Community News
Second 1834 Fellowship Virtual Ottawa Conference held for Black Canadian youth
BY PAUL JUNOR
Since 2004, Operation Black Vote Canada (OBVC) has made a significant difference in the African Canadian community and larger community in Canada.
It was established as “A non-profit, multi-partisan organization that supports the election of Black people to public office. We do this by educating, motivating and advancing for Black Canada to participate in Canada’s government, agencies, boards, commissions, civil service and political processes at all levels.”
OBCV’s mission is “To simplify and demystify the path to public office and civic engagement.” According to information from website: obvc.ca/1834 fellowship the 1834 Fellowship was “Named in honour of the year that slavery was abolished in Canada. The 1834 Fellowship will seek twenty high-potential Black youths every year who wish to enter, or increase their capacity for civic leadership roles and support them to their skills and career development.”
It was co-created by former federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul who was pivotal in addressing vital issues at the federal level and ensuring equitable representation.
In the press release Velma Morgan, Chair of OBVC’s stated,
“I am delighted that the 1834 Fellowship can continue to invest in young people by providing them with access to public policy makers and opportunity to learn how to create good public policy that benefits everyone.
We must create a path to increase the number of Black policy makers at all levels of government as our voices and perspectives are important. I cannot wait to see what our Fellows do in the future, whether it be public service, politics, and public opinion shapers in the politics community, or private sector.”
The second annual virtual Ottawa OBVC conference was held from December 4th and 5th and featured exciting discussions, empowering presentations, enlightening conversations, and elevating dialogues.
The first day of the conference featured Jagmeet Singh, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. He shared his personal political journey and described issues that were important to him and his party. He mentioned that activism is important to drive politics, but it often clashes with political goals and personal principles. He believes that it is important to speak to people where they are and take their lived social realities, experiences, and conditions into consideration.
To better understand the role of the Senate, there was an interesting conversation between Senators Romaine Redman and the Honourable Rosemary Bernadette Clement about issues that were important to them such as: improving health equality and ensuring that underserved women have access to the health care benefits that they are lacking.
The discussion between Matthew Green, MP for Hamilton Centre, and the first person of colour elected to Hamilton City Council, and Greg Fergus, MP for Hull-Aylmer was inspiring and informative. MP Fergus has been active with the Black Caucus and explained its role in advocacy for Black Canadians.
MP Green shared personal stories of his political journey and how important it is to understand that Canada is rooted in a violent and colonial settler system built on White supremacy. He stated that he is not afraid to call out the racist nature of this political system and his moral compass guides him. He stated that as a politician you can either choose to be a thermometer or a thermostat in response to situations that reflect your core character values.
MP Fergus shared the personal sacrifices he had to make to run for political office. He believes that it is important to listen to the voices of the community and address their concerns.
In the afternoon session, there was an engaging session moderated by Diani Idibe, alumni of then 1834 Fellowship and involved:
- Kema Joseph, Consultant at Crestview Strategies
- Semhar Tekeste, Manager of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google Inc Skabir Chambers, Principal,Earnscliff Strategies
The discussion was around how young people can affect change through understanding the role that lobbying plays in the development and implementation of policies.
The first day closed with a fireside chat with Worku Gachou, Head of North America Social Impact, Visa and the Honourable Ahmed Hussein, Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion.
The second day of the conference started off with a motivational presentation by Orlando Bowen, former CFL player and founder of One Love Movement. He shares his personal story of being influenced by positive role models such as Pinball Clemons, his uncle Henry and his parents. He states that “A mentor is someone who checks in on you” and “an advocate or sponsor is someone who proactively reaches out to you to guide and offer support.”
There was an interesting presentation by two sisters Justice Faith Betty, co-founder of Building Blodis, and Nia Betty, activist, entrepreneur, and fashion designer who founded Revolutionnaire, a powerful social network for change makers. Revolutionnaire empowers young people to creatively use tools, networks, and information to make a social impact by taking up social justice or political causes.
There were policy presentations by the 2021 cohort of the 1834 Fellowships, which focused on sharing policy ideas on the issue of climate change and sustainability.
Overall, the conference was a tremendous success and it concluded with alumni of the 2021 cohorts attesting to how it has made a significant difference in their lives.
Application is open until January 31st, 2022 for the third cohort at the following:
Website:obvc.ca
Twitter: @blackvotecanada
Instagram: blackvotecanada
LinkedIn: Operation Black Vote Canada