Recommendations for Inclusive Practice
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Oppression is the use of power to disempower, marginalize, silence or otherwise subordinate one social group or category, often in order to further empower and/or privilege the oppressor. It is our responsibility as those defining the social innovation system to understand how oppression operates within our spaces.
Have an honest conversation with your colleagues and discuss what the biases that we hold that perpetuates white supremacy culture. It’s important to understand that white supremacy is also subtle and complex. As people who hold power in different spaces we have the responsibility to dismantle white supremacy in honest and brave ways. Here are some resources to get started.
When you attend a future conference or learning opportunity, connect with Indigenous and youth of colour/organizations and sponsor youth who can otherwise not attend, to attend with you. The next important step is to have conversations with youth and other participants to discuss and understand how spaces are designed to exclude youth, even if they are included. Ask them questions and learn from them:
How do youth feel being in spaces such as this?
Why were they invited, while others are not? What is the system in place that perpetuates this?
How are spaces of learning designed by adults disrupted when youth participate?
What can be done in these spaces to ensure that youth are welcomed, valued, and heard, rather than tokenized?
Cherish these conversations and understand the work that you need to do to ensure that youth are included in this sector in ways that are equitable and powerful. Use these opportunities to develop pathways beyond the conference space to allow for youth to see themselves in the wider social innovation practice.
We call upon labs to increase support of Indigenous youth and youth of colour so that they have meaningful and dignifying opportunities to seek solutions to the complex problems we work to solve.
Include at least 2 youth in steering committees, boards, and funding/decision making models and compensate them for their time and contributions.
Include Indigenous youth and youth of colour in social innovation processes and labs and compensate them for their time and contributions.
Bring in a racial equity lens through granting and procurement models.
Fund, invest and support projects led by Indigenous youth and youth of colour that lead Truth and Reconciliation and anti-oppression work.