OC attends conference on diversity and reconciliation

For a group of seven OC employees, a recent conference involved a lot of learning through several different lenses.

Local to Global: Reimagining International Education to Align with DRI and JEDI Initiatives was held at Thompson Rivers University March 24, bringing together post-secondary experts in the field of international education, equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice as well as those working on reconciliation and decolonization.

The conference was organized by the B.C. Council for International Education, specifically intended for regional institutions located on the territories of the Syilx, Secwépemc and Nlaka’pamux peoples – also known as the Thompson-Okanagan region.

“They walked us through an interactive day of reimagining, using a different lens, how we move forward with our plans and how do we work toward our goals. If we could have that perfect world, what would it look like on our campuses?” said Rhea Dupuis, Associate Director Indigenization at OC.

Sessions delved into heavy and light topics, ranging from systems of power and inequity to campus tours that demonstrated how decolonization can be integrated into physical spaces for learning.

In group learning sessions, International education experts, students, Canadian newcomers and those working in the EDISJ and Indigenization/decolonization spaces sparked meaningful conversations around moving forward with various strategic plans that consider broad viewpoints.

“I raise up my hands to them, they are doing good work, and engaging people in meaningful, authentic and genuine ways. It was a really great experience,” Dupuis said, adding that International Education and Learning and Applied Research brought a lot to the table as well. "They were passionate and had great ideas on how to work together. I was honored to get to know these people further and am proud OC had such a great team to represent at conference."