Message from the President and Chair
MANY CANADIANS FEEL that they are non-racist, open and accepting of others. Certainly, we on the Board of Directors of the OLC thought that we treated everyone fairly and equitably. However, in February, we participated in an access and equity workshop led by Jojo Geronimo. He guided us through activities that showed us that our life experience causes every one of us to understand the world in a unique way that differs from everyone else's. We understand more easily someone whose experience is similar to ours.
As a result, we sometimes exclude people without meaning to. For example, if the OLC sent out invitations for a meeting, we might expect that people would come if they were interested in literacy. However, after the workshop we realized that there would be some people that might not come because they didn't know enough English to understand that invitation. Other people might stay away if the building was not wheelchair accessible or if they could not afford the fare. Still others who belong to visible minorities might choose not to come because they had a bad experience in another organization. The workshop helped us realize that some forms of discrimination can be unintentional because we act according to our cultural system which may not take other people's experiences and needs into account. We exclude some people because we do not take steps to make everyone feel welcome and to help them to participate fully in our activities.
The OLC wants to be an inclusive organization where all people who have an interest in literacy can feel welcome. At our meeting in April, the Board began to examine its policies and to revise them so that the organization will be equally accessible to everyone. In this year's Board agenda, we have built in opportunities to engage in dialogue with diverse communities so that we can better understand the barriers that they face. The staff has begun to analyze the systemic barriers at the operational levels in order to set goals for addressing them.
The Board and staff are committed to working together to make the OLC a barrier-free and inclusive organization.
