SUNDAY, MAY 25th 2008

Conference « Racism and whiteness »

Spokespersons:

Amelie Waddell
Amelie Waddell is a social worker. She works specifically with asylum seekers in Montreal and is active in various community groups. In 2007, she presented her masters’ research on « whiteness » in Quebec in which she shows how racism took place in western societies and how white people are privileged by this system in their daily life. Amélie is convinced that privileged individuals should rethink their privileges in order to counter attack the different dominating systems that exist in our society.

Sociology teacher at UQAM, Janik Bastien gives courses that tackle social movements, exclusion and qualitative analyses. Very engaged in the community, she’s been working for 10 years with GRIS-Montreal and was from 2001 – 2004, a Project Agent at the Montreal section of the Canadian Mental Health Association.  She is in charge of the committee of Support to cultural communities and of the committee of Family and Quality of life of Gay and Lesbians. She helped organize many workshops, conferences and seminars of which «Out in Colors». Her interest lies in the complexity and the interweaving of power, in oppression discourses, in sensitizing approaches and in the different forms of social mobilization. She longs for the development of multiple solidarities. Janik Bastien Charlebois has a masters in Anthropology and a PhD in sociology.

Experiences and challenges of queer refugee youth: photos and short portraits would resulting of digital workshops taking place in March.

Spokespersons:

SOY (Supporting our Youth) through the program Express, serves queer newcomers, immigrants and refugee youth in Toronto. In collaboration with "Mapping Memories" (A Concordia research-art project) we would like to exhibit still photographs and a  forum-discussion on the experiences and challenges of queer refugee youth as a part of the ethno-cultural weekend. These photos and short portraits are the result of digital workshops that took place in March. The youth artists are coming from Toronto to ethno-culture weekend to participate in all of the events, connect with groups in Montreal and to use their art work as a catalyst for discussion around efforts to support queer refugee youth in Montreal.

Round Table - Our spiritualities: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism

Spokespersons:

Rabbi Alan W. Bright, Certified Mohel from the Shaare Zedek Congregation

Melissa Anne-Marie Curley is a doctoral candidate in religious studies at McGill University, specializing in modern Japanese Buddhism. She has taught introductory courses to Asian religious traditions, as well as upper-level classes on Hindu and Buddhist images of the feminine, Asian religions in North America, and gender and sexuality in Buddhism.

Chris Ramoutar, hindouist

Chris is 24 years old and has graduated from McGill University in psychology. He has studied Hinduism as a subject of interest. He is  religious and considers himself devoted to the Goddess.

Suhail Abualsameed, muslim gay activist

Suhail Abualsameed (Research Coordinator/Co-Investigator) is one of the coordinators of salaam; Queer Muslim Community. He is a gay immigrant from the Middle east, who’ve been in Canada for 6 years where he got involved in a number of community-based initiatives and became active in matters of social justice and human rights. Suhail runs a program for newcomer/immigrant queer youth through Supporting Our Youth (a program of Sherbourne Health Centre). He also participated in the Youth Migration Project, a 3 year community based research project that examines the vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS among migrant youth as a research team member.
Furthermore, Suhail participates as a public speaker through Passages to Canada through which he presents at conferences, schools and forums around the country on the topics of multiculturism, immigration, social determinants of health, human rights, youth and queer issues.

The Sound of Hate
Where sexual orientation, race, dancehall music and human rights collide?
MONTREAL: Many legendary and up coming reggae artists are banned in various places worldwide because of their use of violence-laced anti gay lyrics in their music. Join Gareth Henry, Richard Burnett and Akim Ade Larcher whilst they discuss how sexual orientation, race, dancehall music and human rights all collide here in Canada and Jamaica.

Spokespersons:

Gareth Henry

Motivated by being a victim of homophobic violence, at age 21 I became involved with Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG) at its inception in 1998. I have served the organization in several capacities and recently before becoming a refugee claimant in Canada he served as the Program Director and Co-Chair. Recipient of the 2006 Human Rights Watch and Canadian HIV Legal Network Award for work in human rights and HIV, I continue to strongly believe that a change will come and endeavour to continue to be part of this process. A graduate of the University of the West Indies with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, and currently pursuing post graduate studies in Communication for Behaviour and Social Change.

Richard Burnett

Richard Burnett is Editor-at-Large of Montreal's alt-weekly HOUR magazine where he writes his national queer-issues column Three Dollar Bill. In an August 2004 HOUR cover story on anti-gay reggae, dancehall singer Sizzla told Burnett, "We won't tolerate homosexuals, we won't tolerate lesbians... Wherever I go it is the same thing - burn sodomite, burn battyman. Burn all things that are wrong!"  The story made international headlines and Burnett was vilified in the op-ed pages of The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica. Even Sizzla replied with a hit song of his own, called "Nah Apologize."

Akim Adé Larcher

Akim Adé Larcher, is a human rights activist. Born in St.Lucia he immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1999. He is a board member of the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention and the founder of Stop Murder Music (Canada). He is the Equity and Diversity Co-ordinator at Egale Canada, the national LGBT organization. His primary focus and concern lies in the discussion and development of sexual citizenship through transnational advocacy interventions.