Conference Guide:Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds

Friday, March 10, 11th and 12th, 2017.

Friday: Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street Saturday: Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street Sunday: York University, Vari Hall, 198 York Boulevard, North York

For any questions, concerns, accommodations requests, etc please contact reclaimconference@gmail.com.

Conference Guide:Contents:

Equity Statement Acknowledgement of the Land Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Conference History Logistical Information Opening Remarks Saturday Panel Sunday Potluck and Movie Friday Performance: Saturday Performance Workshops

o Workshop Series Ao Workshop Series Bo Workshop Series Co Workshop Series D

Organiserso George Brown Collegeo Ryerson Universityo University of Torontoo York University

Sponsors

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Equity StatementSocial justice solidarity is based on the principle that all members are equal and deserve mutual respect and understanding. As members of the students’ union, mutual respect, cooperation and understanding are our goals. We should neither condone nor tolerate behavior that undermines the dignity or self-esteem of any individual or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.

It is our collective responsibility for creating an inclusive space for discussion and dialogue. All forms of discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated, nor will hate speech rooted in, but not limited to, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Semitic, sexist, racist, classist, ableist, sanist, audist, homophobic or transphobic sentiments and/or remarks. We all have an obligation to ensure that an open and inclusive space, free of hate is established. If you are not here in an understanding of good faith, or you have violated this understanding, you will be asked to leave.

Acknowledgement of the LandIn recognition of and with respect for unceded traditional territories of Indigenous people:As many of us are settlers on this land, it is our collective responsibility to pay respect and recognize that this land is traditional territory of the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nations and we are here because this land was occupied. In recognizing that this space occupies colonized First Nations territories, and out of respect for the rights of indigenous people, it is our collective responsibility to honour, protect and sustain this land.

Toronto is in the 'Dish With One Spoon Territory.’ The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe ("ah-nish-naa-ee"),  Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee ("hoe-da-no-show-nee")  that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect." Chi Miigwetch 

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Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Conference HistoryThe Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Conference was initially hosted at Ryerson University in 2012. In 2014, student groups and campus/community activists from Ryerson University, York University, University of Toronto and George Brown College came together to imagine an inter-campus conference that brought together disability community activists, service providers, academics, and everybody in between. This is the second year of the Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Inter-University Conference.

Logistical InformationTTC: Ryerson Student Centre: From Dundas Station, turn right onto Yonge Street. When you hit Gould Street, turn right. After you pass by the lake and the first glass building, the Student Campus Centre will be on your right.

York University: Take subway route to Downsview station, take 196 bus to York Blvd at York University Commons. Head west on York Blvd toward Campus Walk located on 100 York Boulevard

Parking:

Ryerson Student Centre: parking is available on the west side of Church Street, just south of Gould Street

York University: Visitor accessible parking is located within the following lots, upon paying the required fee. All vehicles must display the Ontario Disabled Parking Permit as well as the daily parking stub issued by York University Parking Services:

Thompson Road Lot West Office Building Lot East Arboretum Parking Garage Student Service Parking Garage York Lanes Parking Garage

Meals: Meals that fall during the conference will be provided to participants. These include light snacks on Friday, lunch and dinner on Saturday, and a Sunday potluck. If you have not already, please indicate any dietary restrictions to event organisers.

Accessibility: The conference will be a safe, consumer/survivor/mad-positive, wheelchair-accessible space. ASL and live-captioning will be present at workshops, panels and performances. Attendants, childcare and active listeners are available on

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request at registration. There will be a debriefing space and a quiet space available on Saturday for the entire day. Overhead room lighting will be used in all spaces, but can be dimmed/turned off in the quiet and debriefing spaces. There will be no loud abrupt sounds in panels or workshops, and trigger/content warnings will be announced prior to performances. Should it not interfere with access to the conference, we ask for all attendees’ participation in making the conference fragrance-free.

Scent-free Space: We ask that all participants help create a scent-free, fragrance-free and unscented space. We also ask that people who smoke wait an additional ten minutes before re-entering the conference space. We are happy to help coordinate this if temperatures are particularly cold.

Quiet Space: A quiet space will be set up on Friday and Saturday on the second floor of the Student Centre in the Margaret Laurence Room. We ask that all attendees respect a quiet space as a place to be as quiet as possible.

Debrief Space: A debrief space will be set up on Friday and Saturday on the first floor of the Student Centre in the Shadd Room. A debrief space is a place where attendees can go to check-in, check-up, debrief, and have chats about the conference, their lives, their stories, whatever is necessary. An active listener will be in the space to help facilitate debriefs if needed.

Registration Desk: A registration desk will be set up in the outside the Ryerson Student Centre Tecumseh Auditorium on Friday and Saturday and in Vari Hall on Sunday. If there are any concerns or questions, please feel free to visit and inquire.

Emergency Contact: If at any point during the conference there is an emergency please free to contact Corey Scott, Equity & Campaigns Organiser of the Ryerson Students’ Union, at 416-899-2256.

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TimetableFriday, March 10 – Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street4:00pm-4:30pm

Registration – Outside Tecumseh Auditorium

4:30pm-6:00pm

Community Fair & Light Dinner begins – Outside Tecumseh AuditoriumWorkshop Series A(choose one session)

4:30pm-5:30pm

‘Tourette Syndrome: Power of Education and Awareness’ and ‘the Autism Journey: Then vs. Now’ - Tecumseh Auditorium

Accessibility Outside the Classroom - Thomas Lounge

6:00pm-7:00pm

Opening Remarks and Keynote by Lynx Sainte-Marie - Tecumseh Auditorium

7:00pm-8:00pm

Comedy Night with Courtney Gilmour and Dan Curtis Thompson Tecumseh Auditorium

s

Saturday, March 11 – Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street10:30am-11:00am

Opening Session: The Road to Mental Wellbeing: A journey that starts within – Tecumseh Auditorium

11:00am-11:30am

Break

11:30am-1:00pm

Workshop Series B (choose one session)

Doing Mad Pride (Dignity and Self-Determination) - Tecumseh Auditorium

Voices: Unheard and Unseen - Thomas Lounge

1:00pm-2:00pm

Lunch – Outside Tecumseh Auditorium

2:00pm-3:30pm

Workshop Series C (choose one session)

The National Accessibility and Inclusion Act: Possibilities and Pitfalls - Tecumseh Auditorium

Reconceptualising Mental Health - Thomas Lounge

3:30pm-3:45pm

Break

3:45PM-5:30PM

Workshop Series D (choose one session)

Annual KNOTS Undergraduate Book Launch and Reading -

A Story of a Fruit: Uncommon Tales of Disability -

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Tecumseh Auditorium Thomas Lounge5:30pm-6:00pm

Dinner - Outside Tecumseh Auditorium

6:00pm-7:00pm

Autism, Race and Class: A Sibling’s Perspective - Tecumseh Auditorium

7:00pm-8:00pm

Open Space

Sunday, March 12 –100 York Boulevard, Keele Campus York University11:00am-12:30pm

Potluck - Vari Hall and Ross

12:30pm-2:00pm

Discussion Group: Neurodivergence and Creativity - Vari Hall A

Art Show and Craft Space - Vari Hall and Ross (starts at 1pm)2:00pm-

3:30pmInclusive Deaf Theatre - Vari Hall A

3:30pm-4:00pm

Break

4:00pm-6:30pm

Open Mic - NAT Taylor Cinema

Opening Remarks:

Keynote Speaker: Lynx Sainte-MarieCollectively, Connectedly, Lovingly: Disability Justice for Our Multidimensional Lives

Time: Friday, March 10 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Centre

Description:

If it isn’t intersectional, it isn’t disability justice! Activating a disability justice framework in our movements means acknowledging intersecting identities and centring the most marginalized. It means moving beyond traditional notions of access and creating spaces where the disabled/chronically ill, particularly those of us who are Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC), can bring our whole bodies, histories and selves into a space. It means prioritizing the eradication of antiBlackness, white supremacy and other systems of oppression on top of ableism. This presentation will take an in-depth look at

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the principles of disability justice and how we can use them to move together – collectively, connectedly, lovingly – towards liberation and healing.

Speaker Bio: Lynx Sainte-Marie, Afro+Goth Poet is a disabled/chronically ill, non-binary/genderfluid, misfit of the Jamaican diaspora with ancestral roots indigenous to Africa and the British Isles, living on stolen Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat land (Greater Toronto Area). A writer, multimedium artist, activist, educator, agitator and community builder, Lynx’s work and art is informed by Black feminism(s), collective community love and social, disability and healing justice movements.

Friday Comedy NightTime: Friday, March 11 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium

Facilitators: Courtney Gilmour and Dan Curtis Thompson

Speaker Bios:

Courtney Gilmour is a Toronto-based writer and comedian who has been performing stand up for six years. In 2012 she graduated from the comedy writing program at The Second City Training Centre where she produced sketches for the main stage, and went on to write and direct sketches for the “Bull Pen” show at The John Candy Box theatre. She starred in the award-winning web series “Bill & Sons Towing”; her episode “Bikini Calendar” was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award and featured on FunnyOrDie. She loves tacos.

Dan Curtis Thompson is a Toronto stand up comedian, writer and actor. Dan has made his way across Canada performing on stages acting in plays and musicals, and telling jokes that his grandparents don’t understand. Dan produces multiple shows in Toronto such as “New Faces of Comedy”, a show for new comedians to try the craft out as well as “Character Comedy”, a show where comedians perform stand up from the perspective of their chosen character. Dan is a quarter-finalist in the Toronto Comedy Brawl and is a published writer with CBC Comedy. Dan graduated from St. Lawrence College’s Music Theatre Performance Program and feels okay about it.

The Road to Mental Wellbeing: A journey that starts withinTime: Saturday, March 12 from 10:30am to 11:15pm

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Location: Tecumseh Auditorium

Speaker Bios:

Vice President of Equity for CESAR (Con’t Education Student Association Ryerson) Phyllis Mckenna is a First Nations Ojibwe/Celtic woman who resides in Toronto, ON. Her Indigenous roots are from M’Chigeeng Fist Nation Manitoulin Island Ontario. She is a Student of the Aboriginal Knowledge’s and Experience Program at Raymond Chang Continuing Education, an Indigenous Writer and Advocate. In her spare time she is a volunteer creative writing facilitator at various Indigenous organizations through the Toronto Writer's Collective.

Saturday Performance: Autism, Race and Class -A Sibling’s Perspective with Faduma MohamedTime: Saturday, March 11 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Centre

Facilitators: Faduma Mohamed

Description:

Faduma Mohamed will be performing an excerpt of her performance of ‘Oughtism’ and hosting a question and answer after the performance.

Oughtism, follows the life of Tariq, a nonverbal autistic savant. The play explores the hardships families endure, especially living with autism while poor; with particular emphasis on how siblings of autism experience embarrassment, frustration and hopelessness. The play reinforces the belief that everyone deserves to experience love in all of its forms. Tariq falls for his neurotypical neighbour, Reign, and they slowly develop a romantic relationship. 

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Facilitator Bios:

Faduma Mohamed is a spoken word poet and storyteller who started writing at the age of eight and performing at the age of thirteen. In 2013, she interned as an editorial writer with Urbanology Magazine and in 2016, she graduated from a two year residency at Watah Theatre. She currently studies English at the University of Toronto and is the artist manager at RISE Edutainment. This fall, she completed her year long autism awareness challenge of carrying a box, every single day to change the stigma around autism. Through the #OughtTheBox campaign, she has raised over $3000 for families of autism. Above all, she believes in the power of dreams.

Sunday Potluck Time: Sunday, March 12 from 11:00am to 12:30pm

Location: Vari Hall and Ross

Description: Join us for our annual potluck and debrief about the past workshops, panels and keynotes. The potluck lunch is an opportunity for attendees to engage in casual community conservations with peers to share ideas, give feedback to the coordinators and share food with one another.

Please note on with potluck, please include a list of ingredients for all food you wish to bring and share. We will have microwaves available to heat the food.

Discussion Group: Neurodivergance and Creativity Time: Sunday March 12th from 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Location: Vari Hall A

Facilitators: Lana Kouchnir

Description: How has industrialized education impacted your art practice and conceptions of creativity? How can we support and envision art knowledge systems outside of industrial education? What are your conceptions of brilliance? What accessibility issues are present within local art communities? How do you experience the relationship between neurodivergence and creative expression? These questions will be discussed in a warm, welcoming and confidential environment

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Speaker Bio: Lana K is an award-winning multidisciplinary performance artist and arts facilitator. Driven by a community-based, multidisciplinary, and experimental approach to storytelling, her performances center contemporary interpretations of Ukrainian folk tales and mythologies. Lana recently graduated from the 2015-2016 Transdisciplinary Arts Residency at the Watah Theatre; she was a recipient of the Watah Theatre's Outstanding Perfomance Award for her first-draft workshop presentation of Vovk, a one-woman play created under the mentorship and dramaturgy of d'bi. young anitafrika. She was selected as a 2015-2016 City of Ottawa 'Youth in Culture' Youth Advisory Committee member and will be releasing her new poetry chapbook in the fall of 2017.

Inclusive Deaf Theatre Time: Sunday March 12th from 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Location: Vari Hall A

Facilitators: Sage Willow

Description: How to make theatre accessible for Deaf folks without appropriating sign language and Deaf culture? How to include Deaf individuals in the theatre world without disempowering them? Find out the answers to these two questions with Deaf performer, Sage Willow, who experienced navigating theatre in multiple capacities and collaborating with Deaf and Hearing thespians. This workshop is ideal for artists (or anyone!) who wants to incorporate accessibility in their scope of work

Speaker Bio: Sage Willow is a local multidisciplinary queer nonbinary Deaf artist and educator. Aside from their community work, they also provide performance interpreting in ASL for the local community; incorporating their passions of languages, theatre and accessibility into pieces of art. Sage is also one of the founders of Deaf Spectrum, a collective aimed to promote the increase in usage of American Sign Language to make community spaces more accessible and inclusive.

Sunday Evening: Art Showcase and SpaceTime: Sunday, March 12 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Location: Vari Hall and Ross

Description: The art showcase will feature art work installment from Lynx Sainte-Marie Of Shadows. Of Shadows uses the serial selfie to speak to the intersections of Blackness and disability. In a wall mounted movement of five images using a lo-fi digital abstraction style that mutes the complexity of the subject, this series presents the

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disabled and Black body as both spectre and monstrosity; fiction and cautionary tale. Simply a danger and nothing more. Under white supremacy, the presence of Black life is contrary and invokes violence. “Black” as a rule conjures images of the ominous and unknown in the white, colonial mind; thus, Black people are often hyper-visible around narratives of criminality, and – often, simultaneously – erased from narratives of disability. The story of these images is one of a familiar haunting, where the vulnerable body of the disabled, Black person is threatening, even at rest and at pain, due to the insidious anti-Blackness of our society

During the art showcase, there will also be art stations. The art stations will include: button-making; self-care zines (made using magazines, glue and paper); painting (using watercolour paint); and colouring (using colouring books, markers and pencil crayons.

Sunday Evening: Open Mic Time: Sunday, March 12 from 4:00pm to 6:30pm

Location: NAT Taylor Cinema

Description: Sunday evening will be reserved as space for the open mic where attendees and community members are welcome to share their performances, art and poetry. We invite you to share your art pieces and take the stage.

Please connect with a coordinator if you plan on sharing your art piece to be screened beforehand for any ableist content and triggering materials. Please be mindful of triggers and content warnings and that the space is one set in anti-oppressive principles. We cannot guarantee a safe space but we intend to facilitate as a safe of a spaces as possible.

Concurrent WorkshopsThe Reclaiming Our Bodies & Minds Conference is divided within four different workshop series. The workshop series offer two workshops running concurrently from each other, where attendees can choose to attend the workshop which interests them. The workshops expand on topics within academia, activism, healing, theatre arts and narratives. The workshops hope to act forum for panelist and speakers to share their lived experience and knowledge with attendees. We encourage all attendees to read each workshop description to fully comprehend what each workshop entails.

Workshop Series A

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Tourette Syndrome: The Power of Education and Awareness & The Autism Journey: Then vs. Now

Time: Friday, March 10th 2017 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Campus Centre

Facilitators: Tina Todaro and Whitney Hodgins

Description:

Tourette Syndrome: The Power of Education and AwarenessThis presentation will go over what it is like to be a student with an invisible/visible disability, the struggles that these students may face, and what can be done to accommodate these students in post-secondary schools. The presentation will also focus on how successful someone with Tourette Syndrome can be, and how someone with TS can be a leader in education and awareness.

The Autism Journey: Then vs. NowLooking into the academic and healthcare scope of things. I will talk about some experiences I’ve had and some of the accomplishments that health and academics has played and what roles I’ve done to help with that in my community. I also will look into some historical aspects to Asperger’s syndrome and how it got incorporated into the DSM 5 over DSM 4 and what that means for a lot of people on the autism spectrum. But more importantly how I was able to take back my body, mind and soul which is me.

Facilitator Bios: Tina Todaro: My name is Tina Todaro and I am a second-year community worker-student at George Brown College, and a student with a disability. I was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder consisting of motor and vocal tics or twitches, and struggled with school for a long time as there was no formal education or awareness provided in schools. For the past 3 years, I have been the Youth Advocacy Coordinator for an organisation called Tourette Canada, that provides services and supports for people living with Tourette Syndrome. I have been doing a lot of youth work creating events for youth that explore holistic alternatives to medication such as music workshops and sport workshops (up to this point), as well as creating an online magazine written by youth with TS for youth with TS. I have also been in the process of Creating a program proposal for the GTA chapter of the organization.

Aside from this work I have also been the program manager for a company called Every1Games, providing services for youth with Autism, and have been a facilitator for a nation-wide online youth peer support group for Tourette Canada’s National Office. I was also a staff reporter and assistant editor for the George Brown College newspaper

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from 2013-2016, winning the reporter of the year award and leadership award. I am also a published writer.

Whitney Hodgins: Diagnosed at the age of 14 with Asperger's Syndrome. Since diagnosis Whitney has spoken to teachers and students of her highschool about Asperger’s syndrome and autism and how it relates in the academic field and breaking down barriers, the health field and how she was able to persevere during times of stigma and belittlement. She has been a guest speaker to Mental Health Awareness Day from the Assinaboine Regional Health Authority and guest speaker for the Mental Health on the Prairies Conference for the Brandon Regional Health Authority speaking about her journey.

The Hits, the misses, & the home runs

Time: Friday March 10 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Location: Thomas Lounge, Ryerson Student Campus Centre

Facilitator: Michelle Woolfrey and Amanda Lin

Description: In this presentation we will discuss the accessibility of student life programs, as well as how to make these programs more accessible using the principles of universal design so that everyone can participate in all aspects of post secondary life. Using our lived experiences of participating and working in various aspects of student life and community engagement we will discuss various opportunities where campus leaders can help to create a fully accessible student engagement community experience. In the session we will highlight our experiences that have been positive and negative and how in the future they could be made better.

Facilitator Bios:Michelle Woolfrey is a 3rd year Arts and Contemporary Studies majoring in equity and diversity studies. Michelle identifies as disabled and uses a service dog to navigate. Michelle has worked across the campus in various roles in Student Affairs including Tri-Mentoring and Student Learning Support. Michelle is passionate about accessibility and helping others to ensure that they are being as inclusive to as many people as possible.

Amanda Lin is a 4th year Disability Studies students with a previous degree in Forensic Science with a specialization in psychology. Amanda became disabled later in life and identifies with multiple non visible disabilities. Amanda has worked across student life as well throughout both degrees working in departments like residence and Tri-Mentoring. Amanda is passionate about accessibility and creating equitable spaces because she recognizes that not everybody starts off on the same footing.

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Workshop Series BDoing Mad Pride: Dignity & Self-Determination

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 11:30am-1:00pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Centre

Facilitators: Tim Brown and Lois Didyk

Description:

How can we turn Mad Pride into Mad actions? 

How can we create spaces, connections, knowledge for and by Mad people? 

We will discuss terms, identities and background of Mad Pride.  We will outline some of our current projects  We will discuss how to strengthen Mad Pride movement: 

o through recruiting (intersectional groups including racialized, Indigenous, economic, gender, religious and more) 

o through project selection o models of participation and organization

Speaker Bios:

Tim Brown is the lead organizer of Mad Pride Toronto. He thinks about volunteers and fundraising as much as he thinks about Mad activism. Talk to him. And contact Mad Pride Toronto torontomadpride@gmail.com and search for "Toronto Mad Pride" on social networks. 

Lois Didyk identifies as a Mad-ally, and as a Mad-positive Social Worker. She has been working in Toronto as a community mental health worker for over 25 years, and embraces her own mental health struggles in order to question what works, and what doesn’t, in how we support each other in times of distress. 

Voices: Unheard and Unseen

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 2:00pm-3:30pm

Location: Thomas Lounge, Student Campus Centre

Facilitators: Kevin Healey and Jonathan Balazs

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Description: Hearing voices is a remarkably common human experience yet one that has been mystified and demonized and made taboo, meaning many more struggle than need to and many are isolated meaning their already difficult experience is made more difficult. Likewise those of us who do hear voices are stereotyped demonized and discriminated against for being too different.

In this discussion, there will be a showing of selected clips from the documentary They Heard Voices, a film about exploring the hearing voices movement, psychosis and the schizophrenia label. The film attempts to challenge assumptions about the disorder with clarifying issues surrounding psychosis, schizophrenia’s historical significance. The film will be followed by a discussion on the hearing voices movement and also outlining key ideas and ongoing work in the community to reclaim experience, language and space.

Speaker Bios:

Kevin Healey hears voices that you don’t and has done for as long as he or his voices can remember. He is the founder and coordinator of www.recoverynet.ca, Toronto Hearing Voices group and the Hearing Voices Café. He develops trainings and workshops that enable others to better understand and support those who struggle with the kind of experiences that get called names like “psychosis”.

A member of the Hearing Voices worldwide community, in October 2016 was honored to receive the Intervoice Annual Aware for Innovation at the World Hearing Voices Congress in Paris.

Jonathan Balazs is a creative guy who loves a good story, video editing, writing and producing. Based in Toronto, media arts and production is his life, he's produced corporate work, documentaries, music videos and provides post-production services. Balazs tackles every project with enthusiasm, technical proficiency and an artful eye.

Workshop Series CThe National Accessibility and Inclusion Act: Possibilities and Pitfalls

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 2:00pm to 3:15pm

Location: Tecumseh Auditorium, Ryerson Student Campus Centre

Facilitator: John Rae

Description: The federal government is currently undertaking nationwide consultations that are to lead to national legislation designed to help remove existing barriers to the full participation of persons with disabilities in Canadian society and prevent the

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introduction of new barriers. This session will examine both the possibilities for such a long awaited piece of equality legislation, and look at some of its potential pitfalls. The session will include both a presentation and ample time for feedback and discussion.

Speaker Bios: John Rae brings a broad combination of community, government and union involvements to all of his varied activities. John took early retirement from the Ontario Public Service in 2005 after a 24-year career, during which time he was a Consultant with the Centre for Disability and Work, an Education Officer with the Employment Equity Commission, and prior to retirement a Program Officer with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario.John brought his community perspective to the Canadian labour movement where he served in elective positions at the local, provincial and national levels. Following his retirement, John remained involved as an active member of OPSEU's Disability Rights Caucus until the end of 2016.

During the past 41 years, John has been a board member of many human and disability rights organizations, including Co-chair of the Coalition on Human Rights for the Handicapped, which secured the first human rights coverage for persons with disabilities in Ontario. John is a Past President of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC), the Canadian Legal, Advocacy, Information and Research Association of the Disabled (CLAIR), and PAL Reading Service. John is currently 1st Vice Chair of the Council of Canadians With Disabilities National Council, Chair of its Social Policy Committee, and a member of its National Accessibility and Inclusion Act Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Injured Workers’ Consultants Legal Clinic and Canadian Museum on Human Rights' Inclusive Design & Accessibility Council, the Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups Action Research Committee, and the ODSP Action Coalition. In June, 2016, John was awarded the Cruickshank Medal from the Ontario Historical Society in recognition for his work in promoting greater access and inclusion in museums and art galleries

Reconceptualising Mental Health

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm

Location: Thomas Lounge, Ryerson Student Campus

Facilitators: Sharrae Lyon

Description: What is your story? Our world is a place of lustrous beauty. The trees surround us, constantly asking us to stop, listen to your breath. The Earth beneath your feet. The Earth calls to us to remember, remember the that there is a life to be created. But how do we create this life that seems to not be in line with our observable lens? There is degradation in our world. The climate is changing , it is rising, the oceans are

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increasing in speed? But are we not in rhythm with the Earth? The universe moves at constant speed, yet we are still in motion. This workshop is a pedagogical exercise in understanding our abilities to transform

Sharrae Lyon is a writer, filmmaker, facilitator and healer who believes that science-fiction and the imagination are tools that can be utilized to project ourselves into futures where we can heal traumas of the past and present. She is determined by redefining what it means to be human. Her work is grounded in understanding the interconnections of self, community and the eco-system and reframing mental health as points of evolution and transformation when in an environment of support. Her work has been published in the Peak, From the Root, Canadian Dimensions, For Harriet and Muslimah Media Watch. Additionally, she has facilitated workshops across Canada and Detroit, Michigan utilizing futurism, healing and the arts in envisioning new and more sustainable futures.

Workshop Series DKNOTS: Undergraduate Journal of Disability Studies

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 3:45pm to 5:30pm

Location: Thomas Lounge, Ryerson Student Campus Centre

Facilitators: KNOTS, an Undergraduate Journal of Disability Studies

Descriptions: KNOTS: Undergraduate Journal of Disability Studies will be releasing its third issue in June 2017 themed Interdependency. KNOTS will be having a panel featuring six panelists who have submitted articles to their third issue followed with an Q&A period. The panelist will be sharing a 10-15 minute condensed version of their work.

Speaker Bios: KNOTS journal was established in 2015 and is the first undergraduate journal of Disability Studies. They accept submission from undergraduate students from all over the world. It is a peer-reviewed journal, run by a small collective of fellow undergraduate students with faculty advisors from the Equity Studies program. Knots works to challenge normative conceptions of disability and embodiment while contributing new and innovate knowledge to the field of disability studies.

A Story of a Fruit:  Uncommon Tales of Disability

Time: Saturday, March 11 from 3:45pm to 5:30pm

Location: Thomas Lounge, Ryerson Student Campus Centre

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Facilitators: Onar Usar and Gabriel Allahdua

Descriptions: What stories of disability and madness we usually tell as disability activists, as community organizers, scholars, writers, advocates? Who are the subjects/hero(ine)s/narrators of these stories? For whom the “disability rights” are created and claimed? And what has a story of a simple banana you eat got to do with disability? Most importantly, why you should care about it?

In this workshop we ask these questions and narrate uncommon tales of disability and disablement; the ones that you rarely hear in disability or madness related workshops, conferences, publications, and organizing spaces. These are stories of migrant workers, seasonal agricultural workers, and temporary farm workers from Global South. These are stories of global capitalism, border imperialism, and “disabled subjects” who are “targeted for death” as Robert McRuer puts it. We end our workshop with an open space discussion on how to collaborate and be in solidarity with migrant justice organizing in order to enact an effective disability justice movement.

Speaker Bios: Onar Usar is a disabled queer woman of color from Turkey and a psychiatric system survivor. 

Gabriel Allahdua is a former migrant farm worker from St Lucia. Currently he is an organizer with Justice 4 migrant workers.

Organisers & SponsorsGEORGE BROWN COLLEGEGeorge Brown College Student’s Association Community Access CentreThe Community Action Centre (CAC) is a place for George Brown College students who care about social justice to gather together and support each other, share ideas, socialize, build community, and raise awareness of issues within their communities. The CAC is the hub for five “constituency groups”, which work both together and independently to represent the interests of their constituencies.

Our constituency groups are the:

• Aboriginal Students’ Constituency• American Sign Language (ASL) Constituency• International Students’ Constituency

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• LGBTQ Students’ Constituency• Women & Trans Students’ Constituency

www.studentassociation.ca/lifeworks/community-action-centre/

RYERSON UNIVERSITYContinuing Education Student’s Association at Ryerson (CESAR)The Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson (CESAR), Local 105 of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is YOUR students’ union.  The Executive, Board of Directors and staff work to serve you and improve your student experience by providing you with cost-saving services, advocacy and events. CESAR is a membership driven organisation representing over 16,000 students registered in continuing education, distance education, off-campus, and part-time degree courses at Ryerson University.

CESAR members also pool their resources with over 500,000 students across Ontario and Canada through the Canadian Federation of Students to access cost-saving services and advocacy at both the provincial and national levels.  By working together with a united voice, we are able to impact the development of post-secondary education policies, increase access, and lobby for reducing tuition fees.

www.mycesar.ca

RyeACCESSRyeACCESS recognizes that students with disabilities have a diverse range of experiences both on and off campus. However, one experience that is consistent is that of disempowerment.

RyeACCESS works to reclaim our bodies and minds through advocacy, campaigns, outreach, education, and events. We focus on both systemic and individual issues in an effort to create an equitable environment and promote the empowerment, autonomy and freedom of students with disabilities.

www.ryeaccess.tumblr.com

Ryerson Students’ UnionEvery full-time undergraduate and all graduate students at Ryerson University are members of the Students’ Union. With over 28,000 members the RSU is here to make sure that students get the most out of their experience at Ryerson. The RSU advocates and fights for student rights, builds community on campus through events and by supporting over 150 campus groups, and provides discount services to save you money!

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www.rsuonline.ca/

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTOAssociation of Part Time Undergraduate Students at U of TAPUS is run by part-time students who have chosen to volunteer their time to help other part-time students. The mission of the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) is to ensure that part-time undergraduate students have access to the full range of programs, services and resources at the University of Toronto in order to improve the quality of the part-time undergraduate educational experience. The objectives of APUS services are to improve the quality of the total educational experience, in its broadest sense. APUS achieves its mission by representing part-time undergraduate students throughout the decision-making processes of the University and of governments, by acting as a voice for the concerns of APUS members and by maintaining active communication with all part-time students.

www.apus.utoronto.ca

Students for Barrier- Free Access (SBA)SBA is a non-profit, student group on campus that represents students with disabilities at U of T. Our approach has been to establish a presence for students with disabilities, raise awareness, provide education, effectively lobby, and directly influence many of the systemic issues in all areas of student life. SBA provides a voice for a constituency that has been under-represented in the past and advocates for equity, access and the rights of students with disabilities at U of T, through the provision of non-academic programs that raise awareness. SBA and its allies work towards eliminating physical, informational and attitudinal barriers on campus.

www.sba.sa.utoronto.ca/

YORK UNIVERSITYCritical Disability Studies Students’ Association at York (CDSSA)The CDSSA is an organization composed of students in the Critical Disability Studies program. It is designed to serve the needs of the student community and support them in meeting their academic and professional objectives and ensuring that their lives as students here is a positive experience. The executive committee is composed entirely of MA and PHD students who volunteer their time to coordinate events for the student body, such as conferences, academic and social events. We also have representation in all political bodies affiliated with York Graduate communities, such as the GSA, FGS,

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CDS department, and CUPE. It’s an organization that is for students by students in the CDIS program.

www.cdssa.wordpress.com/

The Access Centre The Access Centre is a student-run alternative to disability services that offers York students and staff a space in which to consider the various dimensions of the disability experience. The organization has two components: Access Centre and Able York. The Access Centre runs the administrative aspect which includes information about campus disability policies and resources, funding assistance, accommodations, and an adaptive technology lab. The second part, Able York, is a working group that tries to examine all the different perspectives of how disability affects our lives, which includes socio-political, universal design, rehabilitation, medicine, bioethics, art and culture, and disability studies. Both parts work together in tandem to organize presentations, conferences, creative workshops, peer support, and advocacy. The Access Centre-Able York is a drop-in space to use as a resting point: and escape from normalcy.

www.neads.ca/en/norc/campusnet/groups.php?id=185

York Federation of Students (YFS)Historically, YFS has been on the forefront of social change, whether it is advocating for an equitable campus, helping champion York University’s first ever no-sweat policy, organizing students against war and occupation or continuing the fight to reduce tuition fees. As students our strength is in our numbers and we hope that you will get involved in the YFS as we continue our fight for social justice.

www.yfs.ca/

Sponsors:Platinum Sponsors:

Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson - www.ryerson.ca/CERyerson University’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada’s foremost provider of university-based adult education, facilitating access to the University’s renowned, professionally relevant courses and programs. Our flexible, accessible programming is available on campus, via distance education, and off-site for employee groups at leading organizations.

Ryerson Faculty of Community Services - www.ryerson.ca/fcs/ At the Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson University, our programs are designed to encourage students to be creative and critical thinkers and effective

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changemakers, who can transcend disciplinary boundaries to find lasting solutions to social issues. We prepare our students to navigate a complex and globalized workplace, characterized by increasing diversity and technological advancement.

Ryerson University Office of the President – www.ryerson.ca/president Ryerson University Office of the Provost’s Office – www.ryerson.ca/provost Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students at UofT -

www.apus.utoronto.ca

Gold Sponsors

UofT AODA Office – www.hrandequity.utoronto.ca

Silver Sponsors:

Access Ryerson - www.ryerson.ca/accessibility/commitment/access-ryerson.html Ryerson Office of the Vice-Provost Students -

www.ryerson.ca/provost/organization/viceprovosts/vpstudents.html Ryerson Faculty of Science

Bronze Sponsors:

Ryerson Faculty of Communication and Design

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