Notes from the Field

We come together to remind everyone of the importance of Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6. Considering the meaning of the day, which serves as a call to action in empowering survivors and preventing and reducing gender-based violence (GBV), we want to take a moment to recognize the important research being conducted at Dr. Paula Barata’s Supporting Survivors and Gender Equity Lab (SSAGE Lab).

Lorelei Root works as an accessibility specialist, with a focus in game development and making digital content more accessible to people with disabilities. She is the chair of the City of Guelph’s Accessibility Advisory Committee and a board member for the Canadian Centre for Disability Studies, and serves on a number of other boards and committees in an accessibility advisory capacity.

November 25 signifies International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign.

Sharon Findlay was featured on Season 3 Episode 2 of Dispersion, a Podcast by the Zoryan Institute, on the topic Expectations of Motherhood: You Can’t Just Leave it at the Airport. We wanted to find out more about how Sharon’s work on migration, oral history, and motherhood intersects with the work of the LWWRC on livelihoods.  

Sakhi Sanghvi completed her winter 2024 Co-op Work Term with the Live Work Well Research Centre. This was her experience.   

April is World Autism Month, which is intended to promote connectedness with and inclusion of autistic people. It was previously known as "Autism Awareness Month," and some organizations still refer to it that way. However, autistic-led organizations and communities have long called for a shift toward "Autism Acceptance" or "Autism Appreciation" to reflect their understanding of autism as a lived experience, not an illness or condition.

February 21st observes International Mother Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. UNESCO initially recognized this day to acknowledge the importance of those who gave their lives for the Bengali Language Movement in 1952. It has since become a beacon for other cultures who risk having their traditional languages taken from them.

January 24th marks International Day of Education, representing education as a human right, a public good, and a public responsibility. The theme for 2024 is "learning under lasting peace" to bring awareness to education's crucial role in countering hate speech. Without inclusive access to academia, many children, youth, and adults will struggle to achieve quality education and opportunities.

The University of Guelph is celebrating Indigenous Recognition Week from January 15-19, 2024! In support of this event, we are sharing our interview with Evelyn Huntjens about Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAM), which takes place annually in November, and her work in supporting disability services to Indigenous peoples. 

December 18 is International Migrants Day, a day set aside to reflect on the prominent contributions of migrants worldwide. Migrants are essential drivers of development in both their native and destination countries, whether workers, students, or families. It is crucial to reflect on these contributions and create a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for migrants. To learn more about the barriers to and experiences of those migrating to Canada, we conducted an interview with Shruti Nadkarni.