On December 9, University of Waterloo, University of British Columbia, and McGill University hosted Leveraging the Okanagan Charter to Bounce Forward from the Major Crises of our Time: COVID-19 Pandemic, Systemic Racism, Colonialism, and the Climate Emergency. This dynamic event attracted over 250 leaders, administrators and students from higher education across the globe, as part of the leadership dialogue series.
Opening remarks were given by University of British Columbia’s President & Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Santa J. Ono, who called on the higher education to work together to fast-track action to address these complex and interconnected social issues. “Higher education has the responsibility and opportunity to move this beyond intentions to everyday practices and results that extend far beyond our campuses.” In doing this work, universities must keep student’s perspectives and experiences at the centre of all that they do. The Okanagan Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges is a powerful tool to guide this work.
Students also shared their perspectives on why it’s important for higher ed institutions to make wellbeing, equity, and the climate emergency priorities right now. Zabeen Khamisa, PhD Candidate and VP Communications for Waterloo’s Graduate Student Association, challenged the group to consider “what role the university has in the public good? What relationship do we have in the community? This has always been important, and the pandemic has created an opportunity to consider the urgency of this, to push this as a priority.” Khamisareminded the group of the spirit of care and relationships that exists within higher ed institutions. These strengths must be valued by the institution and leveraged to tackle these complex social issues, and for academic institutions to be resilient and contribute in a meaningful way to the future.
An important takeaway from the event was the need for universities to approach this work from a place of humble and deep listening. Mat Thijssen, Waterloo’s Director of Sustainabilityreminded everyone that “Once you listen, you need to talk about it and bring that conversation forward to ensure it is present at every level of the university. If these conversations are not present on a constant basis and in multiple venues, we risk defaulting to what we have always done.” Thijssen also pointed out the need to address these complex issues at both an individual level and one that targets systemic change. To learn more about the Okanagan Charter visit the Wellness Collaborative Website and to view the event on YouTube, visit the Health Promoting Campuses website.
