ANTI-OPPRESSION 101

This foundational workshop introduces participants to power dynamics, oppression and liberation in a Canadian and global context. Learners of all walks discover the language of social justice, and explore models to create more equitable communities. Individual activities, group exercises, and discussions allow us to examine intersectionality, positionality, privilege and oppression in Canadian cultural, political and historical contexts. Participants explore internalized, interpersonal and institutional oppression, and can continue their learning journey beyond the scope of the session with provided digital and print resources.
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This workshop has no prerequisite.

SHUT IT, UNCLE BOB! SPEAKING TO RACIST FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES

This workshop explores strategies and tactics for addressing racism from loved ones in meaningful and impactful ways. Participants use a variety of scenarios to confront implicit and overt bias, dismantle common tactics that dismiss conversations about race, and challenge the minimization of the impact of racist behaviours.  Participants will explore the roots of prejudice as they learn to balance their relationships and create substantive change. 
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This workshop has no prerequisite.

DOING THE WORK: ALLYSHIP, ANTI-OPPRESSION & MEANINGFUL INCLUSION IN ACTION

This workshop delivers multidimensional strategies for building equity and meaningful inclusion at the interpersonal and institutional level. Through its application of subjugated knowledges and organizing models, this session fosters critical thinking about anti-oppression allyship. This workshop is designed for individuals/organizations looking to address inequities at the systemic level, in their team dynamics, and/or in their work. 
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Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. ​

CONTEMPORARY ARTS INSTITUTIONS: ANTI-OPPRESSIVE PRACTICE,  MEANINGFUL INCLUSION,  & ALLYSHIP IN ACTION

This interactive workshop provides anti-oppressive insights, organizational models, and strategies to facilitate inclusion and justice in Canada’s art and cultural landscape. We will investigate historical contexts and personal narratives to better understand how art becomes a site of cultural imperialism, cultural supremacy, and cultural appropriation. Case studies and applications will be examined to address inequity in funding, curation, adjudication and arts training. Participants will reflect on process, policy and practice as strategies to divest from art as power building and actualize art as power sharing. 
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This workshop has no prerequisite.

BUILDING CONSENT CULTURE

This workshop addresses rape culture and the mechanisms by which it manifests in arts and community spaces. Transformative justice practices and principles for fostering brave spaces and a culture of consent will be explored, and existing models will be critiqued. This session centralizes sexual assault prevention and disclosure,  and is ideal for artists, organizers and administrators across disciplines striving to facilitate a culture of care built on meaningful, survivor centred interventions.

​This workshop has no prerequisite.

RAISING RACE CONSCIOUS KIDS

This workshop is designed for parents, guardians, caretakers, educators, and anyone with a vested interest in raising race conscious children. The session grounds itself in an evidence base of sociological research, and uses practices and case studies to develop strategies for understanding and addressing racial bias, being accountable for bad behaviour, and building a capacity for allyship. Appropriate language and topics of discussion for toddlers to teenagers are examined. The workshop focuses on intergenerational empathy and understanding. Participants are provided with additional resources and readings to continue their learning beyond the duration of the session.

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.

 STRATEGIC PLANNING: ANTI-OPPRESSIVE FRAMEWORK & PRACTICES  FOR BOARDS &  ADVISORY BODIES 

This workshop guides boards, leadership teams, and advisory bodies in implementing measurable, goal-oriented long-term equity, meaningful inclusion, and anti-oppressive practices. Community engagement, resource development, evaluation frameworks, and consultations are key elements of the workshop. A variety of reflections, planning exercises and teaching tools are interwoven throughout the session.  

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.
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ANTI-BLACKNESS AT THE INTERSECTIONS: EXPLORING & ADDRESSING ANTI- BLACK RACISM IN A CANADIAN CONTEXT 

This session explores anti-Black racism in a Canadian cultural context. Internalized, interpersonal and institutional manifestations of anti-Black racism are contextualized by intergenerational trauma, systemic barriers and monolithic narratives. The impact of anti-Black racism is explored through case studies and personal reflections. Systemic power imbalances, institutional inequities and their impact on the well-being of Black communities are discussed. Participants will critique current models for allyship and community engagement, and explore interpersonal interventions and systemic transformations that cultivate liberation.

Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. ​

DIVESTING FROM WHITE SUPREMACY: UNRAVELING TO REBUILD

This session centres self-reflection as participants contend with the ways we internalize and invest in white supremacist ideologies, practices and hierarchies. Participants explore community accountability practices, organizing and justice models, and alternate ways of teaching, parenting, and learning. This session is designed for artists, organizers and individuals who are committed to divesting from white supremacy and decolonizing internally, interpersonally and institutionally.

​Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. ​​

JUSTICE AND BIRTHING IN THE MARGINS

An overview of the birthing and pregnancy experiences of marginalized communities. Participants explore case studies and historical contexts that illustrate the health inequities of Indigenous and Black communities in Canada and the US. This session centers cultural competency, cultural safety, and the politics of the pregnant body as they impact birthing parents and their communities. Community-based and interpersonal interventions and supports will be discussed as participants examine birthing with an understanding of obstetric violence and social power. ​

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.

ANTI-OPPRESSION 102

An in-depth analysis of anti-oppressive theory and practice, this session centralizes institutional, community based, and organizational strategies for building equity. Creative, technical and collaborative models for building equity and liberation will be explored in group activities, case studies and discussion. Participants have access to digital and print resources to continue their learning journey beyond the scope of the session. 
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Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. 

CONFRONTING ISLAMOPHOBIA: INCLUSION & ALLYSHIP

 This session examines internalized, interpersonal and institutional Islamophobia in a national and global context. Participants learn helpful strategies for: confronting Islamophobic microaggressions and bystander intervention; supporting community organizing; challenging policy; and addressing harmful legal, institutional, and cultural practices that foster criminalization and marginalization of Muslim communities across Canada.​
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This workshop has no prerequisite.

ANTI OH! LIBERATION IN LOVE & LOVE MAKING 

The workshop explores the desirability politics and power dynamics that govern sexual and romantic interactions. Participants confront the gender, age, ability, race and class dynamics that make emotional and sexual labour a part of our reality, and reflect on their learning goals and challenges in order to build equitable relationships.

This workshop has no prerequisite.

BLACK CANADA: RACISM, RESISTANCE & RESILIENCE AT THE INTERSECTIONS

This workshop confronts anti-Black racism and representations of Blackness in a Canadian cultural context. Participants use multimedia resources, exercises and discussion to explore strategies for addressing interpersonal, internalized and institutional racism. Though historical context provides a framework, the workshop focuses on the present-day realities of Blackness in Canada as Black forms of knowing and being are explored through a community-based and artistic lens. 

​This workshop has no prerequisite.

ANTI-OPPRESSION FOR ARTISTS & CULTURAL PRODUCERS

 Artists examine the power dynamics that shape access, inclusion and opportunities in Canada’s arts and cultural landscape. This workshop centralizes the role of artists in addressing injustice through the content and context of their work, and the role of revolutionary art in inciting, documenting, or imagining political change.  An anti-oppression framework is provided to critique institutional dynamics as well as personal artistic practices through group activities, case studies, and discussion. Participants have access to digital and print resources to continue their learning journey beyond the scope of the session.
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This workshop has no prerequisite.

ISLAM & BLACKNESS: BETWEEN HISTORY & MEMORY

This workshop explores the intersection of Islam and Blackness from a historical and present day perspective through discussion and group activities. Islamophobia and Anti-Black Racism in a Canadian cultural context will be explored, as well as Anti-Blackness in Muslim communities and spaces. Models for inclusion, resistance and resilience are central to the themes of the workshop. This workshop uses an anti-oppressive framework to situate the diverse experiences of Black Muslims within institutions of power. Gendered Islamophobia and Islamophobia in non-Muslim Black communities will be addressed. 

​This workshop has no prerequisite.

COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS & EMPATHY IN COMMUNICATIONS

Participants learn to meaningfully and empathetically engage in difficult conversations that resolve conflict and build allyship. The session uses World Cafe facilitation methodology through participant-led modules, as well as facilitator-led exercises. Participants will learn to navigate discomfort and conflict as they initiate and end difficult conversations. This workshop centralizes empathy in communications, through which participants gain applicable skills in conflict resolution and emotional literacy.

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.

TOWARDS LIBERATION: AN INTRODUCTION TO TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES

This workshop introduces participants to the core values and principles of transformative justice: centering the most vulnerable members in our communities through a framework of community accountability. Participants explore practical tools for interpersonal and community interventions, reflect on punitive justice and retribution, deconstruct notions of criminality, and cultivate a toolkit for collective liberation through mutual responsibility and healing. 
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Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. ​

RADICAL SELF-CARE & THE WORK OF JUSTICE

This workshop explores strategies for self-reflection and accountability to equip organizers, frontline staff and facilitators with the skills necessary to navigate difficult spaces and conversations. Using an intersectional framework, this session explores allyship, self-teaching, and collaborative transformative justice practices.The emotional and intellectual labour of organizing for social justice is discussed as participants learn to brave the contentious conversations, conflicts and harms stemming from engaging in radical liberation and decolonizing work. Participants will explore a number of principles and practices for community accountability, mediation and self-care.

​Suitable prerequisites include: Anti-Oppression 101; Anti-Oppression 102;  Anti-Oppression for Artists & Cultural Producers; and Contemporary Arts Institutions: Anti-Oppressive Practice, Meaningful Inclusion, and Allyship in Action; or, a strong working knowledge of anti-oppression. ​​

CONFLICT RESOLUTION & EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION 

This workshop focuses on practical applications of conflict resolution strategies and interventions. Participants engage in empathetic listening, de-escalation, and discussion tactics to resolve conflict in a productive way. Contextualizing the session are frameworks and insights into how conflict manifests, why we are socialized to avoid it and how to ensure conflict becomes constructive. This session is ideal for individuals in leadership, management, front line/front of house, and community relations roles.  

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.

INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL COMPETENCE: PRACTICE & PRINCIPLE

Participants explore the key components of cultural competence and the collective and systemic practices that facilitate or hinder it. Participants learn to identify and challenge cultural assumptions, values, and beliefs, and to facilitate intercultural understanding and collaboration. The workshop challenges the cultural order, the myth of objectivity and the notion of “tolerance”, and is ideal for those working to serve diverse communities. Situated in intersectionality, anti-oppression and liberation, the workshop draws connections between the interpersonal and the institutional to support a focused and action-oriented approach to cultural competence.

​​This workshop has no prerequisite.

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I have never been so fully satisfied with a facilitators depth of knowledge, kindness and no nonsense space holding. Thank you.

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I really appreciated your straight-forward and compassionate approach. The workshop was very engaging and I think we all came away with very specific things to think about as they relate to anti-Black racism within the organization. I hope that this will result in action and change on these issues that have been identified in the workshop.

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Rania speaks with poise and assertion. I felt empowered, liberated and validated from her teachings, experiences and knowledge. I am proud to be part of her work and a life -long supporter of her mission to educate and inspire those in the community and around the world.  Her expertise, confidence and representation matters- thank you!

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Totally inspired and full of things to meditate on! Just finished a b Current (https://www.facebook.com/bcurrentLIVE/ ) Diversity, Inclusivity, and anti-oppression workshop facilitated by the brilliant Rania El Mugammar (http://www.raniawrites.com ) in preparation for our production of Undercover at Tarragon Theatre, where we will be inviting a member of the audience to join us on stage to play along .... a more elaborate blog-style post to follow, but just had to share with the #yyz community at large! A fantastic thing to include as part of the rehearsal process.

Rebecca Northan  

Producer

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Playwright

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Rania is an incredibly engaging facilitator with a knack for making hard conversations feel safe to explore.

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This was a great workshop, and I felt the facilitator was very knowledgeable and engaging  and I am looking forward to the second session. This is such important work.

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Rania is one of the best facilitators I have encountered. She practices (and demonstrates) deep listening and supports and guides groups through and towards empathic conversations, moments of vulnerability, and learning. She does so with incredible care and compassion.

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The workshop was incredibly engaging, thoughtful, honest, and emotional. The anecdotes, self-reflection exercises, and statistics effectively painted a picture of the importance of social justice work on a personal and institutional level. ​

Workshop Participants

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Over the past few weeks, our team in Performing Arts in Brampton have been doing some anti oppression work with Bcurrent PerformingArts and Rania El Mugammar. It has been a powerful and transformative experience for me and my colleagues. A concrete manifestation of the effects of this work are the conversations that we are having internally as we are preparing for Brampton's FIRST City-supported Pride on Sunday, July 8. Many grassroots groups have been in operation for many years in Peel with little to no support from any municipality. So this is a watershed moment for the community and we want to do it right. Our time with Rania has given us a common awareness and a shared language to have really difficult conversations. What has been most awesome about the work with Rania is that it has asked us to tap into a collective wisdom in our group. It has been super proactive and positive. I cannot recommend this enough. Thank you Catherine Hernandez and the folks at b current.

Brendan Healy  ​

Dir. of Arts and Culture

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City of Brampton

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Rania was an incredible facilitator and made the session incredibly comfortable. I really enjoyed how it was more of a conversation than a lecture. The examples used to explain terms were always real life examples from Rania's personal experience or from people she knew which made them very relatable and easy to understand.

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Rania helped us create a platform to have one of the most important dialogues our institution needs to have (and needs to continue to have). She was able to not only succinctly cover and unpack a range of topics, but also able to help us relate them back to our workplace environment and our relationships outside of the workplace. In our session we had a mix of institutional hierarchy: from VP to admin support, which is the first time any of us have been in the room in that setting. It "leveled the playing field", and it was brilliant. The dialogues and discussions, questions and answers and ideas generated in the room were wonderful. I just hope the VP's were listening will make the changes that need to happen... 

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I learned so much from Rania in this workshop and I cannot thank her enough. Her approach, ways of speaking, and explanation of complicated and difficult topics has truly altered the way I will approach my work in the future. 

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