Empowered Voices Project
The Empowered Voices Project is a new chapter of the Invitation to Voices project. We continue to work towards our goal of building the confidence and capacity of Indigenous women and girls, and all marginalized identity holders, to be able to meaningfully participate in Canadian impact assessments.
Interested in the Empowered Voices Project?
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The aim of the project is to bring marginalized identity holders to the table, enabling them to share their knowledge, protect their culture, and play an active role in reconciliation and cultural resurgence. The Empowered Voices Project received extended funding in 2023 to continue the project until 2025.
A project by Keepers of the Circle in collaboration with AnânauKatiget Tumingit Regional Inuit Women’s Association.
The next phase of the project will:
Build a National Coalition Network of solidarity
- Amplifying the work of other grassroots, Indigenous-led organizations working in the impact assessment engagement space
- Connecting interested organizations with resource sharing opportunities and networking
- Facilitating monthly collaborative meeting spaces to conduct relationship building and resource sharing
Launch Community Champion training programs
- Launching community champion training courses developed by the community, for the community
- 12-week training series offered to regional Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people to be leaders in future land use planning development processes and decision making
Developing an Engagement Toolkit
- Compiling resources from the National Coalition, training curriculum, and scholarly literature to create a resource toolkit to support communities throughout engagements
- Supplementary guide to our previous Indigenous-lens Shared Responsibilities Framework for effective engagement, turning from theoretical practice to focus on actionable, solution-oriented approaches
Invitation to Voices Project
The Invitation to Voices Project was created to support Indigenous women and girls, helping to build their confidence and capacity to participate in land use planning. Indigenous women carry essential knowledge of land stewardship practices that have been passed on from generation to generation for millennia. This essential knowledge is largely missing from consideration in federal environmental impact assessment protocols and decision making. We want to change that.
Our goal is to build the confidence and capacity of Indigenous women and girls, to be able to meaningfully participate in Canadian impact assessments and beyond. The aim of the project is to bring marginalized identity holders to the table, enabling them to share their knowledge, protect their culture, and play an active role in reconciliation and cultural resurgence.
The Invitation to Voices Project begun in 2019 and is funded through the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) as part of the Indigenous Capacity Support Program (ICSP). Over the last 3 years, our team has engaged with Indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people to understand the barriers and limitations preventing them from being able to participate in impact assessments.
Our Previous Accomplishments
ICSP Conference
Hosted the Indigenous Capacity Support Program in January 2023 at the Native Women’s Association of Canada. With over 80 attendees from Indigenous Nations across the country, the conference was a fantastic two days of learning, networking, and collaboration. View the graphic facilitation summary of the event:
We have spoken at conferences International conferences, National events, and regional workshops;
- PDAC, OAIA, IAIA, SILTA, NEDIA, IAAC
- In-person workshops and presentations in communities in Northern Ontario and Northern Labrador Coastal Communities
Resources
If you’re interested in any of these publications or products, connect with us and we would be happy to organize a workshop or private meeting to begin collaborating!
Upcoming Events
Outlining upcoming cohorts, monthly coalition meetings, IAAC engagement deadlines, IAAC engagement sessions, external training opportunities, etc. updated regularly.