The day will provide an opportunity for the participants to learn new skills and leadership tools. It will aim to inspire and support dialogue-surrounding issues that matter to the youth participants. It will also provide the space and place for youth to network with other youth and hear the experiences of other young Indigenous Women and young Women of Colour who are actively involved in taking action within their communities.

Don’t forget to register online for the event! Click this link to sign up!

For more information, visit the event website at www.embracingshadesofaction.wordpress.com. Questions? Email Nikki and Whitney at girlsactionproject@gmail.com.

Talking About Racism was organized and co-facilitated by a group of students from UVic Social Justice studies to build awareness and activism in support of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, March 21st.

Saturday, March 24^th was the date of antidote’s Intergenerational Event.  After welcome and introductions Elitsa facilitated ‘Barnga’ an exercise disguised as a card game.  At first I wondered “this is fun but how will this relate to the day’s theme?”  As the game proceeded and we moved silently from one table to the next (each table having a different set of rules), it became clear that we were being set up for a lesson.  The question arose, what happens when we agree on a set of rules in one context and then move into another context where the rules are different and unspoken?

When the rules are different, we are not always aware of where others are coming from.  People had a variety of responses like anger, confusion and wanting to help others to understand the rules of the game.  My response was “this is not fair” because I had agreed on a set of rules and then they changed. I felt like I was at a disadvantage for not knowing the new rules and needed to look to others for leadership.   Once I learned the new rules, I felt more comfortable to play the game.   We talked about how this is what it can feel like when someone moves to a new country.  It also happens when we transition between classrooms, workplaces, and different community spaces.   What we take for granted as “common sense” in one place can change in another, and without open communication and tools for easing this transition, we can easily get frustrated and feel left out.

Next we identified more personal experiences in an activity with Gayle, antidote Coordinator, to describe

“When I see…., when I hear…..or when I feel…….. I know racism is occurring”.  That got us talking more about how we see racism perpetuated through hierarchies and institutions, and reflected through images in the media of idealized fashions, body image and cultures of war.  We hear history lessons that glorify some groups while understating the contributions of others through constructions of “crime” and racial profiling.   We shared stories of observing prejudice, slurs and unjust treatment towards racialized groups based on stereotypes and unfounded fears of the unknown.  Some of us talked about feeling racism through impressions, subtle or blatant gestures and body language.

We talked about the misunderstandings that can be created when people group up with others from the same culture or identity, while this may create a space to feel comfortable and connect, it can also end up creating more exclusion based on identity politics.   In building healthy, vibrant, multi-cultural communities, we agreed that it is important to value one another as unique individuals who are not simply defined by socially constructed categories of identification such as ethnicity, gender, and nationality.

Antidote thanks the activist Social Justice students –  Elitsa Ivanova, Kim Boyd, Marwo Dubow, Kelsey Hayek and Sara Einarson stepping up to work with us and for energizing us on the critical conversations needed to eliminate racism in society.   We look forward to more social justice collaborations through activist and youth-led anti-racism and violence prevention education.

For more information and to get involved with Antidote please contact:

Rita Kozma, Youth Program Coordinator by email: Rita@antidotenetwork.org

Katie Shaw-Raudoy, Project Director by email: Katie@antidotentwork.org

Please join us in the 4th Annual Memorial March for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

Date: February 12, 2012
11 am – “Our Place” at 919 Pandora St.
12 PM – March to Thunderbird Park
1 PM – Speeches and Refreshments

Feel free to wear Red or Regalia – Bring your drums and remember loved ones.

All are welcome.

Questions? Please contact feb14.memorialmarch@gmail.com

Want to create more positive representation for women of colour and/or Indigenous women in the blogosphere?

Social media is a strong tool that can be used to actively mobilize connection and community building so antidote is searching for a volunteer blogger to contribute to our website.

We encourage entries that explore topics in race, gender, sexual identities, poverty, environmental issues, and more. All the same, artistic contributions via arts-based media such as photography, podcasting, film, and more are welcomed!

If this suits your interests, let us know! An honorarium pool to be established.

Contact: info@antidotenetwork.org for more details.

antidote is a multiracial and Indigenous girls and women’s network. This call-out respectfully encourages all who identify as such to apply.

Find our antidote Page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/antidotenetwork.

‘My Forbidden Disorder’ is a new play written and performed by a group of immigrant youth that fearlessly examines the challenges faced by gay, lesbian and transgendered youth and strongly condemns the homophobia they face at school and in our communities.

When Koyume Fukushima, age 17, was at her home in Japan, one of her friends revealed his sexual identity as being gay. The students in her school, including herself, ostracized and ignored him until he changed schools. When Koyume came to Victoria as an international student, she realized the injustice of her actions. “I saw this [same-sex] couple walking down the street and thought, ‘Wow, they look so beautiful.’” She was determined to make amends and raise awareness about homophobia here in Victoria as well as at home in Japan. Although English is her second language and she had no prior experience with theatre, Koyume wrote ‘My Forbidden Disorder,’ a play that is both sophisticated and heart-breaking.

Koyume teamed up with five other multicultural youth to produce ‘My Forbidden Disorder.’ The diverse cast of youth comes from Japan, the Philippines, Mexico and Canada. Though they all grew up with divergent cultural perspectives on same-sex relationships, all the youth agree that homophobia is a problem that needs to be dealt with. They invited youth from the South Island Pride Community Centre Society to be involved in the production and a truly youth-led project was born. The play is a powerful tool that illustrates the disastrous effects of homophobia in a way that speaks to the youth as well as the adults in our community.

‘My Forbidden Disorder’ would like to acknowledge the support the Theatre Inconnu, the BC Healthy Communities Youthcore Program and the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society (VIRCS), the Bayanihan Community Centre and the South Island Pride Community Centre Society.

What: My Forbidden Disorder

When: June 22 and 23 at 7pm (doors at 6:45)

Where: Theatre Inconnu, 1923 Fernwood Road

For more information contact:

Megan Thom, Enable Program for Children and Youth Coordinator

enable@vircs.bc.ca, (250) 361-9433 ext. 203

antidote Annual Report 2010-11 (PDF)