Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), in collaboration with the Indigenous Institutes Consortium (IIC) invites proposals for presentations for the 2024 National Education Symposium: Indigenous Pathways to Address Canada’s Challenges.
Join leaders in education, policy, and industry as we share and learn from new and exemplary practices and programs that support the well-being, participation, engagement, and success of Indigenous learners.
Over 2.5 days, attendees from across Turtle Island, will explore the role leaders in Indigenous education play in closing skills gaps and responding to the biggest challenges facing our communities. Together, they will reflect on a unified vision for promoting, protecting, and valuing Indigenous culture, knowledge and history.
Symposium Objectives
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following considerations:
- Build community support for reconciliation and for Indigenous-led institutes and post-secondary institutions across Canada
- Demonstrate the role Indigenous education plays in resolving challenges faced across Canada.
- Embed Indigenous learners and leaders at the centre of governance and leadership decision-making to drive institutional change.
- Offer innovative and leading-edge insights to support government activities and policies for the sector.
- Provide courageous, brave and inclusive opportunities for participants to reflect and share experiences, best practices, and foster potential collaboration amongst their organizations.
- Position Indigenous learners and graduates as an essential part of the solution to the labour market, environmental, and healthcare crisis.
- Promote cultural inclusivity, strengthen Indigenous voices and perspectives in academia, and support the holistic development of Indigenous learners.
- Stimulate a national conversation to highlight the importance, significance, and impact of Indigenous post-secondary education in Canada by bringing together non-Indigenous and Indigenous individuals and organizations to engaging in essential discussions.
Submission Guidelines
Presentation Format
Presentation blocks are a total of 60 minutes in length.
Each 60-minute block of time is expected to be shared by a maximum of three panelists, either across departments/perspectives or from multiple institutions.
Collaboration between and among colleges and institutes with industry or community partners is strongly encouraged, however if you cannot fill the 60-minute block, CICan and IIC reserve the right to combine your proposal with another complementary speaker. In this case you will be informed well in advance and put in touch with the other presenter(s) .
Slide projection and standard AV connection will be available to all presenters. Slides should be prepared in PowerPoint format and stored on USB.
Presentations may be given in English or French. Simultaneous interpretation is offered in a select number of session rooms.
Important Information
Note: Speakers will be expected to cover all registration and travel costs and are expected to be available to present on either day of the Forum. There is a reduced rate for those accepted as speakers. Confirmation letters will be provided upon request.
Submission Information & Evaluation Criteria
Submissions must:
- include the title of the presentation and the specific stream it relates to;
- include a short abstract (1250-2500 characters);
- include the name(s) of the presenter(s), title(s) and institution(s)/organization(s).
Submissions will be evaluated by the organizing committee based on the objectives laid out above. Additional consideration may be given to ensure equitable representation.
Preference may be given to proposals that include:
- Sharing innovative (unique) and exemplary practices that are related to the overall theme of the symposium and one of the streams’ topics;
- Showing collaboration with the community, and-or with other PSE institution(s), and-or with the industry-labour market;
- Showing openness to sharing the concurrent session time and space with other presenters.
Streams
Indigenous Learner Success
- Mental health and wellness
- Sense of belonging
- Learner experiences
- Learning outcomes in PSE programming
Indigenous Learner Access to the Labour Market
- Economic empowerment and development for the learner and community
- Indigenous entrepreneurship
- Skilled trades and meeting housing needs
- Showcasing strategic partnerships (i.e. health, trades)
Approaches to Addressing the Indigenous Teacher and Knowledge Resources Shortages in PSE Programming
- Addressing barriers to teacher education for Indigenous learners
- Indigenous knowledge pedagogy and cultural competence
- Indigenous language revitalization in PSE programming
- Collaborative approaches to Indigenous intellectual property
Indigenous Approaches to Health and Healing
- Protecting, incorporating, and promoting Indigenous traditional medicines and practices
- Partnerships to strengthen Indigenous health care
- Achieving transformative change
Governance and Leadership Empowerment
- Cultural awareness
- Recruiting, training, retaining and engaging faculty, staff, students, and community
- Community engagement and empowerment
Submission Deadline
Submissions must be received by September 20, 2024. Notifications of acceptance will be provided two weeks following the submission deadline.
Questions?
For questions regarding this call for presentations, contact Kathryn Moore, Senior Program Officer, CICan at kmoore@cican.org.
