R E W O P E H T IFT
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M E T S Y S E H T E G N CHA In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know for the weekend.
E M O C L E W
T F I H S R TO POWE
! G N I S I R & YOUNG TABLE OF CONTENTS Venue Information Contact and Other Info Schedule Facilitators and Panelists Streams and Workshop Information
PowerShift 101 + 201 101 201
Organizing & Mobilizing How to Create a Winning Strategy and Organize Effectively La stratégie, c’est gagnant! Organizing 101 Start and Grow a Climate Justice Team in your city or town! (On Your Own You’re Useless; How to Build a Team) Compter sur la force du nombre: construire des alliances durables Campus Organizing: Getting out the Student Vote What’s your Theory of Change? Harnessing the Power of Your Personal Story Momentum Driven Organizing Tourbillon et mobilisation : s’organiser à la façon Momentum! Niches, Not Silos! Lessons from University Divestment: How Do We Move Forward? How to Run for Office Municipal Responses to Climate Change & Intersections With Diverse Urban Communities
Interventions in International Climate Policy
Ally vs. Accomplice
Taking Back Elections: Making the Case for Organizers to Run
Learning from Call-Outs
Generations Rising: Stories from the Climate Movement in the Climate Era
Anti-O & Decol 201
Climate Litigation: Navigating the Court System Divestment and Anti-Capitalism Big Organizing in Elections: The Bernie Sanders Model 2019 Federal Election Strategy Discussion The European Climate Movement: Cross-Pollination, Solidarity-Building and Critiques A Conversation about Student Democracy
Art & Resistance
Anti-O & Decol 101 Mining Injustice is Canada’s Foreign Policy Building Healthy Masculinities In Climate Justice Organizing Freedom to Move, Return, Stay—Migration & Climate Justice Disability Justice and Environmental Justice: Mapping Connections, Sharing Strategies Global Decolonization: Contextualizing Climate Change Impacts Beyond “Inclusive” Movements: Creating organizing spaces where BIPOC thrive
Zine-Making
Shelter (Interactive Installation)
Spoken Word & Music Workshop
From Self to Community Care
Poetry with El Jones
Considering self and collective: Care In Pressing Times
The ART SPACE Screen-printing Banners & Flag-Making Stencil Making ‘No Pipelines’ Papier-Mâché Earth
Nonviolent Direct Action
Anti-Semitism and the Climate Movement
Storytelling, Digital & Media Les médias traditionnelles Creating a Digital Plan for Your Campaign
NVDA Theory &History
Building Community Power With 5 Principles of Engagement
Histoire et théorie de l’action directe non-violente
Independent Media and Journalism
Resisting Arrest Courage Over Fear: a Security Culture for New & Experienced Community Organizers Scouting Blockading Climbing for Resistance!
Intersectional Movement Building
Making Media Work for You Municipal Responses to Climate Change Winning the Battle of the Story
Indigenous Perspectives Weaponizing Imagery for Indigenous Memes and Movements Traditional Governance and Eastern Wampum Treaties
Suicide Prevention Training
International Indigenous Solidarity Building
A “Green New Deal” for Canada (Panel)
Lessons learned from Kwekwecnewtxw (The Watch House)
Cultivating Food Security We Have Nothing to Lose but our Chains: Anti-Capitalist Organizing The True Cost of Coal: Stories of Resistance with the Beehive Collective Blanket Exercise Environmental Racism (Panel) Land Defense—The Time is Now! (Panel) QTBIPOC Caucus
Res-urgency Film Tending Roots: Indigenous Land Sovereignty
VENUES Here is a map that includes all of the Powershift venues—and walking directions between them, except for the NVDA space which is not walkable—the airport, the train station, and Greyhound bus station. The red pins indicate the Powershift venues.
GETTING TO OTTAWA If you’re flying to Ottawa • T he 97 bus runs all the way downtown. The stop is to the left of exit near baggage pick up. Bus fare is $3.50, you may also use a Presto card. • Taxis from the airport cost ~$30 to get to downtown Ottawa.
If you’re traveling by train • Y ou can catch either the 61 or 62 bus. Bus fare is $3.50, you may also use a Presto card.
If you’re traveling by Greyhound bus • The bus station is in downtown Ottawa. • T he 6 & 7 buses run up and down Bank street and can get you to the main transit route.
GETTING AROUND OTTAWA • Ottawa Bus System: OC Transpo • O C Transpo uses a Presto pass for payment or exact change of $3.50. For more information on where to buy a Presto pass, click here. • T here is an OC Transpo app that will tell you what times the buses should be arriving at each stop. • T he schedules and routes can be found on their website, or you can download their app. • Gatineau/Hull Bus System: STO • The schedules and routes can be found on their website. • I nformation on switching between OC Transpo and STO can be found here. • O ttawa has both Lyft and Uber, however, these services are not available in Gatineau/Hull. • Cab numbers • Blue Line: (613) 238-1111 • Capital Taxi: (613) 744-3333 • Coventry Connections: (613) 746-8740
The majority of PowerShift: Young & Rising’s programming will take place at the University of Ottawa (75 Laurier Ave. East) in the University Center [UCU], Crossroads Learning Center [CRX], and Faculty of Social Sciences [FSS]. Here is a map of facilities, parking, and wheelchair accessibility on campus. The buildings used for PowerShift are included in the map below. Some programming on Friday will also take place at allsaints (317 Chapel St.). Thursday & Friday’s keynotes will be at the Bronson Centre (211 Bronson Ave.), and Saturday’s “Art & Resistance” night will take place at allsaints (317 Chapel St.). The climbing workshops will take place at Ottawa Circus School (2275 Gladwin Cres.), and the zine-making workshops will take place at Ottawa School of Art (35 George St.). This map has walking directions between the venues. Throughout PowerShift: Young & Rising, the UCU Student Lounge will be a wind-down space for participants, a prayer & meditation space is available Saturday and Sunday at CRX 421, an Indigenous space is available in CRX 408 on Saturday and Sunday, and a BIPOC space is available at CRX 420 throughout the convergence. Please find accessibility information later in this package.
WEATHER • O ttawa has had a lot of snow fall and freezing rain in the past month so sidewalks are not fully cleared • P lease remember to bring winter appropriate clothes— warm layers, boots, winter jacket, hat, gloves, scarf, boot grippers if you have them/need them, etc. • A couple of sessions require participants to be outside for a period of 2-4 hours, so dress accordingly! • If you have, please bring ice skates!
T N A T R O P OTHER IM N O I T A M R O INF FOOD ~ Please remember to bring a reusable water bottle and travel mug ~
ACCESSIBILITY Translation/interpretation Most of our programming is in English, but we are offering a handful of sessions that will be bilingual and in French. The keynote events will have translation provided. If you have additional translation needs, please tell us at registration at the beginning of the day. At the University of Ottawa, all workshop spaces are accessible using an elevator, and there are three gender-neutral bathrooms in the University Centre (UCU) at UCU 010, 0011 and 0012. The wheelchair accessible entrance to UCU is on a ramp on University Private. The main entrances of FSS and CRX are all wheelchair accessible without ramps. The Bronson Center is a fully accessible space with electric doors, four seating locations for people with mobility devices and an accessible stage. There is one gender-neutral bathroom just to the right of the ramp in the foyer. allsaints’ Borden Hall, Lower Hall, and Lower Chapel are all wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately Bates Hall is not wheelchair accessible, and must be accessed through a set of stairs with 4 steps. The wheelchair-accessible entrance is at 317 Chapel Street, by the parking lot. All bathrooms at allsaints are gender-neutral and there is one wheelchair accessible bathroom. Ottawa Circus School’s main entrance and the climbing workshop space are wheelchair accessible. The washroom is gender-neutral, but not wheelchair accessible. A wheelchair accessible washroom can be found at the business next door. Ottawa School of Art’s main entrance is wheelchair-accessible. Unfortunately, there are no gender-neutral bathrooms.
There are many food options available near all of the PowerShift: Young & Rising Venues. We have highlighted a few cheaper places with vegetarian options. Here is a map that shows the restaurants options. • On campus dining options can be found here. • Off-campus options near the University, allsaints, and the Ottawa School of Art include: • Perfection Satisfaction Promise • Rideau Centre • La maison/The House • Father and Sons • Options near The Bronson Centre include: • So Good • Cafe Orient • Koichi Ramen • Jadeland Restaurant. • Options near the Ottawa Circus School include • Openrice Asian Fusion Lounge • Alissar Lebanese Cuisine • Oh Basil.
SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT • Website: https://powershift-youngandrising.ca/ • Facebook event: Powershift: Young and Rising/Jeunes en action • Facebook page: PowerShift Canada
O F N I T C A T CON EMERGENCY NUMBERS
• Social media handles: @powershiftYR
• U niversity of Ottawa Security/Emergency Line: (613) 562-5411
• H ashtags: #powershift #youngandrising #jeunesenaction
• U niversity of Ottawa Health Services and walk-in clinic
• Indigenous hashtag: #warriorup • Email: powershiftteam@gmail.com If you have a question, go to the registration desk in UCU Student Lounge.
• Phone: (613) 564-3950 • More information • O ttawa Rape Crisis Centre 24-hour support line: (613) 562-2333 • S exual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa 24-hour support line: (613) 234-2266 • Ottawa Police: • Emergency: 911
CHILDCARE Childcare is availabe Friday–Sunday during the day in CRX 424
• Non-emergency: (613) 236-1222 ext. 7300 • Additional resources
• Cynthia Patterson Email: ece.patterson@gmail.com Phone: (613) 263-3766 • Cacy Tran Email: cacychau1268@gmail.com Phone: (613) 407-8670
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 14TH
7:00 pm 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30-10:00
Keynote at the Bronson Centre Decolonial Love: Stories of the Land, Resurgence and Healing Kanahus Manuel, Romeo Sananash, & Derek Nepinak
SCHEDULE 9:00
allsaints: Borden
allsaints: Bates
allsaints: Lower Hall
Opening Plenary Anishinabe Kookums
Plénière d’ouverture (FR) Anishinabe Kookums
allsaints: Chapel
10 min Break / Pause 10 min 10:00
10:30 11:00
Young & Rising 101 Group A: Mary & Kate Group B: Nayeli & Yolanda Group C: Brendan & Jenn Group D: Maryel & Maya
Young & Rising 201 Group A: Lauren & Andrea Group B: Tina & Katie Jeunes en action 201 Aurore & Louis
Jeunes en action 101 Isabelle & Sophie
10 min Break / Pause 10 min 11:30 12:00
Environmental Racism (Panel) Will Prosper, El Jones, Vanessa Gray, Maya Menezes, Moderator: Amina Moustaqim-Barrette
Creating a Digital Plan for Your Campaign Jennifer Deol & Atiya Jaffar
Municipal Responses to Climate Change Lily Barraclough & Sharita Henry
12:30
Shelter (Interactive Installation) Ariel Martz-Oberlander
Lunch / Midi
1:00 1:30
2:00
Land Defense—The Time is Now! (Panel) Moderator: Melissa Mollen-Dupuis
Anti-O & Decol 101 Thane Robyn
Challenging Anti-Semitism in the Climate Movement Ariel & Talia MartzOberlander
La stratégie, c’est gagnant! (Organizing 101) (FR) Audrey Yank & Lily Schwarzbaum
2:30 10 min Break / Pause 10 min 3:00
3:30
A Conversation about Student Democracy Sandy Hudson
Ally vs Accomplice Janelle Kasperski
Compter sur la force du nombre: construire des alliances durables (FR) Geneviève Puskas & Audrey Yank
Lessons from University Divestment: How Do We Move Forward? Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Laura Cutmore
4:00
4:30 5:00 5:30
6:00 6:30 7:00
10:00
Climate Litigation: Navigating the Court System (Panel) (EN & FR) Brandon Stewart, Karine Péloffy, Dustin Klaudt, Catherine Gauthier and Danielle Gallant. Moderator: Heather McLeod-Kilmurray
10 min Break / Pause 10 min Start and Grow a Climate Justice Team in your city or town! On Your Own You’re Useless: How to Build a Team Emma Jackson, Bronwen Tucker, Paige Gorsak & Gabrielle Gelderman
The European Climate Movement: CrossPollination, SolidarityBuilding and Critiques (EN & FR) Mathilde, Teo & Guillaume Durin
Dinner / Souper
Keynote at the Bronson Centre From the Frontlines to the Streets: Cross Movement Solidarities Eriel Deranger, Harsha Walia, Manon Massé & Sean Devlin
Interventions in Climate Policy on the International Stage Eddy Pérez”
T
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 15TH FSS 4007
UCU Espace Promo
Ottawa School of Art
UCU Espace Agora
CRX Lobby 100A
Ottawa Circus School
Blockades Group A (EN & FR) Tina Oh, Terrell IronShell, Isabelle L’Héritier
Climbing Mary Lovell, Ben Jones, Sarita Ahmed, Zakaria Kronemer
10 min Break / Pause 10 min
10 min Break / Pause 10 min Campus Organizing: Getting out the Student Vote Aaron Myran and Anjali Helferty
Tending Roots: Indigenous Land Sovereignty Joce Two Crows Tremblay
Open Art Space
What Does Resistance Look Like to You? Native Resistance in the Media (Panel) SNAG, Red Rising & Redwire
Screenprinting
Zine Making: Audio / Video Production Andrea Bastien, Billie Pierre, Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Ras K’dee
Open Art Space
Winning the Battle of the Story Amara Possian
Banners & Flags
Zine Making: Journalism + Spoken Word Andrea Bastien, Billie Pierre, Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Ras K’dee
sign up via tina.oh@dal.ca
must pre-register and be present for all climbing workshops
10 min Break / Pause 10 min
Disability Justice and Environmental Justice: Mapping Connections, Sharing Strategies Jody Chan
Screenprinting
Zine Making: Photo + Layout Andrea Bastien, Billie Pierre, Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Ras K’dee
Legend / Légende Indigenous Perspectives Perspectives autochtones Storytelling, Digital & Media L’art du récit, numérique et médias
Dinner / Souper
Organizing & Mobilizing Organisation & mobilisation Intersectional Movement Building Bâtir des mouvements intersectionnels Non-violent Direct Action Actions directes non violentes Art & Resistance
SCHEDULE 9:00
9:30
CRX 020
CRX C030
How To Create A Winning Strategy And Organize Effectively Lauren Latour & Katie Perfitt
Big Organizing in Elections: The Bernie Sanders Model Tim Ellis
CRX 040
CRX 140
CRX 307
The True Cost of Coal: Stories of Resistance The Beehive Collective
Global Decolonization: Contextualizing Climate Change Impacts Atiya Jaffar, Raagini Appadurai, Jennifer Deol & Amina Moustaqim Barrette
Harnessing The Power Of Your Personal Story Amara Possian
10:30
11:30
Momentum Driven Organizing Atiya Jaffar & Katie Perfitt
Les médias traditionels (FR) Loujain Kurdi
12:00
1:30
Independent Media and Journalism Billie Pierre & David Gray-Donald
Courage Over Fear: Security Culture For New & Experienced Community Organizers Trish Mills
Building Community Power With 5 Principles of Engagement Natasha Wilson
Lessons learned from Kwekwecnewtxw (the Watch House) Cedar George-Parker & Brandon Gosnell
Blanket Exercise Theland & Elaine Kicknosway
What’s your Theory of Change? Jen Gobby
4:00 4:30
5:00
Beyond “Inclusive” Movements: We Have Nothing Creating Organizing Spaces To Lose But Our Where BIPOC Thrive Chains—AntiAmina Moustaqim-Barrette, Capitalism & Climate Jennifer Deol & Raagini Justice Appadurai Syed Hussan A “Green New Deal” for Canada (Panel) Part 1 Clayton Thomas-Müller, Syed Hussan, Karen Cocq, Mike Palacek, Tara Peel, Moderator: Avi Lewis
2:30
3:30
Resisting Arrest Trish Mills
Break
2:00
3:00
Taking Back Elections: Making the Case for Organizers to Run (Panel) Min Sook Lee, Paige Gorsak, Amara Possian, Ausma Malik & Graciela Hernandez-Cruz, Moderator: Maya Menezes
Atlantic Caucus Tina Oh & Louis Sobol
Québec caucus (EN & FR) Aurore Fauret & Sophie Birks
Ontario Caucus Katie Perfitt & Lauren Latour
Making Media Work For You Peter McCartney
Prairies Caucus Emma Jackson
Regional Caucuses
5:30 6:00
Dinner / Souper
6:30 7:00 7:30
8:00 8:30 9:00 12:00
Tourbill mobilisa s’organis façon Mom (FR Aurore Faur Schwarz
Lunch / Midi
12:30 1:00
Building H Masculini Climate J Organi Stephen Th Torrance
Break / Pause
10:00
11:00
CRX 3
Keynote at allsaints, Borden Hall Performance by Ottawa River Singers followed by Panel: The Role of Art in Resistance Movements Artists Christi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch, Clayton Thomas-Müller, and David Solnit Moderator: Andrea Bastien Break / Pause Concert at allsaints, Borden Hall Mohammed Ali (Socialist Hip Hop) Darius Jahkota Silla and Rise El Jones
How to R Offic Paige Gorsa Jackson, G Gelderm Bronwen
308
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16TH CRX 309
CRX 407
Healthy ities in Justice izing homas & e Coste
Municipal Responses to Climate Change: Intersections with Diverse Urban Communities Diana Da Young Yoon
Indigenous Caucus Brendan Campbell & Andrea Bastien
lon et ation : ser à la mentum! R) ret & Lily zbaum
Weaponizing Imagery For Indigenous Memes and Movements Nigel Henri Robinson, Arnell Tailfeathers, Victoria Inglis
Run for ce ak, Emma Gabrielle man & Tucker
CRX 240
UCU Espace Promo
UCU Agora
CRX Lobby 100A
Ottawa Circus School
Open Art Space
QTBIPOC Caucus Malek Yalaoui
No pipelines’ Paper Mâché Earth Part 1 Velvet LeClair
Spoken Word & Music Mohammad Ali (Socialist Hip Hop)
Banners & Flags
Open Art Space
Blockades Group A (EN & FR) Tina Oh, Terrell IronShell, Isabelle L’Héritier sign up via tina.oh@dal.ca
Lunch / Midi
Res-Urgency FIlm Desiree Wallace
Niches, not Silos! Thinking of Movements as Ecosystems Jen Gobby Break
Anti-O & Decol 201 Thane Robyn
International Indigenous Solidarity-Building Cedar GeorgeParker
Open Art Space
Northern Caucus
Western Caucus Nayeli Jimenez & Kate Hodgson
Regional Caucus
Regional Caucus
Blockades Group B (EN & FR) Tina Oh, Terrell IronShell, Isabelle L’Héritier
Climbing Mary Lovell, Ben Jones, Sarita Ahmed, Zakaria Kronemer must pre-register and be present for all climbing workshops
sign up via tina.oh@dal.ca
Dinner / Souper
Legend / Légende Indigenous Perspectives Perspectives autochtones Storytelling, Digital & Media L’art du récit, numérique et médias Organizing & Mobilizing Organisation & mobilisation
Break / Pause
Intersectional Movement Building Bâtir des mouvements intersectionnels Non-violent Direct Action Actions directes non violentes Art & Resistance
SCHEDULE CRX C010
CRX C020
CRX C030
CRX 040
CRX 140
CRX 240
Learning from Callouts Anjali Helferty
NVDA Theory & History Sean Devlin
A “People’s Alignment” for a Green New Deal in Canada Part 2
Cultivating Food Security Kristen Perry
2019 Federal Election Strategy Discussion Tim Ellis
Women of Colour Caucus Tina Oh, Amina Moustaqim-Barrette
9:00
9:30
10:00 10 min Break / Pause 10 min 10:30
11:00
11:30
Freedom to Move, Return, Stay: Migration & Climate Justice Syed Hussan
Traditional Governance and Eastern Wampum Treaties Shannon Chief
Generations Rising: Stories from the Climate Movement in the Harper era (Panel) Anjali Helferty, Meredith James, Aftab Erfan, Rosa Kouri Moderator: Amara Possian
Taking Action For A Green New Deal During The 2019 Election And Beyond Part 3
12:00
De soi et du collectif : le care en temps troubles/ Considering self and collective: care in pressing times (EN & FR) Remy Paulin Twahirwa, Rushdia Mehreen, & Pascale Brunet
Lunch / Midi
12:30 1:00
1:30
Suicide Prevention Training (A) Peter Farrell
2:00
Histoire et théorie de l’action directe non-violente (FR) Daniel Cayley D’Aoust”
BIPOC Caucus Raagini Appadurai
Shelter (Interactive Installation) Ariel MartzOberlander Screening: When the Storm Fades Director: Sean Devlin
10 min Break / Pause 10 min 2:30
3:00 3:30
Suicide Prevention Training (B) Peter Farrell
Blanket Exercise Theland & Elaine Kicknosway
Action: Building Power for a Green New Deal in Ottawa-Centre Participants should be bring outerwear & skates if possible
From Self to Community Care Malek Yalaoui
4:00 Closing Plenary
4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00
Dinner / Souper
6:30 7:00
10:00
Rally & March Preparation in UCU Espace Promo & UCU Agora
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17TH CRX Lobby C130
CRX 308
Divestment as an Anti-Capitalist Tool Emilia Beliveau & Claire O’Manique
Scouting Cam Fenton
Poetry with El Jones
Mining Injustice is Canada’s Foreign Policy Sakura Sanders
CRX LOBBY 100A
Ottawa Circus School
UCU Espace Promo
UCU Agora
Open Art Space Blockades Group B (EN & FR) Tina Oh, Terrell IronShell, Isabelle L’Héritier sign up via tina.oh@dal.ca
MONDAY FEB 18TH
Climbing Mary Lovell, Ben Jones, Sarita Ahmed, Zakaria Kronemer must pre-register and be present for all climbing workshops
No pipelines’ Paper Mâché Earth Part 2 Velvet LeClair
11:00 11:30 12:00
Open Art Space
12:30 1:00
Blanket Exercise Theland & Elaine Kicknosway
Rally & March Undisclosed location
1:30
10 min Break / Pause 10 min
Open Art Space
2:00 2:30
Frontline Caucus
Legend / Légende Indigenous Perspectives Perspectives autochtones Storytelling, Digital & Media L’art du récit, numérique et médias Dinner / Souper
Organizing & Mobilizing Organisation & mobilisation Intersectional Movement Building Bâtir des mouvements intersectionnels
Rally & March Preparation in UCU Espace Promo & UCU Agora
Non-violent Direct Action Actions directes non violentes Art & Resistance
S R O T A T I L I FAC S T S I L E N A &P Raagini Appadurai’s work and passions lie around building accessible, creative and equity-based platforms to social justice education in various different spaces. Informed by her positionality as an Indian immigrant, woman of colour, artist, activist and educator, and her engagement with youth, she is fuelled by a commitment to movement building and educational transformation that inspires young people to be active social change makers in the world. Mohammad Ali Aumeer is an emcee, poet, author, and activist who ups the bar on protest music with a hard-hitting selection of workers’ anthems and gritty frontline labour narratives designed to instil new energy in the movement for workers’ rights. Having shared the stage with Hip Hop heavyweights Talib Kweli, Wu-Tang’s Ghostface, and KRS-ONE, performed at rallies from Queens Park to Parliament Hill, and toured from Newfoundland to British Columbia, the Socialist Vocalist is redefining how his generation views political music. Lily Barraclough is a former facilitator and founder of iMatter Youth in Canada and has done a lot of local organizing in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). Brought into the world of climate and environmental organizing from an extremely young age of 6 painting a no idling banner, she has not looked back since and has been involved in the youth climate throughout elementary, and high-school where she was raised in Toronto. She has worked closely with city councillors, staff, and local community groups to pass local climate resolutions and is involved in developing a climate action plan for Halifax. She is a 3rd year Environmental Science student at the University of King’s College.
Self described as a ‘maker of things’ across the artistic mediums of dance, beat making, dj’ing, beadworking, design, and visual arts, Andrea Bastien reflects her multi-platform practice to her cultural lineage. Belonging to the Otter Clan from the Siksika (Kainai, Piikuni), Nehiyaw and Anishnaabe nations, this is a portion of her multi-ethnicity. She has led workshops, programming, planning mentorship and land-based initiatives with many organizations such as Redwire NYM, UMAYC, Indigenous Media Arts Group, Raven Spirit Dance, imagineNATIVE, and Toronto Aboriginal Youth Council. Under her DJ name, Ariel, Andrea has played at events including Manifesto and imagineNATIVE, as well as opening for artists like Anderson Paak, Kaytrananda, Daniel Caesar, Jeremy Dutcher and Tanya Taqaq. The Beehive Design Collective is a wildly motivated activist arts collective dedicated to “cross-pollinating the grassroots” by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images for use as educational and organizing tools. We work as word-to-image translators of complex global stories, shared with us through conversations with affected communities. Christi Belcourt is a Michif (Métis) visual artist with a deep respect for Mother Earth, the traditions and the knowledge of her people. In addition to her paintings she is also known as a community based artist, environmentalist and advocate for the lands, waters and Indigenous peoples. She is currently a lead organizer for the Onaman Collective, focused on resurgence of language and land based practices, and Walking With Our Sisters, a community-driven project that honours murdered or missing Indigenous women. Her work Giniigaaniimenaaning (Looking Ahead) commemorates residential school survivors, their families and communities to mark the Prime Minister’s historic Apology in 2008 and is installed at Centre Block on Parliament Hill commissioned by the Government of Canada. In 2015, she was named the Aboriginal Arts Laureate by the Ontario Arts Council and in 2016, she won
a Governor General’s Innovation Award and was named the winner of the 2016 Premier’s Awards in the Arts. Author of Medicines To Help Us (Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2007) and Beadwork (Ningwakwe Learning Press, 2010). Christi’s work is found within the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Gabriel Dumont Institute, the Indian and Inuit Art Collection, Parliament Hill, the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and Canadian Museum of Civilization, First People’s Hall. Emilia Belliveau has been involved with fossil fuel divestment organizing since 2013, campaigning at Dalhousie University and the University of Victoria. Recently, as a grad student she focused her research on how the uptake of climate justice priorities in fossil fuel divestment can address long-standing critiques of mainstream environmentalism. She currently works for the David Suzuki Foundation. Daniel Cayley-Daoust militie depuis plusieurs années pour la justice climatique et pour les droits des personnes migrantes. Il a notamment collaboré à l’organisation de PowerShift en 2012 à Ottawa. Il travaille et milite présentement dans le milieu communautaire à Gatineau. Jody Chan is a writer and organizer living in Toronto on unceded Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory. They believe deeply in the importance of storytelling, care, and joy in movement-building. Currently working at The Leap, they also organize with the Disability Justice Network of Ontario and drum with the Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers.
From the Anishnabe Nation of the Ottawa River Watershed (Algonquin) Wolf clans are known for good memory in carrying indigenous knowledge. Shannon Chief has been involved with the people’s intent to protect the land, animals and traditional way of life with the land. From land defending, to restoring Indigenous Governance, to building a Land Based Curriculum, to Anishnabe Odinewin Camps and taking part in Climate Change discussions in her homelands. Shannon also led and guided a unified written Women’s Declaration at Indigenous Women Against Extractivisim in 2018. Shannon remains loyal to work with the traditional Elders of the Land and offers guidance in shaping PowerShift: Young and Rising. Karen Cocq has been active in migrant justice, anti-poverty, and labour struggles for almost two decades. She is an organizer with the Workers’ Action Centre and the Fight for $15 & Fairness campaign, based in Ottawa. She is active in local efforts to build a broadbased fight back against the Ford government. Torrance Coste is a settler on unceded Coast Salish territories, and works as a campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. His work is focused on system-wide environment justice, including organizing campaigns on forest protection, local water issues and stopping pipelines. He is interested in using his privilege to help push environmentalism towards an intersectional, justice-based approach that achieves wins that benefit everyone. Laura Cutmore iLaura Cutmore lives on unceded Mi’kmaq Territory, in K’jipuktuk/ Halifax, Nova Scotia. She’s a grad student at Dalhousie University and has been a fossil fuel divestment organizer with Divest Dal for the past three years. Laura has been working to connect students and the student movement with the climate justice movement through her organizing with the Imagining 2030 Network, Solidarity with Alton Gas Resistance (SWAGR), and as VP External of the Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students (Local 113 Representative for the Canadian Federation of Students-Nova Scotia).
Originally from the United States, Tim Ellis is a rave DJ and writer who turned to politics when he took a job with the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, where he was a field organizer in six states. Since then, he’s pursued his passion for the political revolution in both the US and Canada as lead coordinator for the Rock Against the TPP international concert tour, campaign manager for local and state senate races, union organizer with OPSEU, and digital field director for Guy Caron’s NDP leadership race. Currently, Tim is a digital campaigner and organizer with Leadnow.ca, and volunteers extensively with community building organizations. Jennifer Deol is an activist and Sikh migrant who has worked for ENGO’s for the past decade at the intersections of climate change, policies, and social justice and is from the territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples. She fiercely advocates for the inclusion of BIPOC voices in climate spaces and has supported the frontlines from behind both locally and internationally at UN climate conferences. Sean Devlin 叶 世民 is a Filipino-Canadian comedian, filmmaker and activist. His comedy has appeared on CBC radio and CTV while his film work has been featured in the Guardian and the New York Times. He is a long time collaborator with The Yes Men and was the Co-Founder and Executive Director of ShitHarperDid.com. In 2016 he wrote and directed a short film with Edward Snowden which was commissioned by Roskilde Festival, Northern Europe’s largest music festival and exhibited at Copenhagen’s Kunsthal Charlottenborg. His latest feature film WHEN THE STORM FADES was called “Beautiful, breathtaking and hilarious” by VICE. The film earned him the jury prizes for Best Director at the Liverpool Film Festival and Mumbai Indian Cine Film Festival respectively. At the 37th Vancouver International Film Festival the Director’s Guild of Canada awarded him the prize for Best Emerging Canadian Director. Among other affiliations, Mathilde, Teo and Guillaume Durin are climate justice activists, members of the BreakFree Switzerland collective part of the Climate Justice Action network. Teo and Mathilde are involved in Friday For Climate / Climat Strike and they are Ende Gelande participants. Guillaume is connected to the “There Is Still Time” & Alternatiba movements in France and is an Ende Gelande participant.
Dr. Aftab Erfan joined EIO in March 2017 in the newly created position of Director, Dialogue & Conflict Engagement. Within this role, Aftab builds the social and institutional infrastructure to enable members of the UBC community(s) to work with their conflicts as they naturally and inevitably emerge. Previously, she spent four years working as an international consultant, holding space for contentious conversations on four continents within the public, private, academic and non-profit sectors. Peter Farrell is an educator based on Algonquin Territory in Ottawa, Ontario. He has been delivering SafeTALK trainings across the region for 3 years through his work with the Ottawa Distress Centre and Canadian Roots Exchange. He is nonIndigenous, with mainly Irish ancestry from County Leitrim, and was born on the shores of Lake Superior. Aurore Fauret est une organisatrice et militante basée à Montréal (Kanien’kehà:ka territory). Passionnée par les stratégies de mobilisation, elle a travaillé depuis plusieurs années à 350.org pour mener des campagnes sur la justice climatique, après avoir coordonné une coalition de défense des droits démocratiques brimés par le gouvernement Harper. Traductrice, facilitatrice et théâtrale à ses heures, elle est impliquée dans le mouvement environnemental au Québec, où elle a notamment aidé à déployer une marche de 700km contre Énergie Est et a co-organisé une tournée de Théâtre-Forum sur les oléoducs le long du tracé de la Ligne 9.
Jen Gobby organizes with Climate Justice Montreal, is a PhD student at McGill, and has spent the last 4 years doing research with the climate justice, anti-pipeline and Indigenous land defense movements to build more powerful, transformative movements for decolonizing and decarbonizing Canada! She lived-off-the-grid for over a decade, is the founder of the MudGirls Natural Building Collective, did a term in office on the local government, and was a tour-manager and performer with a sustainability-themed circus troupe for while! Born and raised in Edmonton, Cam Fenton has worked on climate justice campaigns all across Canada. He is the former Director of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and currently works for 350.org. He is based in Vancouver, BC. Danielle Gallant is a lawyer with the Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Ottawa. She is a member of Ecojustice’s Climate Change team, which uses the law to fight for a stable climate. She is also a uOttawa alumnus and recently obtained her Master’s in Global Sustainability and Environmental Law, with her research paper focusing on climate litigation and environmental justice. At 16 years old, as a member of the delegation of Canada, Catherine Gauthier appeared before the delegates of the 11th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC). Two year later, she was invited to address the United Nations’ General Assembly, and subsequently took part in many international conferences and conferences of the parties. Catherine has a masters in international law and politics, facilitates courses at the University of Sherbrooke on international climate politics, and is the director general of ENvironnement JEUnesse since 2016. Gabrielle Gelderman is a 28-year-old environmental educator and third generation settler on Treaty 6 territory. She grew up on her family’s farm on the outskirts of Edmonton and now lives and works in Edmonton Strathcona where she is a co-founder and organizer for Climate Justice Edmonton.
Paige Gorsak is a queer white settler born and raised in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Treaty 6 territory). She’s a co-founder and organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton, a prison abolitionist, a unionist, and a grad student. Her MA research focuses on campus sexual violence and the impact that university responses have on survivors. In fall 2018, she ran to become the federal NDP candidate in Edmonton Strathcona. Having lost, she’s returned to her day job as a (radical) public librarian. Vanessa Gray is a Anishinaabe kwe from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, located in Canada’s Chemical Valley. As a grassroots organizer, land defender and educator, Vanessa works to decolonize environmental justice research by linking scholarly findings to traditional teachings. David Gray-Donald is the publisher of Briarpatch Magazine and a board member with the Media Co-op, and has freelanced about activism and climate politics for lots of publications (Narwhal, National Observer, NOW Toronto, Rabble, etc). Shady Hafez is an Algonquin Syrian member of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. Shady currently resides in Kitigan Zibi and is employed as the community’s Mental Wellness Team Coordinator. Part of this work includes utilizing land based programming and cultural revitalization as tools towards enhanced wellness in his community.
Anjali Helferty is an activist academic completing her PhD at the University of Toronto on settler environmental antipipeline activists and Indigenous solidarity. She worked for the Sierra Youth Coalition, Energy Action Coalition (US), and Southern Energy Network (US) as a youth climate activist, and was one of the founders of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. Sharita Henry is a program facilitator with iMatter Youth in Canada. With a degree in Environment and Business from the University of Waterloo, she has a passion for youth activism and environmental sustainability. Based out of Ontario, Sharita has been working with youth across Canada to deepen their understanding of climate change policy and decisionmaking mechanisms. Sharita has a strong understanding of intersectionality and the complexities of multi-dimensional activist issues. Graciela Hernandez-Cruz ran to be the federal NDP candidate for Ottawa Centre by putting forward a bold platform which included: a just transition to a 100% renewable energy, respect for indigenous rights, including honouring the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people, comprehensive health including better mental health services, universal basic income, treating housing as a human right and free postsecondary education. Graciela is pursuing an MA at Carleton University in Communication. She’s an organizer with Climate Justice Ottawa and $15 and fairness. In 2019, she ran to be the federal NDP candidate for Ottawa Centre by putting forward a bold platform which included: a just transition to a 100% renewable energy and respect for indigenous rights. She hopes more millennials run for office on an unapologetic vision for the future of our planet!
Sandy Hudson is a political strategist, organizer and communications expert who believes in winning as a framework for justice. An audacious educator, Sandy is unafraid to have conversations needed to bring real change to the forefront. Sandy is also the founder of Black Lives Matter – Toronto and an academic and staff at CUPE Local 3903. She is also the co-host of a political podcast Sandy and Nora’s Podcast. Syed Hussan is an organizer and writer in Toronto working with undocumented and migrant people, in defense of Indigenous sovereignty, and against counter intuitive programs like war and capitalism. He is the coordinator for the recently launched Migrant Workers Alliance. Victoria Inglis is dënesułįne and nîhithaw from reindeer lake in northern turtle island. They explore writing, visual arts, and activism through a poetic lens, creating stories gifted to them though blood memory. Terrell IronShell is a community organizer and skills trainer from the Oglala Lakota nation. He is a cofounder of the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC) and a trainer and board member at Indigenous People Power Project (IP³). Emma Jackson is a queer settler on Treaty 6 territory where she’s a co-founder and organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton and a solidarity organizer with Migrante AB. Born on unceded Algonquin Anishinabe territory, she grew up in the labour movement and first got involved in organizing through fossil fuel divestment. She just finished her MA in Sociology on migrant caregivers’ experiences of the Fort McMurray wildfire and now works as a field organizer with 350 Canada. Atiya Jaffar s a storyteller, researcher, climate justice activist, and migrant from Pakistan. Atiya joined the movement as a youth climate organizer in the fossil fuel divestment movement. She currently works with the Canadian tar sands team at 350.org. and has a passion for organizing that centers climate change impacts.
Janelle Kasperski comes from the Nisga’a Nation in the Nass Valley of British Columbia. As Indigenous Education Advisor in the Office of the Provost at McGill University, she builds university commitment and capacity for the Provost’s Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. She is also an artist and sees her professional and artistic work as contributing to advancing the same life and community goals, using different mediums.
Meredith James was one of the founding members of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (CYCC) and represented the Sierra Club Canada Prairie Chapter. She continued to organize with CYCC while attending law school, including the 2008 Tar Sands Summit in Edmonton. She has been an environmental lawyer in the public and private sectors since 2011. She also has over a decade of experience as a board member of not for profit and charitable organizations. Nayeli Jimenez is originally from Mexico, and works as a graphic designer and art director in Vancouver, BC. She has been involved in climate justice organizing since 2014, mainly working on campaigns against pipelines and tar sands expansion. She is currently the art director at Greystone Books, where she melds her twin passions for editorial design and social and environmental justice. El Jones is a poet, professor and activist, who focuses her work on issues such as feminism, prison abolition, anti-racism, and decolonization. She was Halifax’s Municipal Poet from 2013–2015. Her book, Live From the Afrikan Resistance! published in 2014 is a collection of poems about community and struggle, grounded in the political culture of African Nova Scotia. In 2015, she was a resident at the International Writing Program at University of Iowa. Since 2016, she has co-hosted a radio show called Black Power Hour on CKDU-FM, an educational program which provides information on Black history and culture aimed at incarcerated people.[7] Listeners from prisons call in to rap and read poetry that they have written, providing a voice to people who rarely get a wide audience.
Elaine Kicknosway is Wolf Clan, originally from Northern Saskatchewan, and a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. She is a survivor of the 60’s scoop era and returned to her community in the mid 1990’s. She is a singer, traditional dancer, participant in ceremonies and ongoing learner. Elaine supports and helps within drumming circles, ceremonies, talking circles, discussion related to intergenerational impacts of residential school and how child welfare has impacted the family today. She has been a blanket exercise facilitator and trainer for the past 6 years. Theland Kicknosway is Wolf Clan, he is Potawatami/ Cree Nation, a member of Walpole Island -Bkejwanong Territory in Southern Ontario. He is a singer, a grass & hoop dancer, helps in ceremonies, and enjoys offering his gifts of song/dance/ voice. Theland has been a Blanket Exercise Facilitator for the past 6yrs. This past year in 2018 he is the youngest Indspire Award Recipient under Culture, Heritage & Spirituality of the 25 year History of the Inspire and Achievement Awards. Dustin Klaudt is an Associate practicing law with Juristes Power/ Power Law in Vancouver. His focuses include aboriginal, administrative, constitutional, commercial, environmental, and human rights litigation. He is concurrently studying towards a Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall Law School, with an emphasis on the interplay of constitutional law and climate change.
Mary Lovell is an organizer and activist working against pipelines and corporations in Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest. She is interested in direct action, addressing and dismantling various forms of oppression, and is really interested in the ways that a climate justice movement can tackle environmental racism and capitalism globally. She works with Greenpeace Canada and Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition.
Rosa Kouri currently leads a campaign against privatization and contracting out at the Public Service Alliance of Canada. They have formally directed global campaigns with the corporate watchdog SumOfUs.org, and have also developed progressive public policy for Canada’s parliament on health care, environment, agriculture, food, and youth. Loujain Kurdi is part of the Communications team with Greenpeace Canada. She has been working on the Climate & Energy and Oceans & Plastics campaign. She loves her cat, the color purple and the sea. Ras K’dee has toured with his world music fusing band Audiopharmacy for 17 years,. In 2003, K’dee co-founded (and is the current director) of a Native Youth media organization Seventh Native American Generation (SNAG). He leads weekly workshops with youth and is a producer and occasional co-host of the radio program “Bay Native Circle” on 94.1 FM in Northern California. He is currently building the first ever sustainably built, Indigenous led, multi-media center of its kind, the NEST Community Arts Center on his ancestral territory. Lauren Latour was born and raised on the land of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron, and Wendat peoples, in what is commonly known as London, Ontario. A graduate of Environmental Studies and Political Science at Mount Allison University in Mi’kma’ki (New Brunswick) Lauren first became involved in climate justice organizing through campus fossil fuel divestment campaigning. A past delegate to COP 21 and 22 with the CYD, Lauren currently resides in Ottawa, on unceded Algonquin territory, as a climate justice organizer Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie is a 23 year old Anishinaabe Two-Spirit from Sagkeeng First Nation, graduating with a BA in Indigenous Studies and Political Science. SadiePhoenix is currently the National Executive Representative of the Circle of First Nations, Mètis and Inuit Students. Sadie-Phoenix has worked on numerous on student led initiatives including the Indigenous Course Requirement and the Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign. Sadie-Phoenix has participated
and organized numerous community events, rallies, marches and speeches around Indigenous rights, challenging racism and colonialism, Indigenous climate justice and youth empowerment. Sadie-Phoenix is able to do all this work with the spiritual guidance of Elders, Traditional Knowledge Keepers, and consistently going to ceremonies with other youth leaders. Velvet LeClair is a subversive, political artist and a home daycare provider from Ottawa. She is a self taught artist, dancer and musician which happened as a result of supporting children discover their inner creativity. She uses children’s art supplies to highlight taboo, controversial subjects such as women’s sexuality, consumer celebrations masked as religious holidays, climate change, white privilege and politics. One of her on-going projects is making paper mâché masks of politicians who piss her off, and displays them with messages of accountability, public awareness, and education. Min Sook Lee has directed numerous critically-acclaimed feature documentaries, including: Donald Brittain Gemini winner Tiger Spirit, Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature winner Hogtown, Gemini nominated El Contrato and Canadian Screen Award winner, The Real Inglorious Bastards. Lee is an Assistant Professor at OCAD University, her area of research and practice focuses on the critical intersections of art+social change in labour, border politics, migration and social justice movements. Avi Lewis is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, and lecturer in Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University. His 25year journalism career has spanned awardwinning theatrically-released documentaries to local news reporting, and has appeared on television networks worldwide. In 2017, he co-founded and is now Strategic Director of The Leaap – an organization launched to upend our collective response to the crises of climate, inequality and racism.
Isabelle L’Héritier est organisatrice et chargée de mobilisation à Greenpeace Canada et habite Tio’tia:ke (Montréal). Après s’être impliquée dans le mouvement de grève étudiant de 2012 au Québec et plusieurs années de militantisme dans le mouvement altermondialiste, elle concentre désormais ses énergies dans les luttes locales pour la transition énergétique, le désinvestissement des énergies fossiles, la protection des écosystèmes et la justice climatique et sociale dans une perspective décoloniale. Ausma Malik joined Atkinson as Director of Social Engagement in May 2016. She brings a background in policy, community organizing and communication to the team, having worked at Queen’s Park and as the Director of Campaigns and Community Outreach at the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Ausma was elected to the Toronto District School Board as the Trustee for Ward 10 (Trinity-Spadina) in 2014. She is a lifelong human rights and social justice activist who has taken on a variety of leadership roles within the community over the years. Ariel Martz-Oberlander is a theatre artist and activist living on unceded Coast Salish territories. She is a director, actor, writer and producer, and runs the youth program at one of Vancouver’s largest theatres, The Cultch. Ariel is the recipient of the 2017 Mayor’s Arts Award for emerging community artist. Talia Martz-Oberlander grew up on unceded Coast Salish lands as a granddaughter of refugees. Now living in Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg territories, Talia is an experimental physicist who strives to form connections across social, political, and scientific spheres to heal our disjointed world.
Trish Mills is living in the occupied territories of the Neutral [Chonnonton], Haudensaunee and Anishinaabeg, known as Hamilton, ON. She has been organizing in so-called southern Ontario for a number of years and is committed to using her knowledge & experiences to help build resilient communities capable of taking risk in the struggle for collective liberation.
Peter McCartney mobilizes communities against destructive fossil fuel export projects and builds political will for a just transition to a zero carbon economy. He leads the Wilderness Committee’s campaigns against tar sands and fracked gas exports. Heather McLeod-Kilmurray is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section of the University of Ottawa. Her doctorate, “The Process of Judging the Environment: Civil Procedure, Environmental Ethics and its Effects on Environmental Law,” focuses on the approach to procedures such as class actions, injunctions and public interest standing in environmental cases. She has recently written on the issue of GM drift from the perspective of class action litigation, and is currently analyzing this problem from the ecofeminist perspective. Politics & Care weaves links between collective wellbeing, care and politics. Formed in Montreal by Rushdia Mehreen, Rémy Paulin Twahirwa & Pascale Brunet during the 2012 student strike, we look at care as a collective issue. We hold collective discussions and facilitate workshops for community organisations and activist groups where we can reflect on how we organize; spaces where we share stories, ideas and practices to create accountable, sustainable and thriving communities. https://politicsandcare.wordpress.com Maya Menezes lives in the Dish With One Spoon, in Tkaronto, she’s a climate justice campaigner, migrant and refugee organizer with No One Is Illegal-Toronto and international climate interventions with the Canadian Youth Delegation to COP. Her areas of focus are at the intersections of antiracism, anti-fascism, elections organizing as harm reduction and decolonization. In her paid work she is the Senior Manager of Programs and Development at The Leap.
Melissa Mollen Dupuis est originaire d’Ekuanitshit sur la Côte-Nord. Après un long parcours professionnel durant lequel elle a partagé la richesse de sa culture innue au public, elle donne souffle en 2012, avec Widia Larivière, à la branche québécoise du mouvement Idle No More. En 2014, elle est nommée présidente du conseil d’administration du Wapikoni mobile et en 2017, elle reçoit le prix Ambassadeur de la Conscience d’Amnistie internationale aux côtés de cinq autres personnalités du mouvement des peuples autochtones du Canada et d’Alicia Keys. Depuis 2018, elle est responsable de la campagne Forêts menée par la Fondation David Suzuki. Amina Moustaqim-Barrette is an organiser, public health professional, and cultural marxist. She has a deep interest in the intersections of climate change, forced migration, and health, and currently works as an epidemiologist in unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories. Isaac Murdoch (Bomgiizhik) is Ojibwe from Serpent River FN. He dabbles in visual arts and storytelling. He currently resides at Nimkii Aazhibikoong, a language revitalization camp located in his traditional territory. You can often find him finding ways to unite people through the arts for environmental change and humanitarian justice. Aaron Myran runs Future Majority, a national nonpartisan organization that is gearing up for the 2019 federal election, organizing tens of thousands of students on campuses in swing ridings throughout the country. Aaron grew up in Toronto but spent the last 10 years in the United States doing environmental and electoral organizing. He ran recruitment and training at Green Corps,, and was the deputy chief technology officer at a large progressive political action group.
Tina Oh is a first-generation Korean immigrant that grew up in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) in a working-class family. She became involved in intersectional organizing through the student and fossil fuel divestment movements across Mi’kma’ki (New Brunswick & Nova Scotia). She is a graduate student at Dalhousie University researching displacement & dispossession as a result of climate change, migration, & settlercolonialism. Tina is a delegate to this year’s United Nations’ climate change conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, and previously to COP 22 and 23. Claire O’Manique is currently a grad student at the University of Victoria, where she has also been involved in divestment organizing. Her research focuses alternative economic frameworks to neoliberal capitalism, and the barriers to their acceptability in Canadian politics. Mike Palecek is the National President of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. A letter carrier from Vancouver, he was elected National President in 2015. Cedar George-Parker campaigns to stop tar sands for future generations- he has done international divestment work pushing campaigns to stop funding oil and gas extraction. He is from Tsleil Waututh Nation and Tulalip Tribes. His nations are impacted by the Trans Mountain pipeline and tanker expansion project. Tara Peel is the National Director for Health, Safety and Environment at the Canadian Labour Congress. Tara is a member of the Just Transition Task Force for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities, a member of the Board of Directors of Climate Action Network Canada and a member of the National Steering Committee for the Green Economy Network.
Youth Movement in 1995, she eventually got involved in supporting land-defense campaigns from the sovereignty movement from the “Interior of BC” on unceded St’at’imc, Secwepemc and eventually Nlaka’pamux territories. She’s currently an editor at Media Coop, doing grassroots organizing on her territory, and is a full-time mother.
Karine Péloffy is a lawyer and a graduate of the transsystemic law program from McGill who has developed an expertise in climate law and currently sits on the MultiInterest Advisory Committee to the federal Environment and Climate Change Minister on environmental assessments reform. As the director of the Quebec Center for Environmental Law (2014-2018), she was very involved in court cases against the Energy East project, including an injunction halting TransCanada’s drilling work in critical beluga habitat in the Saint Lawrence River. Eddy Pérez started working with CAN-Rac in February 2018 and has almost 10 years of experience campaigning on issues related to climate change, social justice, and citizen participation. He joined the climate movement in 2013 after being trained by Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project in San Francisco. Eddy’s past experience includes being the Leadership Corps Coordinator for the Climate Reality Project Canada and working at the IPCC-Secretariat in Geneva. Katie Perfitt is a community organizer that cut her teeth with fossil fuel divestment campaign at Dalhousie University. Since then she’s been involved in anti-fracking and anti-pipeline work supports the participation of young people in the fight to keep fossil fuels in the ground with 350.org. Katie is also a trainer with Olivia Chow’s organizing school Institute for Change Leaders Kristen Perry is a mixed race woman currently living and working in Tio’tia:ke (Montreal). She aims to bring together her backgrounds in climate justice organizing and urban agriculture to support others in taking charge of their food systems. Billie Pierre is an Nlaka’pamux woman from so-called Merritt BC. She’s been active in grassroots media since 1996, co-founding Redwire Magazine and being trained and active at Vancouver Cooperative Radio. She had her start in grassroots organizing through the Vancouver Native
With roots in the climate movement, Amara Possian is an organizer, facilitator, and digital campaigner who supports groups that are building a more just and caring society. She has built advocacy organizations, run political campaigns, run for office, and serves on the board of the Center for Story-based Strategy. She helped organize PowerShift gatherings in 2009, 2012, 2013, and 2014 and is so thrilled to be here to help build the power of the youth climate movement. Will Prosper est documentariste, organisateur communautaire et militant pour les droits civiques et humains. Co-fondateur de Hoodstock, un espace de dialogue et d’innovation sociale pour la co-création de milieux urbains plus inclusifs, sécuritaires et dynamiques qui vise à lutter contre les inégalités systémiques. Au fil des années, il a contribué à des institutions importantes de la société civile québécoise, tels que la Commission populaire sur la répression politique, la Ligue des droits et libertés, la Coalition pour l’égalité et contre le racisme systémique, et le collectif Faut qu’on se parle. Chez Équiterre depuis 2009, Geneviève Puskas a su jongler avec les enjeux du commerce équitable, de la consommation responsable, de l’agriculture et de l’approvisionnement durable. Elle est l’une des cofondatrices du Front commun pour la transition énergétique, une coalition historique entre citoyens, organismes environnementaux, groupes autochtones, et autres organisations de la société civile qui vise la fin de l’ère des hydrocarbures vers une transition énergétique porteuse de justice sociale.
Nigel Henri Robinson is a comedian, writer, and filmmaker from Cold Lake First Nations. He studied at Humber in the Comedy: Writing and Performance program. He also does comedy workshops and does a talk on Healing Through Comedy. He most recently gave this talk at Healing Our Spirits Worldwide in Hamilton, New Zealand. He has produced many short films on his Youtube channel NigelHenriRobin, and is actively seeking to partner with organizations, communities, and businesses to create engaging entertaining content. Thane Robyn is an artist, organizer, community builder, and facilitator hailing from South Africa (the best country in the world), who currently resides on Algonquin territory. Some of his favourite projects have included: creating a filmmaking series for lgbtq+ youth, working with Spectrum: Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space, and currently sitting on the board at Kind Space. Thane is as passionate about dismantling white cisheteropatriarchy as he is about fermenting food, hanging out with his dog and family, wearing plaid, and sleeping in a hammock. Thane is a trans powerhouse and community worker who is ready to help you be a better trans ally as long as you’re ready to do the work. Contact him at Robyn Media (@r.bynmedia) Sakura Saunders is a founding member of the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, and has been working with communities impacted by Canadian mining for over a decade. Lily Schwarzbaum est une militante qui habite Tio’tia:ke (Montréal). À travers une décennie d’engagement dans des mouvements sociaux au Québec, elle a développé un fort intérêt pour les stratégies de campagnes, les relations humaines durables et les marionnettes géantes. Elle a été notamment impliquée dans Justice climatique Montréal et La marche des peuples pour la terre mère de 2014. Lily est une anti-capitaliste qui a confiance en toi!
David Solnit is an arts and direct action organizer and a puppeteer. He works with movements to use culture, art, giant puppets and theatre in mass mobilizations, for popular education and as an organizing tool. He’s currently 350.org‘s arts organizer and has facilitated arts making for Powershift in Alberta and the US, at Standing Rock antiDAPL resistance, Nebraska anti-Keystone Pipeline, with the Poor People’s Campaign, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, for People Climate Marches and the Toronto March for Jobs, Justice and the Climate. He was a lead organizer in the shutdowns of the WTO in Seattle in 1999 and in San Francisco the day after Iraq was invaded in 2003. Brandon D. Stewart is a Research Doctorate (J.S.D.) candidate at Yale University Law School, where he also earned his Master of Laws as a Fulbright Fellow in 2018. Brandon’s doctoral work examines how corporate law might address climate change and promote sustainability, and he is also interested in access to justice issues. Prior to joining Yale, Brandon practiced as a commercial litigator in Toronto and worked as a Research Fellow for a community legal clinic. Arnell Tailfeathers is a Blackfoot visual artist. Stephen Thomas is a white, settler climate and energy activist from K’jipuktuk/Halifax in unceded Mi’kmaq Territory. Stephen works as the Energy Campaign Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, working on campaigns for ambitious climate action, with a focus on the just transition for workers and communities. Stephen is an engineer and has worked for a number of communityowned renewable energy companies. He attended COP21 in Paris as part of the Canadian Youth Delegation, was a founding member of the fossil fuel divestment campaign at Dalhousie University, and loves cycling, gardening and solarpowering everything.
Director at cStreet Campaigns where she helped labour and NGOs build progressive movements across Canada, the US and Australia. Her free time is spent volunteering on campaigns, petting dogs, and tweeting pictures of cars in bike lanes.
Clayton Thomas-Müller is a member of the Treaty #6–based Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, Canada. For 20+ years, he has been organizing and campaigning to confront the climate crisis, our over-reliance on fossil fuels and for Indigenous rights and environmental justice. Clayton worked on the Indigenous Tar Sands Campaign of the Polaris Institute in Canada, for the Indigenous Environmental Network, an organizer with Idle No More, and now as the “Stop it at the Source” campaigner with 350.org. Joce Two Crows Tremblay is a Great Lakes metis of Mohawk, Pottawatomi, Francaise and Ashkenazi ancestries. They were raised on the Land, practicing ecological stewardship with family in Southwest Ontario and has been a lifelong Earthworker in and around Tkaronto, Penetanguishene and Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. Two Crows is committed to Indigenous Land Sovereignty work across our diverse communities, cultural revitalization, seed saving, deepening knowledge of Land-based ceremonies and honoring the sacred mounds. Bronwen Tucker grew up in Dish With One Spoon Territory, in Toronto, and now calls Edmonton home. She’s a co-founder and organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton and the Climate Justice Campaigner with the Council of Canadians. She got involved in organizing during the 2012 student strikes in Québec and as part of the Canadian Youth Delegation to the UN climate talks, and stayed because she kept meeting decisionmakers who showed they didn’t understand or care about climate change, white supremacy, or inequality. Natasha Wilson is the Senior Manager of Digital at New/Mode, working to build a strong community of empowered campaigners to tackle timely social, political and environmental issues. Prior to joining New/Mode, Natasha was the Digital
A queer femme of color and adult survivor of child abuse living with long-term depression, the sole purpose of Malek Yalaoui’s work is to heal herself and her community. Malek believes in the power of representation to lift up underserved communities and uses social and independent media to highlight both her own voice and the voices of other marginalized folks. Malek is the co-founder of both SistersInMotion MTL and the Chai Chats podcast and can be found hosting Poetry Nite at Kafein in Montreal. Audrey Yank a appris les rudiments de la justice climatique lors de sa participation à la COP16 avec la Délégation jeunesse pour le climat (CYCC) avant de marcher 700 km pour lutter contre l’industrie des gaz de schiste au Québec en 2011. Depuis, Audrey a été impliquée de très près dans le mouvement d’opposition aux oléoducs et a contribué à mettre sur pied la campagne Coule pas chez nous. Au-delà de son implication dans les luttes citoyennes, Audrey travaille en tant qu’ingénieure dans le secteur des énergies renouvelables et de l’efficacité énergétique. Diana Da Young Yoon is a 23 year old queer woman of colour and environmental justice advocate from tkaronto. Her experience ranges from fossil fuel divestment, food security, and political campaigns; she was one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25 in 2017. Diana currently works at The Atmospheric Fund, working towards deep emissions reductions across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
STREAMS OP H S K R O W & ON I T A M R O F IN
Organizing & Mobilizing Sessions in this stream will cover topics like how to design a campaign, using elections as a tool to shift what’s politically possible, building and growing a team to take action on an issue that matters to your community, and so much more.
Non-violent Direct Action This stream will be grounded in non-violent direct action theory and history of social movements of the past. It’ll explore tactics like civil disobedience and frontline land defence. Sessions will prepare participants to deploy direct actions by coaching people on action design, legal and security considerations, and more. Tactics explored will include everything from scouting to highly technical actions like blockades and climbing.
Intersectional Movement Building How do we build strong, dynamic movements that can tackle the challenge we face from a position of strength and intersectionality? This stream will dig into the transition to 100% renewable energy and what that really means for workers, the economically vulnerable, as well as communities on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction. Participants will explore anti-capitalist frameworks, learn about colonial histories and Indigenous solidarity, healthy masculinities, global south perspectives on climate impacts, anti-racism and climate justice, and challenging white supremacy in climate justice.
Indigenous Perspectives This stream will offer spaces for Indigenous participants to learn from each other about food sovereignty, colonial histories, traditional governance, climate change from Indigenous perspectives, and producing Indigenous movement art. Settlers will only be permitted entry when specifically invited, at the discretion of those leading sessions.
Storytelling, Digital + Media This stream includes workshops on how to tell your personal narrative to motivate others to take action, how to win the ‘Battle of the Story’, the latest social media tips and tricks, digital organizing, and how to write press releases and talk to media.
Art & Resistance Throughout the convergence, we will have an art space running where participants can gain skills like screen printing, zine-making, writing protest music, banner making, and building giant puppets, all to be used in PowerShift: Young & Rising’s action.
FT I H S R E W O P 101 + 201
PowerShift 101 + 201 As wildfires burn through BC, glaciers retreat in Alberta, winters grow shorter in Nunavut, and floods destroy homes in the Maritimes, Canadian politicians continue to fail us. The federal government touts a lacklustre climate plan, all the while purchasing pipelines, protecting big industry, and failing to respect Indigenous rights. Powershift: Young and Rising 101 will contextualize the climate movement within this moment of urgency, introduce the concept of climate justice, and offer participants the language and tools they need to navigate Powershift: Young & Rising.
How to Create a Winning Strategy and Organize Effectively
G N I Z I N A G R O G N I Z I L I B O &M
Facilitators: Katie Perfitt & Lauren Latour It’s hard to make an impact on an issue you care about without a plan. If you’re new to organizing and activism and want to learn how to design a campaign strategy, this is the workshop for you!
La stratégie, c’est gagnant! Organizing 101 Animatrices: Audrey Yank & Lily Schwarzbaum Vous êtes tannés d’organiser des actions sans résultats? Une marche et puis, qu’est-ce qui s’en suit? Venez vous outiller pour planifier efficacement des campagnes qui ont des impacts réels. Les stratégies de campagnes n’auront plus de secrets pour vous et à partir de maintenant, les pétrolières ne pourront que vous craindre!
The European Climate Movement:
Cross-Pollination, Solidarity-Building and Critiques Facilitators: Mathilde, Teo & Guillaume Durin Climate justice movements in Europe have been very active over the past four years. Ende Gelande in Germany, Friday for Climate from Sweden, Rebellion Extinction in Great Britain, Il Est Encore Temps in France. Despite a tense political context, they are organizing waves of mass mobilization and some mass civil disobedience actions, the intensity of which is increasing. Within them, the involvement of young people is becoming crucial. The qualitatives jumps these movements make and the intersections they seek are beginning to open up very interesting perspectives. We will review, question and explore them together.
Start and Grow a Climate Justice Team in Your City or Town!
(On Your Own You’re Useless; How to Build a Team) Facilitators: Emma Jackson, Bronwen Tucker, Paige Gorsak & Gabrielle Gelderman You can’t do it alone. Behind every powerful movement is a core team that knew how to grow. We’ll go through all the things you need to know to start and grow a big beautiful organizing team: the life changing magic of one-on-ones, establishing group norms, putting relationships first, building collective skills and capacity, creating accountability without hierarchy, designing an effective structure and more.
Compter sur la force du nombre: construire des alliances durables
Animatrices: Geneviève Puskas & Audrey Yank Venez partager vos questionnements, bons coups et préoccupations dans un atelier participatif pour vous aider à construire des groupes et des collectifs durables, sains, stimulants et florissants afin de porter votre cause plus loin. Parmi les aspects abordés : •
Renforcer un groupe et l’entretenir dans le temps
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I ntégrer et accompagner de nouveaux membres de façon inclusive
•
réer des liens avec des partenaires qui ne C partagent pas toujours votre point de vue
•
Comment et pourquoi bâtir une coalition
Campus Organizing: Getting Out the Student Vote Facilitator: Aaron Myron & Anjali Helferty You’ll walk away from this session with a crash course on how to run an effective get out the vote drive and a template to use for the 2019 federal election. We’ll cover how elections fit into a grassroots organization theory of change, election messaging, recruitment and leadership development to run a mass scale get out the vote drive, and technology and digital tool best practices.
Harnessing the Power of Your Personal Story Facilitator: Amara Possian Translating our values and experiences into collective action is a critical part of building movements and winning campaigns. In this workshop, you’ll learn the fundamentals of public narrative—the story of self, the story of us, the story of now—and practice telling your story to inspire others to take action.
What’s Your Theory of Change? Facilitator: Jen Gobby Ever wonder how radical social change actually happens? In this workshop we will cover some of the theories of change and Key Lesson for Activists offered by progressive scholarly literature, followed by an exploration of tools for developing your own theories of change for use in movement organizing and for specific campaigns. This workshop will help train you 1) to reflect deeply on your assumptions about how the world works and how change happens, 2) to think systematically about why your social change initiative is likely to contribute to social change, and 3) articulate your very own theories of change.
A Conversation About Student Democracy Speaker: Sandy Hudson Student organizing has been a catalyst for young people to get politically organized for decades. Now, more than ever, student democracy is a way to protect our freedom and rights. Join Sandy Hudson for a talk about student organizing and activism to reclaim political power and resistance to extreme right-wing politics. We will break down the implications of the Ford government’s higher education announcement and discuss the historical significance of student democracy in building activated movements.
Momentum Driven Organizing Facilitators: Atiya Jaffar & Katie Perfitt We often come across two competing philosophies within social movements: structure based organizing and mass public protest. This workshop will introduce participants to these frameworks and to an emerging framework called “The Hybrid Model” which borrows the best from these two frameworks to create an approach to movement work that appreciates mass mobilizations as well as the benefits of structured, localized organizing.
Tourbillon et mobilisation :
s’organiser à la façon Momentum! Animatrices: Aurore Fauret & Lily Schwarzbaum Atelier en FR Comment s’organiser de façon structurée tout en ayant recours à la décentralisation et la mobilisation de masse pour changer l’opinion publique et gagner nos campagnes? Momentum explore un modèle “hybride” tirant le meilleur de différentes traditions au sein de mouvements sociaux. Cet atelier présentera un survol de ces concepts et des stratégies auxquelles avoir recours pour se mobiliser à grande échelle, absorber de nouvelles personnes dans notre mouvement, et mener des actions collectives efficaces!
Niches, Not Silos!
Thinking of Movements as Ecosystems Facilitator: Jen Gobby Conceptual and relational silos such as top down / bottom up, inside/outside system etc. divide and weaken our movement efforts. In this workshop, we’ll work together to think past these binaries and develop more nuanced and holistic, yet critical, ways of thinking about and building social change. We will discuss ways of identifying where we each fit into the movement ecosystem, cultivate a sense of radical interdependence in our movements and together foster more inclusive activist culture.
Lessons from University Divestment: How Do We Move Forward?
Facilitators: Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Laura Cutmore This session is for anyone interested in campus fossil fuel divestment campaigning—whether you want to learn the basics of divestment or talk about how to start your own campaign, or if you’re already involved in a divestment campaign at your university/college and want to meet other divestment organizers and discuss where the divestment movement is headed.
How to Run for Office Facilitators: Paige Gorsak, Emma Jackson, Gabrielle Gelderman & Bronwen Tucker As core organizers behind the grassroots collective Climate Justice Edmonton, we ran Paige Gorsak to become the next federal NDP candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona— the only federal riding currently held by the NDP in Alberta. We ran on a bold platform rooted in social, economic, and climate justice, in which we successfully galvanized the support of hundreds of voters and volunteers in just 2 months. In this workshop, we’ll share everything we learned about how to build a strategic electoral campaign capable of challenging the Establishment, give you everything you need to know about how to run a successful electoral campaign from start to finish.
Big Organizing in Elections: The Bernie Sanders Model Facilitator: Tim Ellis When Bernie Sanders launched his primary campaign, he had less than 3% name recognition and was barely a blip in the polls. In less than a year, his campaign built a national organizing machine that brought this self-described socialist within reach of the White House—in part, by pioneering innovative, decentralized organizing techniques that have come to be known as “big organizing”. In this workshop, Tim will cover some of the principles and lessons of big organizing—and some of the limitations—before diving into the nuts and bolts of how you can apply those principles to your own electoral campaigns. Bring your questions!
Municipal Responses to Climate Change & Intersections with Diverse Urban Communities Facilitator: Diana Da Young Yoon While young people rally for a Green New Deal and champion fossil fuel divestment across post-secondary campuses, youth, particularly BIPOC youth, face barriers to taking climate action in their own communities. How can we better bridge climate activism and the low-carbon professional space? This workshop will explore pathways to shaping equitable, low-carbon communities through policy development, deputuations, and progressive politics. In addition, we will hold space to talk about meaningful diversity and inclusion in the emerging low-carbon sector.
Interventions in International Climate Policy Presenter: Eddy Perez Many things have changed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The IPCC special report on 1.5 °C was clear, this decade we must do all we can to transform the politics and systems to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. But we are facing the unwillingness of the political elites that refuse to propose and implement transformational solutions at such a critical time. This lack of leadership has been noted as a global risk. Students, workers, cities and communities around the Planet are asking for urgent climate action. How are these new forms of distributed leadership impacting global climate governance?
Taking Back Elections: Making the Case for Organizers to Run (Panel)
Moderator: Maya Menezes Panelists: Paige Gorsak, Amara Possian, Ausma Malik, Min Sook Lee & Graciela Hernandez-Cruz We are about to enter an election cycle with no heroes—a scary place to be. In a time where the climate crisis is reaching its peak and fascism, austerity, racism, and white supremacy are on the rise, there’s more need than ever to elect progressive champions. We know that we made big mistakes in Ontario when the movement abandoned elections, and now the most marginalized communities are suffering. We cannot make the same mistake again. If we plan to bring back a hero in 2023, then 2019 is the training ground. How do we take back elections—and win?
2019 Federal Election Strategy Discussion Facilitator: Tim Ellis This session will provide PowerShift: Young & Rising participants with a space to discuss the upcoming federal election, strategize, and map out what needs to happen.
Generations Rising: Stories from the Climate Movement in the Climate Era
Moderator: Amara Possian Panelists: Anjali Helferty, Meredith James, Aftab Ergan & Rosa Kouri In 2006, at the beginning of the Harper era, 40 youth representing more than 20 environmental, labour, Indigenous, faith, and student organizations founded the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. Over the next several years, we strove to keep climate change in the public discourse in a time when little federal action was possible. Please join some of the organizers from that period, who are now in academia, civil service and NGO sector, for a storytelling session about their experiences in youth activism and reflections about lessons learned.
Climate Litigation: Navigating the Court System (Panel) Litige Climatique: Naviguer le système judiciaire Moderator: Professor Heather McLeod-Kilmurray Panelists: B randon Stewart, Karine Péloffy, Dustin Klaudt, Catherine Gauthier & Danielle Gallant Climate litigation has recently been brought into the spotlight by the legal victory in the Dutch Urgenda case as well as the evolution of the ongoing Juliana case in the U.S. In Canada, a class action lawsuit has been brought in Quebec and novel cases are being contemplated in other provinces. This panel presents a discussion of the role that climate litigation can play in holding governments and the private sector accountable for climate change and its associated harms. Intersecting themes such as environmental justice and youth involvement will also be presented.
Divestment and Anti-Capitalism Facilitators: Emilia Belliveau & Claire O’Manique This session will dig into fossil fuel divestment movement strategy and organizing practices that can refine a strong climate justice politic in divestment. We will work through some of the big questions currently facing the divestment movement as a “mature” campaign. How are we incorporating mentorship, intersectionality, and intentional climate justice politics into divestment? Can divestment be more strategic and intentional as a tool or tactic for anti-capitalist learning? This space is for people to learn from each other, get creative, share best practices, and do some collaborative strategizing that can shape the divestment movement going forward.
E C N A T S I S E ART & R
T THE ARTIS F O E L O R “THE E THE I S TO M A K S T I B L E . ” N IRRESI O I T U L O V RE A E BA M BA R D A C I N O T –
Zine-Making Facilitators: Andrea Bastien, Billie Pierre, Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie & Ras K’dee Learn how to build an online magazine! In this session, you will hear from Indigenous artists who have built magazines across Turtle Island. Representatives from Redwire Native Youth Media and Seventh Native American Generation (SNAG) Magazine will share their histories and walk you through their creation processes. You will create a publication that will be built onsite and posted online utilizing your creativity. Through various storytelling mediums such as fiction, non-fiction, art and poetry, you will learn methods to design your own zine—join us!
Poetry with El Jones Facilitator: El Jones
Spoken Word and Music Workshop Facilitator: Mohammad Ali (Socialist Hip Hop) Examining numerous poetic and literary techniques, and study the lyrics of socially conscious songwriters to help show you how to turn your thoughts and feelings into powerful song lyrics with a strong message about social change.
THE ART SPACE
The art space at Powershift:Young & Rising will be open to all participants over the weekend, from February 15th–17th. The art space will hold an ongoing art build for Powershift’s closing action taking place on Monday February 18th. Throughout the weekend, we will be joined by artists who will lead various workshops, from screenprinting, to puppet-making, to music for the resistance and theatre of the oppressed. Keynote speakers and renowned artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch will be leading the art build on Saturday the 16th.
Ongoing facilitators: Nayeli Jimenez, Shady Hafez & David Solnit
Screen-Printing Facilitators: David Solnit This hands-on workshop will allow participants to learn screenprinting techniques that can be used to create bold, cohesive artwork for large actions. Using stencils, we will screen-print flags and patches for our closing action, but participants are also encouraged to bring blank t-shirts for printing.
Banners & Flag-Making Facilitators: Christi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch & David Solnit This workshop will focus on drawing, painting, and mounting large banners and flags. On February 16th, we will be joined by artists Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch, who will lead the art build. They will focus on large mural-like banners that will be used to lead the closing action.
‘No Pipelines’ Paper Mâché Earth Facilitator: Velvet LeClair A two-part papier mâché project, in part 1 participants will use a specialized paper mâché paste to create the base layer on balloons, and in part 2 participants will paint their planet earths, adding a large ‘X’ over Turtle Island with the message “No Pipelines!”
Stencil-Making Facilitators: Nayeli Jimenez, Shady Hafez & David Solnit Throughout the weekend, we will create additional stencils that can be used to replicate art on flags, patches, and banners.
ART + RESISTANCE KEYNOTE Panel: The Role of Art in Resistance Movements Moderator: Andrea Bastien Panelists: C hristi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch, Clayton Thomas-Muller & David Solnit Artists Christi Belcourt, Isaac Murdoch, Clayton Thomas-Muller, and David Solnit will speak about the importance of art in the climate justice movement. In a moderated discussion, they will share their experience collaborating in various frontlines, including Standing Rock, where they have led art-based actions fighting for indigenous sovereignty.
PERFORMERS Ottawa River Singers The Ottawa River Singers, is a drum group of First Nations men and women singers. The singers of the group live in Ottawa, but their families are from Northern Ontario and Manitoulin Island. They have been singing together in the Capital region for over three years. The songs they sing have many different meanings often including uplifting words of encouragement to those who are listening. The drum, is the heartbeat of mother earth and is the center of our culture. The beat of the drum combined with the collective sounds of our voices is a medicine that can uplift and carry others in a positive way.
Darius Mirshahi Darius is a revolutionary artist, political organizer, and all-around trouble maker. He is one half of the hip-hop duo Test Their Logik, a member of the Beehive Design Collective, the architect of the recurring cross-Canada “Art of Resistance Tours”, as well as a founding member of the Rhymethink Collective which is uniting social movement emcees from coast to coast. He lives in K’jipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki, known colonially as Halifax, with his partner Sakura and their protest baby Kai.
Silla + Rise Silla + Rise are a Canadian musical group based in Ottawa, whose album Debut was a Juno Award nominee for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2017. The group, consisting of vocalists Cynthia Pitsiulak and Charlotte Qamaniq and DJ Eric “Rise Ashen” Vani, blends traditional Inuit throat singing with electronic dance music. According to the group, the two seemingly divergent music styles have much in common, including how both involve some form of a battle between performers—i.e., whoever laughs first in throat singing loses. Pitsiulak is originally from Kimmirut and Qamaniq is originally from Igloolik. Pitsiulak and Qamaniq have been performing throat singing since 2005.
Mohammad Ali Aumeer (Socialist Hip Hop) Mohammad Ali is a emcee, poet, author, and activist who ups the bar on protest music with a hard-hitting selection of workers’ anthems and gritty frontline labour narratives designed to instil new energy in the movement for workers’ rights. Having shared the stage with Hip Hop heavyweights Talib Kweli, Wu-Tang’s Ghostface, and KRS-ONE, and performing at rallies from Queens Park to Parliament Hill and touring from Newfoundland to British Columbia, the Socialist Vocalist is redefining how his generation views political music.
Jah’Kota Justin Alexander Holness is Jamaican and Nakota from Ocean Man First Nation in Saskatchewan so subsequently his artist name is Jah’Kota. Most recently he made history for being the first to drop a verse in the senate on National Aboriginal Day. His passion is to spread truth, love, and well being throughout the world with words and music and inspire young people to find their genius! Justin is also the owner/founder of Un1ty Entertainment which provides a creative environment for indigenous people to express themselves and their heritage through all forms of art, music, and fashion. Justin is responsible for Ottawa’s annual INDIGENOUS Art, Music and Fashion Show to help inspire young people to find their genius.
S U O N E G I IND S E V I T C E P PERS Res-urgency Film Director: Desiree Wallace In the wake of a high school shooting, a young survivor questions his humanity, in turn, that of the world’s. He rises in unity with many to reawaken indigenous wisdom and justice in the 21st century.
Weaponizing Imagery For Indigenous Memes and Movements Facilitators: Nigel Henri Robinson, Arnell Tailfeathers & Victoria Inglis In this workshop Indigenous Memers will expose participants to and explore the Indigenous meme and what the impact has been on the movement. The Memers will show a bit of the process of constructing a meme and participants will be challenged to make their own memes throughout the workshop.
Lessons Learned from Kwekwecnewtxw (The Watch House) Facilitator: Cedar George-Parker In the spring of 2018, Indigenous Coast Salish members, spiritual leaders and youth erected a traditional “Watch House” (“Kwekwecnewtxw” or “a place to watch from” in the henqeminem language, used by members of the Coast Salish Peoples) as part of their ongoing resistance to the Kinder Morgan TransMountain Expansion pipeline. With Kwekwecnewtxw as our case study, join us in a conversation about the lessons learned from frontline resistance to pipeline projects.
Traditional Governance and Eastern Wampum Treaties Facilitator: Shannon Chief Teachings of Anishnabe Pike Constitution with Pike Bones. Knowing the importance of our connections & sovereignty with the Land. Review of the history wampum treaties
International Indigenous Solidarity Building Facilitator: Cedar George-Parker When the #NoDAPL Resistance began at Standing Rock, expressions of solidarity poured in from Indigenous communities around the globe. During COP21, Indigenous representatives from all four corners of the world staged a paddle on the Seine calling for Indigenous rights to be acknowledged in the Paris Accord. Indigenous communities are organizing across colonial borders to resist extractivism and demand climate justice. Join in a conversation about the potential and power of Indigenous solidarity-building in the international arena.
Tending Roots: Indigenous Land Sovereignty Facilitator: Joce Two Crows Tremblay Looking at decolonizing relationship to Land, re-Indigenization, Right Relations, Earthwork as Ceremony and Cultural resurgence.
T N E L O I V N NO N O I T C A T DIREC
NVDA Theory & History Facilitator: Sean Devlin This session will provide a brief overview of the history and theories of non-violent direct action and its role in social movements. We will draw from examples of the climate movement, and other social movements to infer the use, impacts and history of NVDA.
Scouting Facilitator: Cam Fenton When planning a direct action, location is everything. Scouting helps ensure that your action goes as planned on the day of. Learn how to assess the accessibility of your site, create contingency plans, and troubleshoot issues.
Blockading Facilitators/Animateur.trice.s: Terrell IronShell, Isabelle L’HÊritier & Tina Oh Participants will gain the skills necessary to hold space strategically and effectively using their bodies, equipment and learned skills while focusing on Indigenous communities. Additionally, attendees will learn about self care and the importance of mental discipline on the frontlines. No experience is required. Participants must register beforehand by emailing Tina at tina.oh@dal.ca. Please note that there are two parts to this session, and you must be present for both.
Climbing for Resistance! Facilitator: Mary Lovell In this workshop, we will learn how aerial blockades can be used as a tool to stop logging pipelines and creatively intervene. We will cover knots, prussik climbing systems, industrial climbing systems, banner hangs and anchor systems, at a introductory level and work with the same people for the 2.5 days building the skills needed to safely work at heights and put our bodies in unique spaces. All participants need to pre-register through this link: http://bit.do/eHTJU.
Histoire et théorie de l’action directe non-violente Animateur: Daniel Cayley-D’Aoust Aperçu de l’histoire et des théories de l’action directe non-violente et de son rôle au sein des mouvements sociaux. Nous utiliserons des exemples du mouvement climatique et d’autres mouvements sociaux afin d’explorer l’utilisation, les impacts et l’historique de l’action directe non-violente. Nous explorerons aussi les notions de créativité mélangées aux actions à travers de nombreux exemples. Tout ça nous permettra de réfléchir à comment nous pouvons intégrer des notions d’action directe non-violente dans no campagnes, projets et communautés.
Resisting Arrest Facilitator: Trish Mills Political dissent is essential—but with it can come arrest and other forms of repression. Come learn about your legal rights and the experience and processes of being arrested, navigating court systems, and going to jail. The hope is that by sharing information and demystifying the process, individuals can challenge any inaction rooted in fear and be more prepared and empowered to take action—even when it may involve risk.
Courage Over Fear: a Security Culture for New & Experienced Community Organizers Facilitator: Trish Mills Who’s the cop in the room? It’s something we always joke about— but only half-heartedly. As community organizers we know that state surveillance is a reality, but there are far better ways of engaging in security culture than accusing allies of being cops. Join us for a facilitated discussion on building a culture that encourages connection & trust instead of fear & inaction. Together, we’ll look at what undercover police operations can look like, basic security culture practices and considerations, vouching processes and their limitations, and even a few tech/digital security tips!
L A N O I T C E INTERS G N I D L I U B T Suicide Prevention Training MOVEMEN Facilitator: Peter Farrell
SafeTALK is a suicide alertness training appropriate for youth 15 and up. You’ll learn four basic steps to recognize persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them with suicide helping resources. This three-hour training can help you make a difference. SafeTALK was designed by LivingWorks (they also created ASIST suicide intervention training) and has been delivered thousands of times in over 20 countries. Pre-registration is recommended to help the trainer prepare. All participants receive a certificate of completion. For more information about the program see: https://www.livingworks.net/programs/safetalk/
A “Green New Deal” for Canada Moderator: Avi Lewis Panelists: Clayton Thomas Müller, Syed Hussan, Tara Peel, Karen Cocq & Mike Palacek We need a real plan to tackle climate change that accepts both the scientific reality that tackling climate change means ending our reliance on fossil fuels and accepts the moral necessity that the transition to 100% renewables needs to be fair for people and communities. That’s why Canada needs its own “Green new Deal”, a vision for climate, economic and social justice. Join this panel discussion and stick around for small group conversations!
Cultivating Food Security Facilitator: Kristen Perry Together, we’ll explore what it means to have food security, and how this can shift based on changes in our own situations or the environment around us. How can we (re)connect to our food and build community solidarity and resilience at the same time? We’ll also make pollinator-friendly wildflower seed balls for guerrilla planting!
We Have Nothing to Lose but our Chains: Anti-Capitalism & Climate Justice Facilitator: Syed Hussan We are told that we have 12 years to act before irreversible catastrophe. The urgency of the crisis is flatly denied or met with false solutions. We must build mass power capable of actually reversing this trajectory. This session aims to discover lessons from anti-capitalist organizing over the centuries that we can put to use now. Together, we will strategize to make “system change, not climate change” a reality.
The True Cost of Coal : Stories of Resistance with the Beehive Collective
Facilitators: Kaleigh Mcgregory-Bales & Trish Mills Come get swept into stories of resistance and resilience in the face of mega-extraction. In our presentation we use engaging storytelling and a giant, portable mural to deconstruct complex issues of climate change, colonization, and resource extraction. We strive to provoke discussion, raise hard questions, and share hopeful stories about actions big and small we can take to build a better world. This session will focus on the tremendous history of organized resistance and the courage of communities living in the shadow of Big Coal in Appalachia infused with local stories of resistance to fossil fuels and pipeline projects.
Anti-O & Decol 101 Facilitator: Thane Robyn We will be creating a foundation in the theory and concepts of an Anti-Oppressive framework through community discussion, activity and lived experiences. This is a session for everyone even if you’ve been to a 101 previously. Let’s work together, learn from each other and build our knowledge of an Anti-Oppressive framework.
Anti-O & Decol 201
Facilitator: Thane Robyn In this session the question, “How does Anti-O work in the world?,” will be the core of discussion. We will be building on the theory and concepts of 101 through community discussion, activities and learning.
Environmental Racism (Panel) Moderator: Amina Moustaqim-Barrette Panelists: W ill Prosper, Vanessa Gray, El Jones & Maya Menezes This panel with delve into the ways in which environmental racism manifests in our society. Environmental Racism is an extremely broad term actually coined at the Deep South Centre for Environmental Justice by advocates in Louisiana attempting to explain the ways in which black communities were disproportionately exposed to toxicity and negative health impacts. Now, environmental racism is taken up within a much broader framework including an analysis of colonialism, the police state, and border imperialism- to name a few. In this panel, we will discuss the ways environmental racism implicates and targets Indigenous communities through stolen land, disrespected treaties and corporate violence. We will also delve into the environmental impacts of policing on black and racialized communities and the ways in which the enforcement of the border, manufacturing of the ‘other’ and imagined danger from migrants and refugees, exemplify environmental racism in practice.
Land Defense—The Time is Now! (Panel) Moderator: Melissa Mollen Dupuis As they have done since the dawn of the colonial era, Indigenous communities are standing on the frontlines against resource extraction and fossil fuel infrastructure across Turtle Island. As corporations and their government protectors utilize colonial law to strip Indigenous peoples of their rights and poison the land and water, frontline resistance is now more critical than ever. What do we have to learn from frontline movements like Standing Rock, Unist’ot’en Camp, Kwekwecnewtxw (The Watch House), Stop Alton Gas, and countless others? Join water and land defenders from the frontlines of extractivism to discuss how we can support the battle ahead.
QTBIPOC Caucus Facilitator: Malek Yalaoui To be marginalized is not an accident—it is the purposeful design of white supremacist capitalist colonialist ableist patriarchy (WSCCAP*). As QTBIPOC** folks, we were not born on the margins—rather we’ve been pushed aside by systems and institutions designed either without us in mind or for our outright destruction. By claiming space that is by-and-for us we say no to this marginalization as we center ourselves and each other in a collective climate justice movement where our voices count. *WSCCAP was coined by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Chanelle Gallant, Arti Mehta and Loree Erickson in 2010. **QTBIPOC stands for queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, people of colour. This caucus welcomes all QTBIPOC including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, pansexual, asexual, and/or Intersex, Two-Spirit and non-binary.
Ally vs. Accomplice Facilitator: Janelle Kasperski What does the term “ally” mean? What has it meant in the What does the term “ally” mean? What has it meant in the past? And has the meaning changed? This workshop will open discussion to varying perspectives around the definition of this term. It will encourage and discuss how to critically think about the ways in which we can contribute to and stand with Indigenous led resistances.
Global Decolonization: Contextualizing Climate Change Impacts
Facilitators: Atiya Jaffar, Raagini Appadurai, Jennifer Deol & Amina Moustaqim-Barrette This workshop will explore climate change impacts in the Global South and the intersections of colonialism, neoliberalism, international policy, and climate leadership and solutions.
Learning from Call-Outs Facilitator: Anjali Helferty Many of us have been called out or experienced conflict during our time as climate organizers and activists. This facilitated workshop is for people who have been called out to engage in some reflective writing and opt-in discussion. The goal of the session is to learn from past experiences and develop ways to support each other’s ongoing learning and healing rather than asking the people who called us out to do this work. Feedback about the experience and process of this session is welcome.
Blanket Exercise Facilitators: Theland & Elaine Kicnosway The KAIROS Blanket Exercise™ program is a unique, participatory history lesson—developed in collaboration with Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers and educators—that fosters truth, understanding, respect and reconciliation among Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.
Mining Injustice is Canada’s Foreign Policy Facilitator: Sakura Saunders With approximately 75% of the world’s mining and exploration companies headquartered in Canada, international mining abuses are a Canadian issue. Mining interests influence international aid, dictate the activities of our foreign diplomats, and prescribe the conditions of our multi-lateral investment and “free trade” agreements. Meanwhile, Canadian mining companies abroad are associated with horrifying human rights abuses, including targeted assassinations, the militarization of entire communities, the persecution of activists and union leaders, massive displacement and environmental devastation that goes unchecked and uncleaned. Those in power are aware of these abuses, but continue to avoid and delay meaningful action. Addressing these abuses not promotes a more just world, but curbs the growth of this fossil-fuel intensive and destructive industry on a global scale.
Shelter (Art Installation) Facilitator: Ariel Martz-Oberlander Shelter is an interactive installation conceived by Vancouver theatre artist Ariel Martz-Oberlander and designed with Stephanie Wong. Open to one audience member, 12 minutes at a time, enter and receive shelter from climate chaos. Use this time in conversation to share your fears and grief about living through climate collapse.
Building Healthy Masculinities In Climate Justice Organizing Facilitators: Terrence Coste & Stephen Thomas This session will be a workshop and discussion about challenging sexism, misogyny and patriarchy in movement spaces, and supporting male-identified folks to take on emotional labour with each other to build better spaces. We will talk about some models of building healthy masculinity and working toward undoing patriarchy in organizing. We will hold plenty of open space for discussion and ideas, and this is totally the place for all of your questions on these topics. The focus of this session will be on male-identified folks navigating these topics, but all genders are very welcome to participate.
Freedom to Move, Return, Stay —Migration & Climate Justice Facilitator: Syed Hussan We need to answer some questions together: How are we going to stop the rise of nativist, xenophobic populism in Canada in the 2019 federal elections? How do we stop mass displacement right here, right now? What are the many ways that dispossession, displacement and climate catastrophe intersect that require going beyond “climate refugees”? What does the interconnection of migrant justice and Indigenous self-determination look like? How can we organize for migrant and climate justice together wherever we are in the country?
Disability Justice and Environmental Justice: Mapping Connections, Sharing Strategies Facilitator: Jody Chan This workshop will explore the connections between the disability and climate justice movements, and what it might look like to build a youth climate justice movement that not only includes disabled people, but puts disabled leadership at its core.
Beyond “Inclusive” Movements:
Creating organizing spaces where BIPOC thrive Facilitators: Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, Jennifer Deol & Raagini Appadurai Now more than ever our movement needs the skills and conversations to navigate intersectional coalitions and spaces. This conversation with Raagini Apparduari, Jennifer Deol and Amina Moustaqim-Barrette will dive into how organizers can understand their own inherent biases, be aware of how we interact with others, and change how our campaigns show up in communities in order to move forward together, retain individuals from all walks of life, and create a unified movement.
From Self to Community Care Facilitator: Malek Yalaoui We all know that self care runs deeper than bubble baths and cupcakes but what happens when caring for ourselves is beyond our capacity? How do shame and ableism interact to keep us isolated when we most need community? What would it mean to apply Audre Lorde’s declaration that “caring for myself... is an act of political warfare” to caring for each other? These are just some of the questions we will explore together in this workshop.
De soi et du collectif : le care en temps troubles / Considering Self and Collective: Care in Pressing Times (EN & FR) Facilitators: Remy Paulin Twahirwa, Rushdia Mehreen & Pascale Brunet Fighting against climate change isn’t a sprint but a marathon albeit an urgent one. How do we then organize in a way that takes into account this pressing challenge while recognizing our finite energies and the need for rejuvenating and nurturing ourselves and our communities? This interactive workshop will be a space to reflect on how the well-being of the planet is connected to ours and vice versa, and the kind of caring practices we need to build collective resilience in order to continue our struggles. This workshop will be bilingual—we’ll do our best to accommodate both anglophones and francophones.
Anti-Semitism and the Climate Movement Facilitators: Ariel & Talia Martz-Oberlander In light of attempts to create an inclusive, diverse youth climate movement on Turtle Island, sisters Ariel and Talia will facilitate a conversation about exclusion of religion and the deep history of antisemitism in the climate justice movement. Bringing our years of experience in the climate justice work in so-called “Canada”, both in community organizing and on front-line campaigns, we will discuss requirements for “model minorities” in the movement and the ways we are forced to prove trauma in order to be seen as valid, while also erasing jewish marginalization. This will also cover topics of “oppression olympics”, white supremacy, and whitepassing experiences of groups in our society and how assimilation and invisibility are used as tools of erasure, relevant to climate justice because of the ways we make and deny access as a movement.
, G N I L L E T Y STOR IA D E M & L A DIGIT
When the Storm Fades Screening Director: Sean Devlin In this affecting, provocative docudrama from artist/activist Sean Devlin, a Filipino family and their neighbours reenact their own experiences of resolutely rebuilding their homes and lives in the wake of the devastation wrought by 2013’s Hurricane Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms in history. Not helping matters are two ineffectual foreign aid workers (Kayla Lorette and Aaron Read) who might actually emerge as the “white saviours” they fancy themselves if they weren’t so busy curating their Instagram accounts. Of course, their ineptness proves rather innocuous when contrasted with a predatory insurance executive (Ryan Beil) who only sees a windfall when he surveys unthinkable devastation.
Creating a Digital Plan for Your Campaign Facilitators: Atiya Jaffar & Jennifer Deol The most successful movements are driven by activated and engaged supporters. But the difference between blast style campaigning, and deep organizing for sustained action is all in your digital organizing plan. This workshop will explore how to use digital tools to organize online and scale-up your impact to absorb people into the movement. We will go over how to use social media, multi-media and memes to tell stories and active your people. We will also review best practices for setting up digital communication tools like Slack for your organizing.
Winning the Battle of the Story Facilitator: Amara Possian The rise of “fake news” and “alternative facts” reinforces what we’ve known for a long time: stories are how we make meaning in the world around us. Transforming our opposition’s stories is an essential part of creating a world where the future we want is possible—and inevitable. Join us to practice building and articulating a bold and transformative vision for climate justice.
Les médias traditionnelles Animatrice: Loujain Kurdi Le département de communications joue un rôle essentiel dans toute organisation. “Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for. Advertising is paid media, public relations is earned media.” Greenpeace est connu pour leur actions spectaculaires, et les actions résonnent fortement grâce à leurs équipes digital et de communications. Dans cet atelier, nous allons partager les fondements des communications nouvelles et traditionnelles, et comment utiliser certains outils pour communiquer vous-même.
Building Community Power With 5 Principles of Engagement Facilitator: Natasha Wilson No matter how clever the strategy or how efficient the tools, no big campaign victory was possible without the support of a dynamic and engaged community behind it. This workshop will dive-deep into Full Spectrum Engagement, a blend of the best traditional organizing tactics and the latest digital campaign strategies. Together, we’ll discuss the five key principles of engagement in the context of our own work, and review a successful campaign case study Sunrise Movement, the powerful new youth-led movement on climate in the U.S.
Independent Media and Journalism Facilitators: Billie Pierre & David Gray-Donald This session is for people who want to write about what is happening in the climate justice movement and/or with major polluters, like the fossil fuel industry. How do you get started? What are different publications looking for? How do you pitch an editor an article? How do you interview activists, politicians, business executives, etc? How do you find the correct climate science to reference in your articles? What are some writing tips? How do you get paid for your work (including fundraising basics)? We’ll go through as much of this as possible in the time allotted, taking guidance from the group on what they want to prioritize, with time for Q & A.
Municipal Responses to Climate Change Facilitators: Lily Barraclough & Sharita Henry This workshop will explore the role that youth have in municipal responses to climate change and how the youth voice is vital to local climate action discussions and should be formally included in any dialogues on planning responses to climate change. Build your skills of drafting pointed, locally specific, and meaningful motions to bring to your city council, quick presentation skills, and tips for dealing with tricky questions that try to get you off your game! We will also be identifying and exploring areas of intersectionality within the communities we live in, with an aim to deepen participants’ understanding of the importance of stakeholder involvement and outreach, specifically with Aboriginal and other minority groups.
Making Media Work for You Facilitators: Peter McCartney Making media work for you will help you get your message out through the media and steer the public conversation. Learn the tricks and tools media spokespeople use to make sure they get the coverage they need. We will practice developing talking points, writing a press release and giving an interview.