Welcome to the 2-day 2022 annual Leveraging Our Strengths (LOS) Conference and a Pre-conference event. In its 21-year history, we are offering this year’s conference virtually with a pre-conference event before the actually 2-day conference.
The pre-conference event is on Tuesday, September 27 from 1:30pm to 3:00 pm. For the Pre-conference event, we are partnering with United for All to promote understanding of the Truth and Reconciliation history and TRC Recommendations. Our keynote speaker is Tim O’Loan who is an Indigenous survivor who has served 10 years in the military. In 2010. he joined the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada as the Advisor to the TRC Chair the Hon. Murray Sinclair.
The objective of 2-day LOS Conference on Wednesday, November 23 & Thursday, November 24 is to share best practices and provide capacity building and mutual learning opportunities to strengthen the social service sector.
Implementing Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive (EDI) policies across an organization and network of partners can be complex. Taking a systematic approach helps deliver effective EDI programs. This year’s keynote speaker and panel conversation will focus on sharing information that organizations can:
- Successfully develop and implement EDI policies and frameworks.
- Remove systemic barriers and ensure that their EDI activities are not tokenistic or performative by ensuring that they are well resourced.
- Take action to make progress on EDI at all levels of the institution.
- Set benchmarks and indicators for diversity and inclusion.
- Monitor progress on EDI policies and practices with an intersectional lens.
- Create a safe space for people who are not always seen and heard to feel comfortable participating.
- Ensure strong and visible commitment to EDI by the organization’s leadership
The objective of this year’s conference is to set a stage for continuous learning about EDI and help organizations put in place the right conditions for each individual, including those from underrepresented groups—women, racialized minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and members of LGBTQ2+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two-Spirit, plus) communities—to reach their full potential, unimpeded by inequitable practices, including personal and systemic discrimination and racism, imposed by policies, processes and other practices in work environments.