Asian Heritage Month

Asian Heritage Month

Jewish Heritage Month

Expressing care for Filipino/a/x community members

I wish to express our shock and sadness in hearing of the horrific event at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver that killed several Filipino/a/x community members and injured many more.

We are thinking about the families of all of those who lost loved ones and all members of the Filipino/a/x community  who are experiencing the psychological trauma of this devastating event. We join in mourning the loss of these precious lives and in thinking about how to best care for dear colleagues and friends at UBC.

As a reminder, students, faculty and staff requiring mental health support may contact the following resources:

Dr. Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

Connie Yuchun Wu

Communications Specialist

Campus:
UBC Vancouver

Pronouns:
She, her, hers

Bio

Connie provides communication support across the office, ranging from communications planning to execution.

She brings over five years of experience in communications in the higher education space. Before joining EIO, she has worked with the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) and the Department of Asian Studies, and holds a Bachelor of Media Studies from UBC. Connie is passionate about creating meaningful connections through inclusive communication. Connie previously served as a committee member on the Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (REDI) Committee at SPPH.

Email:
connie.wu@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
4024-6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T1Z1

Steadfast in addressing inequities and advancing excellence

Among the days of significance acknowledged in March are three that are particularly meaningful in this moment in time: International Women’s DayInternational Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and International Transgender Day of Visibility. I invite you to visit the specific pages for each of these observances to learn more and explore related events and resources.

These commemorative days remind us of global norms established to safeguard and promote the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people and, in the current context, emphasize the need to counter the intensification of misogyny, racism and transphobia. They highlight the renewed imperative to remain steadfast in addressing systemic racial and gender inequities in society and, by extension, our institutions.

We are in a dystopic moment where disinformation and misinformation about marginalized communities and social betterment movements are fueling a rise in intergroup conflict and distrust. These dynamics contribute to inaccurate descriptions, interpretations and evaluations of the goals and benefits of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) priorities on campus.

EDI is fundamentally about promoting opportunity, access, and belonging for all students, faculty and staff. These are goals that every contemporary Canadian university that seeks to be globally relevant and impactful should aspire to – not because it is the nice thing to do (benevolence) or the thing we must do (compliance) – but because it is the right and vital thing to do to advance academic excellence. This understanding is supported by a preponderance of evidence that the broadest diversity of people and perspectives, when provided equitable and inclusive opportunities to participate in the life and work of the university, can stimulate creativity and innovation – the preconditions for excellence in research, teaching, service, and governance.

UBC’s mission statement includes three related core values that underpin its vision “for a better world” and its purpose “to foster global citizenship and advance a sustainable and just society”: respect for “different people, ideas and actions”; excellence, or “the quality of striving to be, and being, outstanding”; and the academic freedom to “express ideas through respectful discourse and the pursuit of open discussion, without risk of censure”.

Enduring commitment to access, equity and inclusion signals to historically, persistently and systematically marginalized (HPSM) groups and EDI champions that they are valued not only because of their intrinsic worth but also because of their essential contributions to advancing excellence in research, teaching, service, and governance at UBC.

Dr. Arig al Shaibah,
Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion

Celebrate Black History Month

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Trans Day of Remembrance

Celebrating 2SLGBTQIA+ communities at UBCO

Starting October 11th, Pride flags will be displayed on banner poles across campus to celebrate Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex and Asexual communities (2SLGBTQIA+).

This marks the third year the Pride flags are being raised to represent our support of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities at UBC Okanagan; we are proud to call our campus an inclusive and welcoming space for all. We hope that you take this as an opportunity to educate and inspire yourself and others on the important work that has been, and still needs to be done to support our 2SLGBTQIA+ communities at UBC Okanagan.

This is one of the ways that we aim to progress our inclusion-related goals related to Shaping UBC’s Next Century, the university’s strategic plan. UBC identifies inclusion as a “commitment to access, success and representation of historically underserved, marginalized or excluded populations.”

We commit to celebrating our diversity and promoting inclusion to all of our campus community. We do so by creating opportunities for meaningful learning through dialogue and education.

Here are a few ways in which you can participate:

UBC has a responsibility to foster campus living, learning and working environments where the human rights and dignity of all students, faculty and staff are respected and protected. If this has not been your experience or you have concerns related to discrimination, please contact the human rights advising team at the Equity & Inclusion Office.

Before engaging others in dialogue related to the Pride flag banners or other 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion efforts, consider reviewing the Respectful Dialogue Guide in support of more respectful conversations. For support on unit-level equity and inclusion efforts, you can request a consultation with the Equity & Inclusion Office.

Should members of the community have any questions about UBC’s commitment to equity and inclusion, please feel free to direct them to avps.ok@ubc.ca and dharshi.lacey@ubc.ca.

Dale Mullings
Associate Vice-President, Students

Dharshi Lacey
Director, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism

UBC Okanagan appoints new human rights advisor

The full-time human rights advisor role will provide fair and impartial support to students, faculty and staff who may have concerns related to discrimination at UBC Okanagan.

Aligned with UBC’s commitments to provide a discrimination-free environment and maintain and respect human rights at all levels of the university, Kara Ellison has been appointed to the role of human rights advisor.

The new role is situated within the UBC Okanagan Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) and is part of a broader Human Rights Advising team comprising a director of human rights and additional advisors at UBC Vancouver. To learn more about Kara, read Get to know UBC’s new human rights advisor.

Mandated through UBC’s Policy SC7: Discrimination, the EIO, through the Human Rights Advising team, is responsible for providing information, advice and assistance in a fair and impartial manner to those: who submit a discrimination concern and wish to refer a complaint to UBC’s Investigations Office; who are responding to a complaint against them; and who generally may have a concern about discrimination at UBC. For more information on the complaint process, view the discrimination complaint process overview.

At UBC, discrimination is defined as intentional or unintentional conduct, which can be individual or systemic, that imposes burdens, obligations, or disadvantages on or limits access to opportunities, benefits and advantages to specific individuals or groups as defined by the BC Human Rights Code (external link) and for which there is no real and reasonable justification.

UBC community members who have questions or concerns related to discrimination can stop by during drop-in advising hour or submit an online request for a consultation.

The EIO provides education on prevention and remediation of discrimination, issues guidance on the implementation and interpretation of the discrimination policy and processes, and publicly reports on the number of consultations received and formal complaints. The EIO also works with Administrative Heads of Units (AHUs) to address or resolve concerns of discrimination in an informal manner. AHUs can review Recommendations for administrators receiving human rights disclosures and complaints.

UBC’s discrimination policy informs university and community members’ responsibilities to prevent discrimination on grounds protected by the BC Human Rights Code (external link) and provides procedures for handling complaints, remedying situations and imposing discipline when such discrimination does occur. The Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap for Change guide the university’s overall efforts to advance equity and anti-racism efforts at UBC.

  • Get support with human rights

    Learn more about UBC’s human rights advising support and the discrimination complaint process. If you have discrimination-related questions or concerns at UBC Okanagan, connect with Kara Ellison.

    Check current office hours or request a consultation
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