October 2021 Newsletter

Neethan Shan, Executive Director

"We are pleased to welcome 6 new youth through a paid internship program joining us at UARR for the fall. Bringing their unique skills to the table, we are well equipped to establish impactful programs and engaging events for our communities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Urban Alliance on Race Relations continues our efforts and initiatives that address racial injustice and discrimination across Toronto. We also encourage all of our supporters to participate in any capacity to take action and advocate for the elimination of all forms of discrimination. Our upcoming Racial Justice Summit is an excellent opportunity to come together, to hear from others on the frontlines fighting racism, and to share your ideas and thoughts on ways we can all do better. Our Youth Fellowship programs are continuing to provide valuable skills and networks for youth within a range of political, public policy and government related opportunities. We are also continuing to work on education systems change through our Coalition for Racial Equity in Education project. For example, our work with PDSB through this initiative has directly led to the passage of a motion to address Islamophobia systemwide in the school board. 

Please read on to learn more about our current projects, job opportunities, and how to get involved in some of our initiatives."

Racial Justice Summit 2021 - November 17th - 18th

The pandemic has shone a light on systemic inequities; growing awareness must compel change. How will community advocates, governments and institutions meet the moment? The Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) have teamed up to present a special two-day virtual summit to explore the pressing issues impacting racialized communities.

Join the conversation and engage with thought leaders, institutional representatives, and community advocates. Each one-hour panel will be followed by an interactive group dialogue to collectively map solutions to take back to our communities.

DAY 1: November 17th

Session 1: Racial Justice and Policing (10:00am -12:00pm)

Session 2: Racial Justice and Health (2:00pm - 4:00pm)

Session 3: Racial Justice and Education (6:00pm – 8:00pm) 

DAY 2: November 18th

Session 4: Racial Justice and Government (10:00am -12:00pm)

Session 5: Racial Justice and Media (2:00pm - 4:00pm)

Session 6: Racial Justice and Employment (6:00pm - 8:00pm)

Racial Justice Awards 2021 - December 10th

The Racial Justice Awards is an annual celebration hosted by UARR to honour and acknowledge the incredible work being done by racial justice advocates across Canada. More details coming soon!

Coalition for Racial Equity in Education

The CREE project is working on the early stages of recruiting participants from the Black Community. The project focuses on building capacity for Black Students and Parents to advocate for racial equity in our local education systems. The project works collectively with other racialized communities as a means of confronting systemic racism. Please see the flyer attached. 

Muslim Youth Fellowship

The Muslim Youth Fellows began their placements a few weeks ago and are settling into their roles at City Hall. We’ve had a series of training recently, including a City Hall 101, as well as sessions on Community Organizing & Advocacy Session, Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression, and Muslim Representation in Politics. We’ve also had a speaker series, featuring prominent Muslims in politics like Walied Soliman, Kazim Ali Habib, and Mohammed Hashim. In the next month, we’ll be continuing our training sessions and celebrating Islamic Heritage Month on Zoom. In this event, we’ll be hearing the Muslim Youth Fellows introduce themselves and discuss their community projects, as well as host guest speakers.

Filipino Youth Fellowship

Since mid-August, FYP has held a coffee chat event with the fellows in order to get them exposed to mentors that they would not have been able to meet through just the one-on-one mentorship. FYP also held their graduation event on September 24 where we had a plethora of speakers, sponsors and fellows speak about the program, truly very inspiring. Recently we have given the fellows an opportunity to have a meeting with the US Consulate General (a member of the Filipino community), and the FYF Research Committee is currently working on the research report from the fellowship.

Work at UARR

If you are interested in working with UARR or know someone who might be interested, browse our current employment opportunities here.

We are taking applications for the following:

• Project Coordinator, Racial Equity in Education
• Project Coordinator, Diversity Youth Fellowship
• Project Coordinator, Research, Policy and Public Education