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The Second Annual Social Justice Forum

 Hosted by OSCAR and Concordia University of Edmonton
Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, 2017

It is our pleasure to invite you to The Second Annual Social Justice Forum. The conference is organized by the Ogaden Somali Community of Alberta Residents (OSCAR) and Concordia University of Edmonton. The Forum will be held at the Tegler Centre on the Concordia University of Edmonton Campus Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, 2017. 

The mission of OSCAR is to enhance the social well-being and welfare of the Somali Community, with the ultimate goal of achieving a healthy and vibrant community whose members can successfully settle and effectively integrate into the wider Canadian society. OSCAR’s mission includes human and civil rights advocacy, education and social and economic justice. OSCAR held its First Annual Social Justice Forum last year on the theme of Finding Common Solutions for Youth Radicalization and Terrorism. The conference proceedings will soon be published, in time for the second conference.

The theme of The Second Annual Social Justice Forum will be Unpacking Institutional Racism: Decisions, Practices, Procedures, and Policies.

Why focus on this topic?

Different institutions have examined the detrimental impact of institutional and structural racism on the well being of Canadian society and newcomer communities. Alberta’s newcomer African communities have learned of these hardships from the experience of the black and Indigenous communities, who have faced generations of systematic and structural racism and its many impacts. OSCAR seeks to explore and unpack the meaning of institutional racism, with a particular focus on its more contemporary forms.

This call for papers invites manuscripts that not only address the history of decisions, practices, procedures, and policies that support institutional racism, but also analyzes the myriad of ways that institutional racism manifests itself and its effects on Canadian society.

Topics of interest: Decisions, Practices, Procedures, and Policies that Counter Institutional Racism.

We also greatly encourage submissions that explore:

1. The intersection of policies and programs which prevent newcomers, recent immigrants, and refugees from full participation in Canadian society (including economic, social, cultural, and political participation).
2. The differential impact of racism across ethnocultural, religious, and Indigenous communities in Canada. What unites recent immigrants and Indigenous Peoples in their fight against institutional racism?
3. The emerging trend and impact of racism across generations. How does racism impact second- and third-generation Canadians?
4. Solutions or recommendations for reforming the economic, social, and political systems and practices that support institutional racism.
5. Issues related to racism, institutional racism and multiculturalism from multiple and competing perspectives including gender, class, sexuality, and religion. Are there any solutions to address their intersectionality?

To date, little attention has been given to studying these issues in the field of education. Our annual symposium also addresses the question: How do educators address racism in the classroom, the politics of racism, and the long-term effects it has on acts of terror in Canadian society?

Please submit your one-page abstract proposal via email to Ogaden.alberta@gmail.com  or to ciar@concordia.ab.ca by Friday, December 23, 2016. Notification of proposal acceptance will be sent out by Friday, January 13, 2017. Tentative date of publication for accepted manuscripts is August 2017.