Fostering Social Change through Storytelling and Community Collaboration with Antoine Coulombe and Lama Mugabo
…really having a storytelling approach, which is one of the main roles that Lama, you’ve played in teaching, is you bring in real life stories to our students and share those stories through different ways with them to enhance their learning.”
Antoine Coulombe
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About the Episode
Antoine Coulombe, Assistant Professor of Teaching at the UBC School of Social Work, and Lama Mugabo, community planner and Founding Director of Building Bridges with Rwanda, discuss their collaborative work in education focused on community organizing and participatory learning. Their efforts aim to help students build reciprocal and respectful relationships with communities, with students gradually expressing their understanding of these relationships through their own actions. The conversation highlights how “storytelling” has become a powerful tool for transformation in the Hogan’s Alley neighborhood and how this approach is being integrated into education. They also introduce an ongoing national project focused on amplifying the voices of African youth and young African newcomers, contributing to meaningful social change through a “meandering process.”
Timestamps
1:11 – Getting to Know: Antoine Coulombe
2:14 – Getting to Know: Lama Mugabo
4:34 – The Focus of their Collaborative Work in Education
6:40 – Win-win situation: applying knowledge in community practice
16:35 – Workshop at UBC on Rwanda’s Traditional Knowledge for Social Rebuilding
19:27 – National Project: Empowering Young African Newcomers
23:16 – A walking tour to really learn about the history of Hogan’s Alley
Mentioned in this Episode
Partner: Building Bridges with Rwanda
Organization: Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) at UBC
Our Guests
Lama Mugabo is a dedicated community planner and founder of Building Bridges with Rwanda (BBR), a non-profit organization promoting sustainable development through collaboration between international volunteers and Rwandan communities. Mugabo has devoted his career to community service, raising awareness about the impact of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis. In Canada, he is a founding director of the Hogan’s Alley Society, advocating for the rights of people of African descent in British Columbia. In March 2024, Mugabo received an Honorable Mention at the B.C. Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Awards for Breaking Barriers. Lama brings his vision and experience of organizing black communities and diverse groups in Vancouver and abroad and highlights the importance of civil rights movements.
Antoine Coulombe brings over 12 years of experience as a Social Worker and Community Organizer in Quebec. His journey includes working with diverse populations, such as youth, families, adults, sexual minorities, and the homeless. Antoine has been instrumental in advancing 2S/LGBTQ+ rights, developing queer youth services and was part of the committee responsible for creating Quebec’s first policy against homophobia. His approach emphasizes empowerment, inclusion, and social justice, inspired by Quebec’s rich history of community organizers.