Ontario Public Interest Research Group
326 UC, Carleton University 1125 Colonel By Drive K1S 5B6 Ottawa, ON, Canada

Not everyone is a history buff or a geopolitical expert, but understanding what has happened in Palestine is important for how we interact with misinformation and advocacy efforts globally. So we thought we'd create a helpful introduction. *For clarity the news excerpt referencing OPIRG being defunded is speaking about OPIRG at Queens University, however OPIRG Carleton does face challenges to our funding annually for the same reason. There is an action happening in Ottawa on ...May 15th protest for Sheik Jarrah and 73 years of the Nakba (expelling of Palestinians in 1948). Please follow the social distancing and COVID-19 guidelines from the organizers. They are currently looking for volunteers. More information can be found at @sjpcarleton [Image descriptions in alt text]

Our 2021 Bursaries are now open! Visit opirgcarleton.org/bursaries or click the link in our bio for more information! *Image description in alt text

It's Mutual Aid Monday! Let us know how you're staying engaged with community below in five words or more to boost this post. Click the link in our bio to access the full list if mutual aid requests we've been sent.... https://docs.google.com//19BkHPpTXbSl-ecaCEevH8ZiyEL/edit *Request 1: reposted from @hararhall *Request 2: reposted from @hitthestreets.ca *Request 3: reposted from @blm_mtl *Request 4: reposted from @mealsformiltonparc

CW . Further CW for mentions of intimate partner violence, self defense, incarceration...Continue reading

Our Working Group Applications are now open! Visit opirgcarleton.org/workingroupsapp for more information, the application and our working group policy. Image description: Bright orange background with white decorative dots and a white square in the foreground with text inside.... Image text: Working Groups Applications Now Open Application deadline: November 1st For more information visit opirgcarleton.org/workingroupsapp See more

Inside this issue: learn more about emergency actions and ways you can support Mi'kmaq warriors in Digby Wharf, the Anishinaabe Moose Moratorium only two hours from Ottawa, and other Indigenous land defense groups. - https://mailchi.mp/43fc07ea763e/weekly-wednesday-sep-23-2020

Sharon Nyengweso (@sharoncoop /@thequakelab ) and Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah are two black women who have dedicated their careers to meaningfully transforming organizations for the betterment of their communities. Join us for a conversation on their triumphs, challenges, and the lessons they’ve learned. Image description: Event poster graphic with a cream background and yellow speckles and two pictures of the speakers.... Image text: "In Conversation (in large bold yellow font) Transforming Organisations Sharon Nyengweso x Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah Wednesday September 23rd 3pm Instagram Live OPIRG Carleton Rad Frosh"

We hope you enjoyed the first panel of Rad Frosh today at 3:30! If you missed it, not to worry it's saved on our Facebook page (link in bio). Week 3 is all about finding your place in the movement. Whether it's through creating a collective, participating in calls to action, working to transform existing organizations or a multitude of other paths! We'll be hosting three great events this week as well as sharing resources. Image description:... Bright blue background with black speckles with white square in the foreground and text on top. Image text: Finding Your Place September 20th - 26th How to Start a Collective Panel Sun Sep 20th 3:30pm Moving From Anti Oppression to Pro Liberation (Workshop Closed Space for Black Folks) Mon Sept 21st 5pm In Conversation: Transforming Organizations Wed Sept 23rd 3pm Opirg Carleton Rad Frosh

So you want to start a collective? Join us for this important panel discussion with members of three flourishing collectives operating in Ottawa/Gatineau and Montreal to hear about their experiences with launching a collective, working with peers and community members, and creating sustainable programs for their communities. Tracy Valcarcel (she/her) is a Peruvian lens-based artist and cultural worker currently living in tio’tia:ke (Montréal). Trained in video, graphic design... and physical theatre, she moved to Canada to pursue studies in Interdisciplinary Performance and Intermedia / Cyberarts. Her work and collaborations have been shown locally as well as internationally at video and performance festivals. Aside from her artistic practice, she works as an audiovisual technician and curator at the cultural organisation Never Apart and the artist-run centre Oboro. She is an active member of Fruition, a Montreal based QTBIPOC collective. Hasina is frequently found live painting at shows, at your favourite community event or at local art markets. She is a talented visual artist who aims to tell the stories of fellow Black womxn, non-binary people and gender non-conforming folks in her life. In the last year, she was recognized by the Purple Sisters (for the storyteller of the year award) and by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) Carleton (for her work in the art community). She is also one of the co-founders of the creative collective Full Femme. Last year, the collective organized many memorable events such as the panels A Look Into : Womxn in Hip Hop and A Look Into : Ottawa’s Creative Scene and the show Black People x The Future. Celeste (she/her) is a queer, Black community organizer, DJ, and musical artist with roots in The Bahamas, China & Haiti. She is passionate about creating and holding space for care and healing. Throughout her time in Ottawa, she has worked to connect folks with similar lived & intergenerational experiences through creative expression, knowledge sharing and spirituality. Celeste believes in the power of recovering, reclaiming, and sharing ancestral knowledge and practices within our communities that can support individual and collective processes of healing & liberation. She is a co-founder of the collective @passthevibes and a co-host & member of the monthly dance party & DJ trio FRUIT, STAR, CANDY BAR (@fruitstarcandybar) alongside creatives JUICE & DJ Trinidaddy.

Intergenerational Organizing ... As part of our week focused on amplifying the voices of those who often face issues of margainalisation and inaccessibility we have developed learning resources in consultation with community members. We are excited to release this graphic created in consultation with Muna Mohamed @munam0h on the topic of Intergenerational Organizing....Continue reading

This Monday!!! This Black only workshop will unpack the ways in which self-care and inter-communal care, joy, and healing are essential to the black liberation movement. Moving away from the lens of trauma and suffering that Black people face in our day-to-day lives and are bombarded with when discussing the movement-- the purpose of this space is to revel in the importance of celebrating our blackness. Exploring themes of Black poetry, dance, comedy, and kinship and how they... are integral to the Black radical tradition and especially Black futures. Register: https://forms.gle/MehU1nFTXDATaZS37 Image description: 1)Image description: Cream coloured graphic with yellow speckles and translucent blue block text that reads "workshop" Image text: Moving From Anti-Oppression to Pro-Liberation: A workshop on joy, affirmation, and care in the Black Lives Matter movement. Facilitated by: Timaaj Hassen Monday September 21st 5pm Zoom: registration required 2) Image of a black woman with long braids, smokey eye makeup, and a fur coat (Timaaj). Image text: Timaaj Hassen is a Black, Muslim, woman that works as a Poet, Spoken Word Artist, and Arts & Anti-Oppression Educator. Timaaj is a second generation Canadian born to Oromo and Harari parents. Drawing upon both lived experience and her educational background-- as a Bachelor of Arts Candidate in Women & Gender Studies at the University of Toronto-- her work is grounded in social justice, critical equity, and diaspora. She has spoken, performed, and facilitated workshops in various events across Southern Ontario. Timaaj drives to continue to do advocacy work with racialized, queer, differently abled, and Muslim communities; be it through art, community discussions, or in solidarity with front line organizers.

Check out this week's Rad Frosh programming and other community events! Rally against Martial Law in the Philippines this Sunday at 1 p.m. Embassy, 30 Murray Street. - https://mailchi.mp/7d893cb8c543/weekly-wednesday-sep-16-2020

Tune in this Sunday!!! So you want to start a collective? Join us for this important panel discussion with members of three flourishing collectives operating in Ottawa/Gatineau and Montreal to hear about their experiences with launching a collective, working with peers and community members, and creating sustainable programs for their communities. Image description:... Graphic poster for event. Cream background with yellow speckles. Three photos of the panelists on the right side if the graphic. Image text: "How to Start a Collective" Panel (in large block text) Featuring Hasina Kamanzi of Full Femme Celeste Alcena of Pass the Vibes Tracy Valceral of Fruition Montréal Sunday Sep 20th 3:30pm Facebook Live OPIRG Carleton Rad Frosh"

This past Sunday OPIRG Carleton was incredibly happy to host Lydia X.Z Brown and Sarah Jama two passionate disability justice advocates for an enlightening conversation about the importance of applying a disability Justice framework to all anti oppressive organizing, moving beyond tokenism and surface inclusion, and their paths up until this point. If you missed it, not to worry! The whole conversation is available on our IGTV: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFF1zKbldgV/

Happy Week 2 of Rad Frosh!!! Our first event is today at 4pm on IG Live. We'll also be having another IG story takeover and posting learning materials that incredible community members and organizers have consulted on. Stay tuned!... Image description: Bright blue graphic with black specks and a smaller rounded cream coloured square overtop with text inside. Image text: No One Left Behind Sep 13th - 19th In Conversation: Disability Activism Sun Sep 13th 4pm Morissa-Dalia Ellis of Black Girl Prom and Black Thots Instagram Takeover Tues Sep 15th + Learning materials on inter generational organizing and francaphone inclusive spaces Opirg Carleton Rad Frosh