Date: July 4, 11 and 18 from 1-2 PM ET, Zoom Meeting (audio and video enabled)
Cost: $50 for the series
The environmental and social justice movements continue to operate in silos. While environmental issues and climate change impacts affect everyone, many marginalized people, particularly racialized communities, don’t see themselves reflected in the narratives, approaches, and campaigns led by ENGOs. This is more than an engagement gap—it's a critical barrier to the collective goals of addressing climate change, maintaining a livable habitat on Earth, and protecting biodiversity.
In this three-part workshop series led by newpact, leaders of participating ENGOs will identify the foundational barriers to the inclusion and engagement of racialized communities in the environmental justice movement and explore how to address them in their programming, operations, and communications.
Workshop #1 : Environmental Exclusion - The History, The Data and The Divide.
July 4, 1-2 PM ET
Facilitated by Dwaine Taylor and Sarah Cuddie
In this workshop, participants will explore the history of the environmental justice movement and how it continues to shape who leads, engages with, and benefits from environmental justice initiatives. The workshop will provide an in-depth understanding of the complexity of the engagement gap ENGOs face with racialized and other marginalized communities.
Workshop #2: Environmental Exclusion - Internal Policies and People.
July 11, 1-2 PM ET
Facilitated by Dwaine Taylor and Rosalyn Alessi
In this interactive case-study-based workshop, participants will explore how policies and people operations (human resources) may reinforce the exclusion of racialized and other marginalized communities from within ENGOs. The exploration of the internal functions of ENGOs will provide a foundation for examining solutions that cater to the needs of each organization in the third workshop, where organizations will explore how to address the challenges in their external programming and communications.
Workshop #3 : Environmental Exclusion - Programming and Communications Solutions Lab
July 18, 1-2 PM ET
Introduction by Dwaine Taylor; facilitated by Sarah Cuddie and Kelsey Gilchrist.
In this interactive solutions lab-style workshop, ENGOs will share a program or communications campaign they are currently working on, and our facilitators will host coaching roundtables, applying the EDI frameworks discussed in the previous two workshops. This format is a unique, real-time peer-to-peer and expert learning of how to apply equity, diversity and inclusion principles to program design and external communications.
Dwaine Taylor is founder and Executive Director of newpact. Dwaine has spent a decade helping charities, nonprofits, and higher education institutions successfully develop community impact programs, establish employee engagement initiatives, and implement equity, diversity and inclusion policies. Past clients include the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Carleton University. Dwaine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.
Sarah Cuddie is Principal Facilitator at newpact. Sarah is an operations nerd, writer and editor, and creative program developer. She’s a proud generalist with experience working with non-profits, small businesses, startups, and government. Sarah believes in life-long learning and personal growth, and centres the power of empathy and storytelling in all of her work, from facilitation to operations and beyond.
Rosalynn Alessi is Principal Strategist & Lead Facilitator at new pact. Rosalynn is an atypical leader with over a decade of experience in business and HR. In her roles as a strategist, manager, and board member, her work is focused on leveraging each team member’s natural strengths. Rosalynn specializes in employee relations, labour relations, talent acquisition and management, training and development, performance management, HR policies and compliance.
Kelsey Gilchrist is Director of Communications, Lead Strategist & Facilitator at new pact. Kelsey is a digital marketing strategist, writer, and facilitator who specializes in working with mission-driven organizations. An experienced communicator, she has expertise in content marketing, SEO, social media, copy writing, branding, and data analysis. Through storytelling and community engagement, she helps organizations hone their brand voice and effectively communicate with their audience.
Session 1: Settler Colonialism 101
Introduce ENGO representatives to the fact that colonization is a structure and not an event. Identifies key ways that colonialism moves through individuals and organizations.
Session 2: Positionality
ENGO representatives learn how to articulate their social location within a settler colonial state, and in relation to potential Indigenous partners.
Session 3: Inherent Indigenous Governance 101
Introduce the fact that Indigenous nations have their own sources of political authority that they can (and do) draw on when addressing environmental issues. Examples provided.
Session 4: Building Better Relations
ENGO representatives will road test ways they can implement previous workshop key points to re-imagine partnerships with Indigenous nations.
Cost: $100 (or register 4 staff from the same organization for one stream and get the 5th registration free)
All registrants will be provided with a link to access the recordings and presentation slides for 60 days following each session.
Session 1: Diagnosing Settler Colonialism in the Enviro Sector
Participants will be asked to share ways in which they have diagnosed and traced power in social justice movements and/or in the ENGO sector. This workshop will make space for discomfort as part of promoting decolonization.
Session 2: Inherent Indigenous Governance
A mix of advanced and introductory theory, this workshop delves into legal and political pluralism, naming the fact that Indigenous nations have their own sources of political authority that they can (and do) draw on when addressing environmental issues.
Session 3: The Nonprofit Industrial Complex
ENGO participants are introduced to theories and examples describing the Nonprofit Industrial Complex and the “Shadow State.” Purpose is to show how settler colonialism structures civil society.
Session 4: Decolonizing ENGO-First Nation Partnerships
This workshop delves deep into how ENGOs can partner with Indigenous nations beyond the Nonprofit Industrial Complex while promoting deference to inherent Indigenous political leaders.
Cost: $100 (or register 4 staff from the same organization for one stream and get the 5th registration free)
All registrants will be provided with a link to access the recordings and presentation slides for 60 days following each session.
The Indigenous only space will be collaborative in nature but critical in approach. This track is a space for Indigenous folks within the ENGO sector to come together to discuss their experiences and work, with an eye to taking a position on what the sector might need to do in order to promote decolonization. Participants will use the first session to define our goals for the remaining three meetings. Therefore, session topics named here are proposals only.
Session 1: Naming the Cannibal: Settler Colonialism in the ENGO Sector
Session 2: Proposed topic: Reflections on working in the ENGO Sector
Session 3: Proposed topic: Centering Indigenous Thought in the ENGO Sector
Session 4: Proposed topic: Visioning a Decolonial Environmental Sector
Cost: Free
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