As part of International Development week, BCCIC staff conducted short interviews to learn more about the work of their members. See the clips below – and enjoy!
How can we show international solidarity from BC?
What does ‘universality’ mean?
The ‘reverse test’
For more like this visit BCCIC’s website here!
Filed under Leading
We are ready to accept applications for the YWLP – Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat! As a result of strong interest from North Island College and partners in the Comox Valley, we’re hosting this retreat at Mt Washington on Vancouver Island.
Please share with your friends/networks…
YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Application Information
YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat
YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Application Form
Additional spaces have been opened for the YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat; applications accepted until March 1st or until all spaces have been filled.
YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat
March 11-13, 2016: Mt Washington, Vancouver Island
Join Caroline M. Berinyuy and a group of others interested in local/global leadership for a retreat this spring. You’ll spend a weekend on Mt Washington in the Comox Valley on the unceded territory of the K’moux people. As a group, you will get to know each other, learn more about Caroline’s work, consider ways to be in solidarity – and have fun!
Caroline M. Berinyuy, program director of the Young Women’s Leadership Program (YWLP) in Cameroon, completed her PhD in Education at the University of Virginia. Global Solidarity Retreat organizer Mali Bain has connected with her in relation to her visit to Vancouver to present at the 2016 Comparative and Intercultural Education Society (CIES) conference; Caroline is thrilled to be co-facilitating the YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat.
The retreat will be an opportunity to
We welcome a diverse group of participants, both those new to this work and those with significant experience/training. You will benefit most from this retreat if you have one or more of the following:
Please share widely, and be in touch with questions / comments!
– YWLP-Cameroon Global Solidarity Retreat Co-facilitators: Caroline, Mali, and Colleen
globalsolidarityretreat@gmail.com
Contribute to the retreat or pay for your retreat:
Filed under Leading
This spring I’ll be trying out a new course structure at Langara College. In the past, Tamara Baldwin and I taught a course called ‘Travelling to Volunteer’ – a course that worked to unpack some of the assumptions and thinking behind voluntourism. Based on conversations emerging within that course and elsewhere, we are offering two new courses for spring 2015. You can find them both here, under the ‘World Languages and Travel’ section. Pass this along to those who may be interested…!
Location: John Oliver Secondary
This course is designed for adults who have been working five or more years, and who want to consider ways that they can use their holiday time, finances, and/or skills to support work that they believe is important in the world. In the first evening, participants will explore their own skills, goals, and background. Between the first and second session, participants will do individual research and planning to find relevant organizations and initiatives. The second session will focus on asking questions, suggesting next steps, and preparing for a successful engagement with the chosen initiative/organization. Come to this course with a few questions or directions already in mind. Be prepared to think thoughtfully about how your use your time and resources in this world; you’ll leave with a stronger sense of your purpose and some clear next steps.
Location: John Oliver Secondary
Have you considered international volunteering or ‘voluntourism’ and wondered about the ethics of this work? Are you interested in international engagement but unsure how you can be? This session will open discussions around the ethics of international engagement using material derived from the reflections of those who have worked/ volunteered internationally, research studies in this area, and existing educational resources. Taking this course is a bit like international volunteering itself – you will leave with more refined informed, and reflective questions than when you began.
Global Solidarity Retreat
with Sandra Moran, Artesana
September 26-28, 2014; ongoing solidarity into 2015 and beyond
summary report (pdf) | full report (pdf)
The Artesana Global Solidarity Retreat, held Sept 26 – 28th on Gambier Island, provided an opportunity for people from the Lower mainland to explore issues related to international solidarity with feminist, artist and activist Sandra Moran from the Guatemalan women’s rights organization Artesana. Sandra is also the representative for the Americas for the World March of Women. The retreat was coordinated by CoDevelopment Canada.
A diverse group of 11 women gathered to build relationships between each other and Sandra, build understanding of the work of Artesana, deepen understanding of global solidarity, and make plans for how to work together over the next 6 months. We shared delicious meals and thoughts on solidarity, went swimming / kayaking, learned about Sandra’s work, played in the night-time phosphorescence, sang songs around a campfire – and made plans for ongoing work with Sandra Moran and Artesana.
For more background on Sandra Moran, see Sandra Moran and Artesana – background. For a copy of the participant application form, Global Solidarity Retreat – application package.
The following goals were established prior to the retreat by co-facilitators, in collaboration with staff at CoDevelopment Canada:
There were a total of 11 people in attendance, ages 18 – 60+. Four of those participating were supporting the overall project: Sandra (co-facilitator), Kathi (Canadian contact and co-facilitator), Carmen (interpreter), and Mali (supporting facilitator). Participants were asked to contribute a fee.
The other seven participants were from a wide variety of backgrounds. Two were teaching at universities (Capilano and Vancouver Island university), one as a nurse in the downtown eastside. Two participants were students – one high school and one undergraduate – and one participant brought along her 1-year-old son. Participants, all living in British Columbia, came from Mayan, Guatemalan, Chilean, Scottish, Korean, and German heritage. All of the participants learned of the event through their networks: three through CoDev’s networks; two through Capilano’s Global Stewardship program; and one through Amnesty International’s listserv.
Over the course of a 3-day retreat, the group had an opportunity to gather and share inspiration and energy. The weekend was woven together by opening and closing circles, including a candle ceremony lead by Sandra. At some point almost everyone took to the water – kayaking, canoing, or swimming.
The weekend began by coming to a collective understanding of ‘solidarity’ and understanding Sandra’s approach and work, and moved toward collective action, identifying solidarity directions and ideas that those in the room were willing to invest time into. By the end of the afternoon on Sunday, participants had come up with a long list of ways they aim to continue to work in solidarity. Some of those plans include meeting again as a group, building collaboration with women’s, planning fundraisers with the Vancouver Mayan community, setting up an art project exchange, and supporting Artesana’s research priorities in Guatemala.
Overall, it seems the structure and process of the weekend worked well – moving from big-picture visioning on Saturday into action-planning on Sunday. Some aspects of this retreat are unique to the context: a relationship of more than 20 years between Sandra and Kathi; Sandra’s strong English language ability, meaning interpretation needs were minimal; and multiple strong relationships between Sandra and solidarity work in British Columbia. In addition, Sandra and Kathi both have previous experience facilitating retreats.
The September 26-28 retreat was framed as building solidarity in a general sense with Sandra’s work, rather than supporting the work of any one organization. CoDevelopment Canada took the lead on making the solidarity retreat happen and has a 10-year relationship with Sandra and Artesana; other groups also connected include the Highlands United Church and BC CASA. The intention of the solidarity retreat is to build solidarity, and this retreat had three potential outcomes – solidarity directly through CoDev, through BC CASA, or independently of either group. As it turns out, all three of these avenues are being pursued by the current group. Finding a way to ensure participants are familiar with significant and existing solidarity work underway, as well as ways that participants can become involved in this work, is an important area of focus for the current group and for future solidarity retreats.
A future retreat may include both men and women, and may involve a more substantive presence from CoDev, or the organization involved, would be beneficial to participants and the organization.
While recognizing that the ongoing process of being in solidarity has just begun, this combination of a remarkable group of women, skilled facilitation, and an idyllic getaway made for a truly remarkable weekend. The ideas shared and relationships built are a foundation for ongoing solidarity not only in the months but in years to come.
For more background on Global Solidarity Retreats in general, see this page. If you have thoughts about the Artesana retreat, suggestions for future retreats, or just want to be in touch – email global.solidarity.retreat@gmail.com.
Filed under Facilitating, Leading
For some time I’ve been thinking about ways to connect more regularly with people that are important to me. In my ideal world connecting with community is a part of my home, a part of my routines, it’s natural, easy, and assumed. I’d love to say that it’s easier to see people, even when times are tough, than to not connect at all. When life is challenging, things aren’t all going the way I expect – I don’t want to have to reach out beyond the usual for additional supports. When I or those I love can’t see hope or joy, I want there to be natural communal networks that respond and provide support. Instead of calling on one friend, who then bears the brunt of my complaining/sadness/overwhelmed-ness, I’d like to have a community of people who can love me in my sickness/overwhelmedness.
I feel like I’ve experienced this kind of community at various points in my life – as a child in my own family, with the assortment of people who made up ‘2nd floor Tweeds’ in undergraduate residence, living in Smithers in a strawbale house, and as a teacher living in Kenya where individual rooms faced onto a collective courtyard. Now, as single professional in my 30s, I don’t have natural or easy ways to be a part of community. I have recently found myself living on my own, and am surprised by the ease with which I can be un-noticed and anonymous in and around my own home.
I’ve been thinking about community a lot, lately. And I’ve come up with a few different ways of building community into my life and my community. I know that I’m not alone in feeling disconnected and alone – the Vancouver Foundation apparently reported that 40% of Vancouverites feel isolated. And so I’m sharing these ideas in the hopes that they may spark similar initiatives. I’d love to see, years from now, a network of these circles in all of our communities. I’d love to have someone ask me, ‘do you have a friend-family?’ as if it were an assumed part of adult life.
One is “Mt Pleasant Monday” – a once-per-month gathering of people who live in Mt Pleasant. The idea is to gather collectively on the last Monday of the month to hang out, spend time socializing, connect with others in our neighbourhood.
Arising from that amazing conversation came a separate but related idea – “green lei culture”. Basically, we’ve distributed some green plastic ‘leis’. When any of us in the neighbourhood are home and welcoming spontaneous drop-by visitors, we put out the green lei on our doorknob, fencepost, or mailbox. It’s as easy as that – !
The third idea builds on the broader loose connections fostered by the above two and builds a deeper, personal connection. I’ve been recognizing how hard it is to consistently make plans with different people, from different parts of my life, and how easy it is for me to ‘just not see’ someone for several weeks or even months. I’d like to be a part of a circle that notices when I’m gone, even just for a week or two, and welcomes me back to the city. And so I like the idea of having a ‘friend-family’ – a group of 4-5 people who agree to gather once per week (or maybe every other week).
Last night was the beginning of a ‘friend-family’ gathering for me. I and three others cycled to Kits Point with food and wine, our first of what we hope will be weekly gatherings of this circle of beautiful people. These aren’t the only friends I have in my life, but they’re the most regular. We’ve committed to be there for each other collectively, and that somehow helps me feel more ‘at home’ here in the city.
Filed under Building community, Leading, Thinking
An important part of my recent thinking has been looking for ways to bring my international social justice work to a more local context. What better way to begin than by returning to my hometown…? I grew up in Port McNeill, BC – a logging town, population 3,000, on the northern end of Vancouver Island.
In the spring of 2012, I brought together a small group of people to travel to my hometown and try out a ‘service-learning’ approach to being involved there. Following is the poster I distributed as a part of recruitment for this experience:
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Rafiki Link connects students in Kenya with students in North America through shared online experiences. As a high school teacher, I brought a group of 5 students from around the world to Kenya for a 2-week experience. Prior to their departure, the group made T-shirts and suggested the word Rafiki – which means ‘friend’ – as a name for the connection.
I arranged to take a 5-month leave of absence from my school, and during that time volunteered at three local high schools in Maai Mahiu, Kenya. As I spent time with teachers and youth in Kenya, I was struck by the parallels in the experiences of both teachers and students. Though at the time I did not see the shared colonial roots that underpin those experiences, I did see the potential to bring students together and find ways for them to realise their common humanity.
Starting with a single laptop and three rural schools, the program grew to involve hundreds of youth in Maai Mahiu across North America. For more information about the initiative, see the history of Rafiki Link or the current website.