the Mahsa Amini Memorial Event on September 15, 2023.

Assalammu ‘Alaikum.

Let me start by acknowledging that the UBC campuses on which we are gathered for this event sit on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Syilx Okanagan Nations. This land acknowledgement serves to remind us of our positionality and relationship to the land and First Peoples who have sought to responsibly steward the land and its resources in a manner that promotes environmental and social sustainability and justice so that all life that traverses the land may flourish and live in harmony.

Thank you to the UBC Persian Club for organizing this important event and for inviting me to make a few remarks on behalf of the university.

One year since Mahsa Amini’s senseless death, today’s event serves both a commemorative and generative purpose.

We are being brought together to remember the life of Mahsa Amini, to recognize the pain inflicted on and to honour the courage of the Iranian community, and to renew our support for the ongoing women, life, freedom global liberation and social justice movement that was since spawned.

Whatever our nationality, ethno-racial ancestry, ability, sexual orientation or gender identity the women, life, freedom liberation movement is relevant to all of our communities and the collective humanity – geopolitical events and societal injustices around the world have far reaching implications and deep impacts on all of us.

The words of the late US civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. come to mind. Writing while imprisoned for acts of civil disobedience while fighting for civil rights, Dr. King said:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

– Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

Mahsa Amini was a vibrant 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman who was reportedly severely beaten for allegedly improperly wearing the hijab according to the standards imposed by the government. She died in a hospital while still in police custody shortly after this encounter. Around the world, we have seen the outrage and an outpouring of support including through the “We Are All Mahsa Amini” campaign.

Iranian community members abroad and the Iranian diaspora in Canada have continued to experience trauma and grief, as a consequence of Mahsa Amini’s death and surrounding circumstances, as well as the persistent repressive actions of the country’s regime in response to the women, life, freedom movement – a movement calling for gender equity and respect of human rights.

We honour the courage and perseverance of the Iranian people who have risked their lives to speak out and relentlessly pursue gender equity and human rights before and after Mahsa’s death. Iranian-American author, Azar Nafisi, has written about the courage and perseverance of the Iranian people. She says:

I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.

– Azar Nafisi

As a queer, Arab-Canadian woman and cultural Muslim, I continue to experience the grief and survival guilt assoiated with reconciling the relative freedom I have in Canada in contrast to the curtailment of freedoms for women as well as sexual and gender minoritized peope in my country of origin – Yemen – and even among my diasporic communities here in Canada. To fight for these rights in a country were there is an accepted human rights framework as a starting point is very different from fighting for these rights to reform or transform the legal landscape itself.

In closing, this is a challenging time for the UBC Iranian community, and I am proud to stand with you and loudly declare our commitments to supporting human rights globally in a way that calls attention to the senseless death of Mahsa Amini, recognizes the resilence of the community, and declares our commitment to forging a more just world now and into the future.

Thank you for your generosity in inviting me and giving me the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment and support to the Iranian community at UBC.

Lastly, just before I step-off, I want to applaud the visible degree of community support.

For those who may wish to reach out for support or assistance, please consider some of the resources available to you at UBC. A handout is available for your consideration.

Thank you

Resources and Support

Mental Health/Wellbeing

For faculty and staff:

For students:

Academic Support or Concessions

Emergency Financial Support

Safety/Security

  • For safety and security planning or to report an incident of hate, please contact 911 in case of emergency or contact UBC Campus Security at UBC Vancouver (604-822-2222).
  • Download the UBC Safe App for UBC Vancouver.

 Human Rights Advising

  • For confidential advising on experience of harassment and discrimination, please contact the human rights team (604-827-1773) at the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office.

For more information on spaces and resources for connection and support, visit our Connection + Support page for UBC Vancouver.

Should you have concerns reaching out to or have had negative experiences with any of the services listed here, please get in touch with us at the Equity & Inclusion Office. We will help facilitate a connection and ensure you are provided with an appropriate and trauma-informed response.

Equity.ubc.ca | 604-827-1773 | info@equity.ubc.ca

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories, Remarks by the AVP |

New term: Welcome from the AVP, Equity and Inclusion

September 15, 2023

Dear EDI affinity groups, allies and agents for change,   

I hope you have all had an opportunity to rest and recharge over the summer as we prepare to start what I hope will be a productive academic year with respect to our shared interest to foster an ever more inclusive and equitable university community and environment. I’ve been so inspired and encouraged by the various ways that you have been championing equity, diversity and inclusion at UBC to date, setting up a strong, community-informed platform that we can continue building on.

This past year, the UBC Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) has been preparing the Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and we are excited to soon be formally launching the implementation phase of this work that will activate priorities identified in a number of institutional plans and recommendations, including the Inclusion Action Plan, the Anti-Racism Task Force recommendations, and the Trans Two-Spirit & Gender Diversity Task Force recommendations. The EIO has also been supporting efforts – driven by disabled students, faculty and staff – to identify disability equity and anti-ableism priorities – work that is being taken up, in part, through an Accessibility Committee and which will inform that development of an Accessibility Plan, in accordance with the Accessible BC Act.

This coming year, the EIO will be focused on strengthening communication, consultation, collaboration and coalition building with all of you on across our Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. We will also be focused on enabling and supporting academic and administrative leaders across campuses to cultivate a culture of accountability for progress on accessibility, equity, anti-racism, and inclusive excellence commitments. You can expect a more detailed update on the progress of this work in October.

A new academic term brings renewed energy and with that hopefully an opportunity to refresh our various ways to engage with equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.

Faculty members and staff colleagues: I encourage you to visit the inclusive teaching website that has valuable resources to enhance your curriculum, to explore our gender diversity knowledge hub, to review our guide for administrators receiving human rights disclosures and complaints and to engage with various EDI-related educational offerings (including our Hiring Equity and Positive Space Foundations courses) available on the Workplace Learning Platform and from our colleagues at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Research.

As we look at building on our collective efforts, I invite you all – students, faculty and staff – to connect with some of the many affinity communities or EDI committees and networks and to familiarize yourselves with various services and supports available to you.

We’ve just launched the StEAR Enhancement Fund and you can apply for funding ranging from $500 to $10,000. With that, I encourage you to reflect on what more can be done at UBC and consider putting those ideas into action by developing a project and applying for funding – together we can make a real difference. Institutions of higher learning are places from which some of the most transformative social justice movements have emerged and influenced social change – through your engagement, you are contributing to the power of community-led changemaking.

Lastly, if you are seeking general information about moving an EDI initiative forward, please get in touch with us using our consultation request form; if you have any specific questions or have concerns related to an experience of discrimination at UBC, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our human rights advising team.

With gratitude for your courage and collaboration,

Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism Fund

September 13, 2023

News and Stories |

Mahta Khoshnam Tehrani

September 12, 2023

Manager, Data, Analytics, Reporting & Evaluation

Campus: UBC Vancouver

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Bio

Mahta completed her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Western Ontario. She worked for almost a decade on interdisciplinary research projects applying engineering principles to medical, clinical, and health-care applications. Mahta is passionate about using her strong data analysis and critical thinking skills to promote well-being by supporting EDI initiatives.

Email:
mahta.khoshnam@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Institutional Initiatives Planning & Evaluation team, Our Team, UBC Vancouver Team |

Rebekah Chotem

August 30, 2023

Project Manager, Institutional Initiatives Planning and Evaluation

Campus: UBC Vancouver

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Bio

Rebekah provides project management support to the Institutional Initiatives, Planning and Evaluation team. Her primary area of focus is the Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap to Change. Rebekah collaborates on the planning and implementation of the StEAR Strategic Actions, a project that spans both UBC campuses, all faculties, students, staff and teaching staff. Rebekah is excited to support the university in its continued and evolving efforts and commitment to equity and anti-racism. In addition to StEAR, Rebekah provides project management support for the Canada Research Chair Equity & Diversity Action Plan, and other small to large scale projects. Rebekah brings 7 years of experience working at UBC in program management, project management, student experience and leadership.

Email:
rebekah.chotem@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Institutional Initiatives Planning & Evaluation team, Our Team, UBC Vancouver Team |

Ikechukwu Ibebugwu

August 30, 2023

Project Manager, Institutional Initiatives

Campus: UBC Okanagan

Pronouns: he, him, his

Bio

As a Project Manager, Ike manages small to large-scale projects to advance work around one of UBC’s guiding principles, promoting equity, anti-racism, inclusion and lasting and meaningful reconciliation. With the Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap to Change, as his primary area of focus, Ike also provides project management support to the Equity Office as needed. 

Ike completed his Bachelors in Environmental Management in Nigeria and his Master in Economics and Management at Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC. Ike is a well-equipped Project Manager, with his most recent experience as a Project Manager with the Ministry of Health working on the Surgical Renewal Project and 5-Year Surgical Framework to improve equitable access to surgeries in BC. When Ike is not working, you will find him out in nature exploring hiking trails in the summer or skiing in the winter. 

Email:
ike.ibebugwu@ubc.ca

Address:
Admin 100C 
1138 Alumni Avenue 
Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7

Institutional Initiatives Planning & Evaluation team, Our Team, UBC Okanagan Team |

August 1st is Emancipation Day

August 1, 2023

Image of a reaching hand, chains in background

On August 1, we invite the UBC community to join in the recognition and celebration of Emancipation Day in Canada.

Overview

Unanimously designated as Emancipation Day by the House of Commons in 2021, this day marks the enactment of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 on August 1, 1834 across the British Empire. However, most enslaved peoples in Canada did not achieve full emancipation until later as those six years old and over were required to continue serving without pay for additional four to six years as means of “compensation” to slave owners.

This day provides an opportunity to celebrate the strength, courage, and perseverance of people of African descent in Canada, recognize their struggles to end enslavement, and acknowledge their contributions towards Canadian society.

Following the House of Commons, the City of Vancouver and BC Government officially proclaimed August 1 as Emancipation Day. The United Nations proclaimed 2015-2024 the International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), “citing the need to strengthen national, regional and international cooperation in relation to the full enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights by people of African descent, and their full and equal participation in all aspects of society.” The UN identified the following themes of focus: recognition, justice and development.

Why it matters

Many remain unaware that Canada’s colonial foundations were shaped by anti-Black and anti-Indigenous discrimination, which sought to subjugate and segregate Black and Indigenous peoples. Many also remain unaware that Black and Indigenous peoples were once enslaved across the country. And, while slavery has been abolished, the systemic effects and legacies of subjugation, segregation, and slavery continue to reverberate today.

Learning about and acknowledging historical and contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination are the first steps in working towards redress and reparation.

What you can do

Efforts to mark Emancipation Day across Canada create opportunities to learn about and reflect on the history and impacts of colonialism, segregation, and slavery on Black peoples in Canada, and, more importantly, to recommit to actions to address ongoing systemic anti-Black racism.

At UBC, Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force Report recommendations highlight several strategic actions to support university’s commitments to meaningfully address anti-Black racism and support Black excellence and flourishing. Priorities identified in the report are incorporated into the new Strategic Equity and Anti-racism Framework and Roadmap for change.

On this day, we invite members of the UBC community to renew your commitments to learning, reflection, and action so that collectively we can combat anti-Black racism.

Explore history and perspectives

Take action

Celebrate

Access resources

Do you or someone you know have concerns with discrimination at UBC? Learn more about our human rights advising service and get in touch with our human rights advisors.

Photo attribution: Government of Canada

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