Five initiatives that redefine inclusion and bring about change

Edmonton Shift Lab: working at the intersection of racism and poverty
This social innovation lab develops tools to unpack prejudices and change attitudes about marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous peoples. Among their interesting prototypes for organizations is an app that trains team members on issues related to racism and suggests ways to change their behaviour.
Test your unconscious bias with Project Implicit
What prejudices influence our decisions and reactions? These tests, designed by dozens of researchers working together with Harvard University, successfully expose the biases that dictate our individual attitudes toward certain social groups to help us realign our practices and policies with our conscious values.
Brutal integration: personal accounts in Briser le code
Social entrepreneur Fabrice Vil collected the stories of racialized people who faced pressure to change who they are—starting with their accents—in the hope of being accepted by the majority. This documentary (“breaking the code” in English) addresses the violence of identity integration with insight and sensitivity.
Racial Equity Tools: a network of accessible and wide-ranging resources
This toolkit acts as a one-stop helpdesk for organizations on the road to equity. Based in the United States, the team brings together statistics, science, and field resources useful at every stage of the transformation process and enables various institutions to weave a network of mutual support. Its glossary of concepts related to racism and discrimination is clear and helpful.
Healing community with The Winnipeg Boldness Project
Rooted in the disadvantaged Point Douglas neighbourhood, this social innovation lab co-creates solutions with local community members to support the health and development of children in this predominantly Indigenous area. Over the years, several prototypes have been developed, including a culturally safe pre- and post-natal support service with Indigenous doulas.

Read the other sections of this issue

THE EDITORIAL

How can we rethink inclusion to step up the fight against systemic inequalities?

In 2020, a series of major cases of police misconduct in American cities set off a powerful, worldwide movement for radical behavioural and institutional transformation. Beyond law enforcement, … Read more

THE ESSAY

Identity: An Untapped Resource

Aleeya Velji splits her time between work in the field with various social innovation laboratories, such as Edmonton Shift Lab, and doctoral research at the University of Cambridge. She specializes in ways to counter discrimination and… Read more

THE INTERVIEW

Walking the Talk

Social entrepreneur, leading advocate for diversity in Québec, and panellist for Zone économie on ICI RDI, Carla Beauvais discusses the pressing need to value the experiences of racialized people before… Read more

THE VISUAL

The Mountain

For Thaïla Kham Po, a Québec-based illustrator with Cambodian roots, migration is an endless journey that eventually turns inwards, beyond roads and mountains: a perpetual movement toward the world and… View the illustration and read more