The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) is kicking off Islamic History Month with the virtual launch of its Hate2Healing anti-hate social media campaign.
The campaign, part of CCMW’s Digital Anti-Racism Education 2 (D.A.R.E.2) Project funded by the Government of Canada, is designed to start conversations to effectively counter racism, Islamophobia and online hate.
The launch will showcase a selection of D.A.R.E.2 Project videos and feature a panel discussion on Intersectional Identities in the Canadian Muslim context. The event will also feature artistic expressions, and presentations by an exciting line-up of guests, including D.A.R.E.2 Project Instructor Amira Elghawaby and Elder Irene Compton.
Media professionals seeking to attend the D.A.R.E.2 Project Launch Event on September 25, 2021, can RSVP to media@ccmw.com
Agenda
1:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Welcome & Land Acknowledgement (Prayers & Smudge Ceremony) - Nuzhat Jafri & Elder Irene Compton
1:15 pm - 1:25 pm
Introduction & Overview of the D.A.R.E.2 Project -Nuzhat Jafri, Executive Director, CCMW
D.A.R.E.2 Project Update (Phase 1 Workshop evaluations) - Firdaus Ali, D.A.R.E.2 Project Manager
1:25 pm - 1:40 pm
Why Islamophobia Impacts Us All - Amira Elghawaby
1:40 pm - 1:55 pm
D.A.R.E.2 Video Series - preview of D.A.R.E.2 Project’s #Hate2Healing Social Media Campaign
1:55 pm - 2:10 pm
Stories That Heal Us- Yazmeen Kanji - Filmmaker & Creative Director of the D.A.R.E.2 Series
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm
Panel Discussion: Understanding Diverse Identities and Experiences in the Canadian Muslim context
Moderated by Zahra Grant
Panelists: Summeiya Khamissa , Marya Bangash, Noor Fadel & Ganiyat Sadiq
2: 40 pm - 2:50 pm
Artistic Expressions
2: 50 pm - 3:10 pm
Racism & Reconciliation - Elder Irene Compton, Manager, Cultural Program - Minwaashin Lodge
3:10 pm - 3:15 pm
Closing Remarks - Nina Karachi-Khaled
About Amira Elghawaby
Amira Elghawaby is a journalist and human rights advocate. She is currently a contributing columnist for the Toronto Star and PressProgress.
Amira is a frequent media commentator on equity and inclusion and delivers keynote presentations and tailored workshops for a variety of audiences.
She recently joined the Canadian Race Relations Foundation where she is leading its programming and outreach. Prior to that, Amira worked in Canada’s labour movement in communications and human rights. She also previously spent five years promoting the civil liberties of Canadian Muslims at the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) between 2012 to the fall of 2017.
Amira has had an extensive career supporting initiatives to counter hate and to promote inclusion, including as a past founding board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and and past board member at the Silk Road Institute. She recently served as a Commissioner on the Public Policy Forum’s Canadian Commission on Democratic Engagement. Amira is a delegate of the 2022 Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference.
Amira was a writer-in-residence at the 2019 Literary Arts Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her 2019 TEDXOttawa talk is titled “Multiculturalism: Worth Defending”.
Amira obtained an honours degree in Journalism and Law from Carleton University in 2001.
About Yazmeen Kanji
Yazmeen Kanji is an emerging filmmaker and the founder of Films With A Cause, an advocacy and consulting organization for underrepresented communities. Yazmeen is a recent Dean’s Scholar graduate from the University of Toronto, where she double majored in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies, at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and Critical Equity Studies with a minor in Cinema Studies.
Her first documentary, From Syria To Hope (2019), explores the resettlement of Syrian refugee families and was awarded Best Short Doc at the 2019 Toronto Short Film Festival. Yazmeen directed With Love From Munera (2020), about a young storyteller's healing journey, which premiered at the 2020 Inside Out Film Festival and was an official selection at TIFF Next Wave 2021. Yazmeen recently directed a video series about refugee cooks called World Table (2020) for Matthew House in collaboration with Deloitte Canada.
Yazmeen currently supports Charles Officer’s production company, Canesugar Filmworks, and is producing a short doc about faith-based healing directed by the Oscar nominated Sami Khan. Yazmeen is in pre-development on a narrative short film called One Day (2022) about a proud Muslim teen who finds herself imagining alternate realities to escape the expectations imposed on her in her emotionally restrictive environments.
About Elder Irene Compton
Elder Irene Compton Compton is co-founder of Minwaashin Lodge celebrating 28 years of work there. She is a first-generation survivor of the residential school system. Her work at the lodge supports women survivors of lethal violence, assisting them with safety plans, stabilization, healing and employment & education achievement. Irene is the Keeper of the stories at Minwaashin’s Sacred Lodge which connects Indigenous women to their culture, identity and empowerment
For more information, please contact firdaus.ali@ccmw.com