TakingITGlobal: Inspirera, Informera, Involvera

Millennium Development Goals Montréal, Québec

There were some key issues that came up several times. Because most of the participants were Aboriginal and the forum was help in a Native Friendship center, Aboriginal culture and education was discussed at length as participants felt this was very relevant to their situations. On the subject of education some of the points raised were:
a) mainstream education fails to address aboriginal history and culture, which is vital to the empowerment of aboriginal people
b) education that is available on Native Reserves is generally substandard, while often education programs and initiatives that are specifically tailored within Native communities to promote Aboriginal culture is not recognized or accredited by Canadian boards of education. Some felt that in their experience there were obstacles to higher education (racial prejudice, financial issues, parents lacking education).

It was largely expressed that education was key to supporting the other goals, particularly gender equality and the empowerment of women, and combating HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases. Mainly the transmission of STD’s was discussed as the participants felt this was most relevant to them. With regards to the gender equality and the empowerment of women, the discussions highlighted the need for male participation in achieving gender equality and the need to break the stereotype that it is a woman’s issue. The participants strongly agreed that to elevate the status of women and increase their access to education and employment would result in an increased standard of living for families and communities at large. Also it was discussed that to elevate women’s status requires the reprogramming of deeply engrained gender stereotypes. Some expressed their struggle with this in their lived experience.

The need to deconstruct socially ingrained stereotypes also characterized discussions on HIV/AIDS. While the tendency was to see the spread of HIV/AIDS as largely due to irresponsibility, I think that some participants had not really considered that AIDS is a big issue among married women, particularly wives of migrant workers, or that religion or culture may play a large role as well. The stigmatization of HIV/AIDS infected people was brought up as well, particularly as it related to the experience of an infected Aboriginal woman who was shunned when she returned to her community in the North.

The goals set for this forum were two fold: first, to raise awareness of and create a dialogue on the Millennium Development Goals, and two, to seek strategies to implement some of the goals at a local level.

I think that the presentation and discussions went extremely well. We had many perspectives presented and it made for a rich and animated dialogue. Participants shared their views and experiences and we all learned a great deal from each other.

Yes, as mentioned, we succeeded in creating a rich and educational dialogue on the MDG and creating links between our own lives and lived experiences and the issues that the MDG address.

In the end some strategies were discussed and planned. One of the interesting strategies developed was to use the media to raise awareness about the MDG. One of the participants hosts a weekly radio show on CKUT called “Native Solidarity New” (6-7 pm on Tuesdays) and he said he would be interested in discussing the MDG and our forum on the program.

Another strategy that was discussed is promoting cultural exchanges. Some of the youth present had participated in cultural exchanges with other Native communities, such as working with people in Ganasatake learning to build sleds for dog sledding, and participating in drumming circles. Other youth suggested pressuring schools and the government to ring global issued into classrooms.

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The major struggle that I faced in organizing this event was finding a group of youth to host the forum for. I approached countless youth centers and generally they would express interest, promise to get back to me, and when I pursued them was told that they were not interested in the end. Also, the youth division of the Native Friendship Center runs on a drop-in basis, and the number of youth present on a given day is random and subject to fluctuation based on factors such as the weather. I therefore planned for the forum to coincide with another event as to ensure enough participants would be present. In the end, the event planned by the center was cancelled and therefore I was not guaranteed a specific number of participants. When I got to the center to facilitate the forum I was told that the person I had planned it through was absent. I was assured that he had arranged for someone else to be there to make sure it went as planned, but half an hour after the forum was supposed to begin she called in sick. In the end there was an incredibly wonderful animator who stepped in and was extremely helpful in mobilizing the youth and helping to ensure things ran smoothly, which they did.

As mentioned, there is a difficulty in ensuring the presence of a certain amount of youth when the venue is at a drop in center. One way I tried before hand to overcome this obstacle was to make sure it coincided with an already established event that would guarantee the presence of many youth. Obviously that tactic fell through, but I still think it’s a valid solution to that obstacle. Another solution I found was to invite some young people who I knew to be reliable and interested to supplement the youth from the center.

As mentioned, the animator at the center was wonderful and I don’t think I would have had the same outcome without her. Also, I made sure to invite guests whom I knew would contribute quite a bit, and this helped to enrich the dialogue that occurred. Finally, the participants came different backgrounds and had different points of view, which made for very animated and interesting discussions. I recommend inviting a range of people with different perspectives and life experience.