Spring 2022 Update from the A-RTL Team

By janice ho on June 3, 2022

The Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning (A-RTL) planning team is happy to share some updates on our work over the Winter and Spring.

Our New Look

First, we are excited to announce that A-RTL has a new visual identity! A huge thank you to the planning team for their creativity, time, and involvement with the development of this visual and much gratitude to Yuka Sasagawa for her support in bringing our vision to life. In designing a new visual identity, we were guided by words integral to anti-racism work: collaboration, deconstruction, rebuilding, shared responsibility, and accountability.

The Anti-Racism Ecosystem at UBC

The recent launch of the Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Task Force recommendations identifies “the need for sustained Anti-Racism training and education” as a priority for UBC. As a way to recognize and amplify the work that has been, and continues to be done to further anti-racism education at both the Vancouver and Okanagan UBC campuses, the A-RTL team has created an Anti-Racism Ecosystems Map. The map is intended to help staff, faculty, and students navigate and access information on some of the anti-racism initiatives, resources, events, and funding that partners at both UBC campuses are working on. We are currently developing a version of the Anti-Racism Ecosystems Map that will be openly shared. Stay tuned for updates!

Current Workshop Offerings

Since the Fall, we have reviewed, revised, and redesigned our workshop content, in particular, localizing our content to be relevant to educators. The current suite of offerings includes the following workshops:

  • Identity Matters: Connecting Power, Privilege and Bias to Anti-Racism Work
  • Anti-Racism and Solidarity in University Settings
  • Unpacking Harmful Phrases and Behaviours
  • Navigating Emotional Responses in the Classroom
  • Exploring Complex Classroom Dynamics using Case Studies

Looking Forward

The A-RTL planning team is currently working on a number of projects, initiatives, and programs and we are excited to share about what we have planned for the next few months:

BIPOC-Centered Spaces and Training

A number of BIPOC participants have voiced a desire to build community with each other through A-RTL programming and to have the opportunity to continue connecting with each other on topics pertaining to anti-racism, both personally and professionally. As we look forward in the planning of A-RTL, we keep this need for BIPOC-centered and led training in mind while also recognizing that proper resources and time must be invested in order to do this with care. The A-RTL team is currently working with campus partners to explore ways to provide spaces for meaningful community building for BIPOC students, staff, and faculty.

Growing our Facilitator Community

Ever since the initial development of A-RTL in June 2020 and the University’s emphasis on the need for anti-racist initiatives on campus, there has been an increasing demand for A-RTL programming. To ensure that our facilitators continue to have the capacity to deliver this programming, we are exploring ways to grow our facilitator community. The A-RTL team looks forward to ongoing collaborations with the Indigenous Initiatives team and campus partners in order to build more partnerships so that our facilitation and planning team can continue to do this much needed work in a sustainable way.

Cohort-Based Programming

With the intention of continuing to approach anti-racist teaching and learning in a sustainable, reciprocal, and relational way, A-RTL is collaborating with UBC Departments, units, and Faculties to offer deeper learning opportunities through our cohort model. In June, we are offering our very first STEM A-RTL cohort which draws faculty from UBC Forestry, Applied Science, and Science. The A-RTL team is also exploring opportunities to collaborate with other Faculties and Departments at UBC to offer a cohort program for their faculty members who are interested in adopting anti-racist and decolonial frameworks in their disciplines and educator roles.

Fall A-RTL Programming

With Fall fast approaching, we are starting to plan our Fall program offerings. A component of A-RTL programming currently consists of five workshops that address different anti-racism topics. Since their initial development, each workshop has been, and continues to be adapted, in order to reflect the lived experiences and knowledgeof facilitators and the climate of current events that inevitably inform this work. The team is also simultaneously exploring programming structures that allow for more sustainable and reciprocal learning opportunities with the offering of these five workshops, and we look forward to offering these workshops to interested educators in the Fall!

Resources

Anti-racism work requires ongoing learning, unlearning, and relearning and there are a number of programs and events taking place at UBC that can contribute to this continuous journey of self-reflection. Please see below for initiatives led by the A-RTL team and campus partners that can help deepen your anti-racist practice:

Thank you to Freda Maideen, Educational Consultant, Anti-Racist Teaching and Facilitation, for putting together this amazing update on all the impactful work the Anti-Racist Teaching and Learning Team is doing!

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The CTLT is located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ - speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. These lands have long been a place of learning for Musqueam, with cultural and traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.