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The Future Is Talking: Episode Notes, Resources & More!

 

The Future Is Talking is entirely led and informed by the ideas, insights and perspectives of YPI’s Student Advisory Committee (aka The SAC)! The SAC is made up of seven youth across so-called Canada: Sarra B., Nicole Fan, Rosette N., Xelena C. I., Joshua S., Muse Z., Gabby V.M., with support and production led by Lauren Pragg and Noor El-Husseini, in partnership with VoicEd Radio! We recognize that there is depth and breadth to the topics explored throughout the series, and intend to honour them as best as we can. Shoutout to the SAC for the incredible logo and flyers they co-created for this series!

Our hope for this series is to educate, inform and inspire our audiences on issues that affect youth and change the way we talk about youth leadership and showing up for youth in ways that are respectful to, and meaningful for them. This is what the SAC has to say about why this series matters to them:

  • “Youth feedback [and involvement] is necessary… Nothing about us without us.”
  • “I want this to inspire kids to get involved in their communities.”
  • “I want to speak about social justice issues (racism, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, etc.) that matter to my generation on a public platform.”

This podcast is intended for students and young people, teachers, educators, administrators, and those who work in supporting and amplifying child and youth voices across multiple sectors.

This series was a deeply collaborative and intentional effort. We would like to acknowledge the team’s dedication, honesty, hope and commitment, which made this series and its process what it was. We extend warmth and gratitude to the brilliant featured guests, for their contributions and insights to the series, as well as their feedback on their experiences of the process.  We would also like to acknowledge and express gratitude to Tana Turner (Turner Consulting Group) for her contributions and support during the initial stages of this project. Thank you to everyone who made this series possible!

EPISODE NOTES & RESOURCES

 

Note: The intention of the episode notes is to share any updates to the recording, as well as some key points to support our audience members as they listen to each episode. These notes and their resources are in no way comprehensive, and simply a starting point. We encourage all listeners to take notes, research and reflect on the themes, and inform classroom and community discussions with some of the critical questions shared by speakers throughout the episodes. At this time, please disregard the Instagram account mentioned in the outro of the series.

 

Ep. 2: (Un)Comfort Zones (Notes)

    • Please note that anya gwynne’s bio has been updated since the episode recording took place, and appears differently in the About The Speaker’s section.

    • What we mean by (un)comfort/discomfort here is: being open to being wrong/imperfect; making a mistake (or not acting when one should have); being willing to listen to and learn from others’ perspectives; being willing to unlearn internalized biases, assumptions, and familiar (oftentimes harmful) ways of knowing and doing; being committed and dedicated to changing one’s behaviour through actions.
    • At approx. 6min 30 secs – 7mins 10 secs, the intended language is a system that is set up equitably, rather than equally. We recognize the limitations and inadequacy of equality in addressing systemic oppression. Additionally, SAC members affirm that the impact on someone’s sense of safety/harm is more important than (good) intentions.
    • Safety is defined differently for different people and groups. It can shift and change, based on different factors (whether we’re with friends, at school, in community, at work). It can change from person to person and from space to space. Example: Some people may feel safer in their local community center, in social media groups with people they don’t personally know, and/or with people living in their neighbourhood, more so than at school.
    • Power and privilege play a big role in whether an individual feels safe to speak out and advocate for their own safety. Different people (and spaces) can make us feel safe and unsafe in different ways.
    • The cost of courage/trust and the cost of vulnerability is different for different people and can have harsh(er) consequences and repercussions, depending on one’s identity, relationship to power and privilege.
    • Discomfort zones and willingness to be open can be different for different people, based on unearned privilege and power wielded by adults. Young people are often asked to be open and vulnerable, but they have the least decision-making power in systems, while adults risk very little in these contexts.
    • There’s no such thing as an adult/anyone “guaranteeing/determining” any young person’s safety, especially in systems and spaces that are designed to be unsafe and oppressive for certain groups over others.
    • (Un)comfort/discomfort can be a source of growth and can come in many forms. Here are some examples of the kind of growth we are referring to: critical reflection, decentering the individual/self, avoiding tokenism and the myth of the monolithic story, fluid and less static notions of safety, belonging, vulnerability, and building trust through accountability.

Ep. 2: (Un)Comfort Zones (Resources & Links)

    • To learn more about The QueeRAdicals, PARN’s Youth Ambassador Team, click here!
    • Rainbow Youth’s Twitter: @RYPptbo / Rainbow Youth’s Instagram: @youth_rainbow
    • PARN’s Website: parn.ca / PARN’s Twitter: @PARN4Counties / PARN’s Instagram: parn4counties
    • Resource: Ted Talk – The Myth of Bringing your Authentic Self by Jodi-Ann Burey
    • Audre Lorde’s 1982 speech to Harvard University, titled: Learning from the 60s
    • Book: Lorde, Audre. “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” 1984. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Ed. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press. 110-114.
      • Introduction: The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action (link to PDF), pg. 40-44.

Ep. 3: Restor(y)ing Trust and Care (Notes)

  • Trust and care are defined differently for different people and groups. They can shift and change, based on different factors (whether we’re with friends, at school, in community, at work). It can change from person to person and from space to space. Example: Some students are more trusting and feel more cared for in their local community centre, in social media groups with people they don’t personally know, and/or with people living in their neighbourhood, more so than at school or within other institutions.
  • No one (adults or otherwise) automatically deserves our trust, and trust done ethically is reciprocal and mutual.
  • Power and privilege play a big role in whether an individual feels open, willing and safe to trust someone. Different people (and spaces) can make us feel more or less compelled to be trusting and cared for. Adults have a lot of control over young peoples’ life paths, and curricular outcomes. Who gets to trust whom? Whose stories and experiences are more likely to be believed, when they choose (and risk) sharing experiences of inappropriate conduct and mistreatment on the part of adults?
  • The cost of trust is different for different people, and can have harsher consequences and repercussions, depending on one’s identity, power and privilege. Trust can be weaponized against young people to further harm, especially when it challenges and resists power dynamics and the status quo.
  • We do not have to agree or think the same to respect one another. Example: You may not understand everything about pronoun usage and what it means for someone, but the choice you can make is to respect a person’s autonomy and their chosen pronouns without inserting yourself, centering your ego and your version of the story.
  • Treating students with dignity and respect is integral. This means believing them, their lived experiences and learning with them about the ways you can show up and co-create those outcomes together. Let young people guide your decisions, and not the other way around.
  • Listen without ego and centring feelings of guilt or shame. Honesty, humility, and collaboration are needed, alongside an examination of one’s behaviour, biases and assumptions. Be motivated to act (which speaks louder than words): How are you taking action to make the lives of marginalized and racialized students and groups better?

Ep. 3: Restor(y)ing Trust and Care (Resources & Links)

Ep. 4: Why Representation Matters (Notes)

  • Representation is defined differently for different people and groups. It can shift and change, based on different facets of intersecting identities. It can change from person to person and from space to space. It is not a standard, single story. Example: Black populations hold many differences based on geography, gender, status, and a host of other factors. It is dangerous and harmful to assume one Black person’s story is every Black person’s story.
  • Power and privilege play a big role in whether certain people/groups are represented (and represented with dignity), or not at all. Representation that is authentic and respectful can support and promote different groups and people who hold multiple identities to feel included, validated, and valued. When representation is done respectfully, it can generate an environment where diverse, multifaceted ideas, perspectives and voices are amplified and shared.
  • Loveleen shares, “Representation without a concrete value set is not resistance.” In other words, representation alone is not enough to dismantle systems of oppression. Example: We often hear the words “inclusive”, “multicultural”, “pluralistic” and “diverse” used by those who are the most represented, without concrete and sustainable actions to drive meaningful change for students and young people.
  • While a lack of representation is harmful in itself, the misrepresentation of underrepresented communities is a very significant issue with dehumanizing consequences (Examples: tokenism, stereotyping, window-dressing, pathologizing individuals/groups).
  • At approximately 36mins 40 secs – 37mins 21 secs, Muse shares, “There is no such thing as ‘positive’ discrimination”, as demonstrated in the model minority myth. As she critically reminds us: “Just because groups can be represented and prioritized in certain situations, it does not mean that inequality doesn’t exist anymore.” In this way, representation as a “solution” can be extremely harmful, because it is not addressing the root causes for systemic oppression and exclusion.
  • At approximately 38mins 12 secs, Nanky shares the following quote: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality/equity feels like oppression to you.” (Note: Author uncertain; attribution to this quote is unclear).
  • Representation is more than just a temporary platform or checking off a “diversity” quota, without deep commitment to change and action.
  • Structures, policies, and practices that impact young people’s every day lives must be decided with, by and for young people (i.e., Nothing about us without us). Representation through transformative change can happen by co-building new infrastructure with youth and other marginalized groups, active participation in collective spaces free of hierarchies and power structures and co-organizing alongside community organizations and partners in ways that disrupt settler-colonialism and exploitation.

Ep. 4: Why Representation Matters (Resources & Links)

Ep. 5: The Journey Home – Our Planet and Our Selves (Notes)

  • When we say “national origin”, we do so with a deep concern and recognition of stateless people, migrant workers, those seeking political asylum and those without legal protection, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmentally sustainable laws, regulations, and policies. Environmental justice is a social justice issue, and like all forms of oppression, is intersectional.
  • Climate justice is racial justice. We recognize the reality and consequences of environmental racism. In 1982, Benjamin Chavis, a Black civil rights leader from the United States, coined the term “environmental racism.” Chavis defined the concept as, “… racial discrimination in environmental policy-making, the enforcement of regulations and laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of colour for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities, and the history of excluding people of colour from leadership of the ecology movements.”
  • The term “sustainability” is a complex and oftentimes co-opted term by people/systems, industries and those with decision-making power who profit from the exploitation and destruction of the environment. We must account for and discern between different people/groups’ definitions of “sustainable”. In many cases, sustainability is acted upon as sustaining unearned power and privilege, sustaining profit, sustaining a slow movement towards “progress” – all of which deny the urgency of this crisis. We also want to point out that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot and should not be taken as universal due to different knowledge, traditions, and moral differences among different communities and peoples.
  • Some myths around climate change can include (but are not limited to): Climate change isn’t real or isn’t as serious as everyone thinks it is; Recycling is enough; Overpopulation is the cause; Thrift shopping is an entirely positive experience for everyone; Economic considerations are enough; Private companies, corporations, and governments are doing the best they can and are helping the so-called “Canadian” economy and job force; I, as an individual, have no power and can make no difference.
  • Climate justice, like all social justice issues, require action from everyone, especially those with the most power and privilege.

Ep. 5: The Journey Home – Our Planet and Our Selves (Resources & Links)