From Tattoo Traditions to Stem Cells

UBC Equity Enhancement Fund awarded for diverse projects

UBC’s 2016 Equity Enhancement Fund has been awarded with a total of twenty groups receiving funding. At UBC Okanagan, five groups were awarded a total of $15,000 while at UBC Vancouver 15 groups received a total of $70,000 for new initiatives. Interest in the fund was high and the Equity and Inclusion office received seven proposals from UBC Okanagan and 39 from UBC Vancouver.

“Awarding the Equity Enhancement Funds is one of the annual highlights for our office.  We are pleased at the diversity of the submissions and groups applying for funding. There were applications that showcased partnerships across departments and with community groups, as well as from individual faculty members, staff and students” says Sara-Jane “Thank you to all those who assisted in determining the awards.“

Adjudication committees on both campuses met earlier in the month to choose projects that were closely aligned with the University’s commitment and responsibilities to enhance equity, diversity, inclusion and intercultural understanding at UBC.

Read about all of the 2016 Equity Enhancement Fund recipients.

2016 recipients for UBC Okanagan

Food Insecurity
Recipients: Casey Hamilton, Campus Health Specialist and Liz Hilliard, Campus Life

Food insecurity at UBC Okanagan is not well understood. This project aims to change this by researching food insecurity on campus, as well as through hosting ‘Breaking Bread’ dialogue dinners, and other programs and events. Relationships will be built with existing community food security programs to connect students to them and to further develop student leadership opportunities.

Indigenous Tattooing School
Recipients: Dion Kaszas, student in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

The intent of this project is to help revive Indigenous tattooing traditions in North America by providing training to Indigenous fine artists. The training will focus on tattoo revival, ancestral tattooing tradition, cultural protocols, tattoo design, blood borne pathogens, and more.

UBC Okanagan Human Library and Panel 2017
Recipients: Laura Thorne and Barbara Sobol, UBC Okanagan Library and Jaclyn Salter, Student and Student Library Advisory Council member

The 2017 Human Library event at UBC Okanagan will position various community members as “books” representing diverse backgrounds, opinions, and perspectives and allow the campus community to interact with them as “readers.” The aim is to challenge stereotypes and prejudices while further developing an understanding and appreciation of diversity.

Women’s Resource Centre Education Resources
Recipients: Siona Koker and the UBC Students’ Union Okanagan Women’s Resource Centre

This initiative will further develop the Tea Talks project, which hosts ongoing seminar workshops which address a range of topics from body shaming to sexism, violence against Indigenous women to conversations around racism and hair.

Told But Unheard Stories: Raising Awareness About Racism through Documentary Animation
Recipients: Students from the faculties of Arts, Sciences and School of Nursing, partnered with Okanagan Korean Culture & Knowledge Society

Through a series of short story animations for a documentary, this project will increase awareness and create dialogue about racism in the Okanagan. The group will collect stories of racism through interviews and animate them, allowing audiences to hear interviewees share their stories while an animation unfolds.