March 2022 Newsletter

Neethan Shan, Executive Director

This month we will also be celebrating the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The entire purpose of each of our initiatives and programs leads to this very goal. We are looking forward to partnering with the Labour Council and Labour Community Services to host an event to mark IDERD. Please continue reading for more updates on our ongoing projects and upcoming events.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Event on March 21, 2022

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting an online event on March 21st, 2022 from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD) and have collaborated with the Labour Council and Labour Community Services. 

Grassroots Organizing and Systems Change: Advancing Racial Justice in the GTA School Boards on March 30, 2022

For those who are interested in the Equity in Education Project, you can join our Grassroots Organizing and Systems Change: Advancing Racial Justice in the GTA School Boards forum on Wednesday, March 30^th, 2022, from 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM via Zoom.

The forum will consist of the grassroots campaigns and how they are proactively working to make systemic change within the school boards across the GTA.

Advocating for Equity in the Education System

Project Focus:
The Equity in Education Project is a two-year collaborative project that seeks to address different forms of overt and systemic racism and inequities within the primary and secondary school systems and school boards across the GTA. Currently, our community partners, the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians; the Chinese Canadian National Council of Toronto; the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators and the Tamil Canadian Civic Centre for Action are collectively working on addressing ways to combat anti-Black racism, anti-Asian racism and Islamophobia through accountability mechanisms; inclusive and diverse curriculum; equitable hiring practices and promotions; and mental health supports.

Achievements:
With community push from CASSA, Muslim faith-based organizations, and school board trustee Nokha Dakroub, Peel District School Board passed the motion in September 2021, with respect to ending system-wide Islamophobia. The motion which commits to an anti-Islamophobia strategy will actively work on accountability measures and other actionable items.

Check out the PDSB Anti-Islamophobia Strategy Development Report below.

The Diversity Youth Fellowship

Thank you to all those who have applied to our Muslim Youth Fellowship and Filipino Youth Fellowship programs. Applications for our Muslim and Filipino Youth Fellowship programs have closed as of March 1st. Candidates will be selected over the next few weeks. Please stay tuned on our social media channels for information regarding our launch events for each of these two programs.

On the last day of Black History Month, we also held our Black Youth Fellowship launch event which was a huge success! Thank you to all the attendees and supporters who have supported the program along the way. Both the Black Youth Fellowship and the Tamil Youth Fellowship are well underway, with most fellows being at least 3 weeks into their placements at City Hall. We will soon be looking to hire someone who will help with our digital marketing and storytelling of these programs. Please keep an eye out for a job posting on our social media pages.

Finally, thank you to all those who applied to be a part of the Policy Youth Fellowship program, a second version of the Diversity Youth Fellowship program. Applications for the program had opened in January and are now closed. Candidates who will be moving to the next stage will hopefully be contacted sometime in the second week of March. 

Filipino Youth Fellowship

We have now closed the application for the Filipino Youth Fellowship and are currently in the process of reviewing all applications. As we move through the selection process, we are looking forward to sharing our next cohort of selected Filipino Youth Fellows very soon! Follow us on @filyouthfellowship to stay up to date on our chosen fellows.

Black Youth Fellowship

The Black Youth Fellowship launched in February where 10 highly motivated and inspiring Black youth were placed in City Hall! Our fellows have begun their placements and are currently working on their community projects that involve numerous issues pertaining to the Black community such as addressing lack of mental health resources, immigration policies, gun violence, political literacy, and much more. This month is dedicated to planning their projects such as partnering with community organizations and utilizing their network at City Hall to ensure the success of their project.

Anti-Racism & Anti-Oppression Training Institute

In February, we hosted Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression training workshops with the University Health Network, and we are now preparing for our March sessions. We have also hosted a Confronting Anti-Black Racism Workshop with teachers at Havergal College and are looking forward to the next few sessions in the upcoming months. We have recently partnered with UHN on the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) Project which is looking to create a space for PSW-led dialogue on vaccination mandates and will be supporting with facilitation and advisory for the project. 

Work at UARR

If you are interested in working with UARR or know someone who might be interested, browse our current employment opportunities here.

We are taking applications for the following:

• Project Coordinator, Diversity Youth Fellowship
• Project Coordinator, Anti-Racism Education & Communication