About
Story Money Impact organized four workshop sessions with the aim of creating a unified movement in consultation with four major screen-based cultural organizations towards safer, more inclusive, and more respectful workplaces in British Columbia. The focus was on education about history, workplace policy, and policy implementation through a lens of workplace safety.
Aiming to not only educate but also to act, build community, and decolonize common practices of non-profit organizations, Story Money Impact hired two trainers that built a custom curriculum for this workshop series.
With the support of Creative BC, the Respectful Workplaces Workshop series could be offered free of charge to any board member, staff, contractor or volunteer from the following four organizations:
Crazy8s Film Society
DOXA Documentary Film Festival
Story Money Impact
Women in Film + Television Vancouver
By going through this training together, the hope was that these four organizations could develop a common experience and language to strengthen and support each other’s efforts to create safer and more equitable workplaces in BC.
WORKSHOP 1
The Impact of History
On January 14th, this three hour introductory workshop was perfect for individuals who wanted to deepen their understanding of Canada’s history and the impact colonization has on all of us. During this workshop participants had an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion in a safe environment.
WORKSHOP 2
Net-eth (Going out of Darkness)
This 4.5 hour workshop is a more in depth look at Canada’s racist policies and cultural genocide against Indigenous Peoples. During this workshop participants deepened their understandings of reciprocity and ally ship, raised awareness of individual experiences in larger systems and gained capacity to enter into challenging conversations as well as manage discomfort.
WORKSHOP 3
Building Inclusive Organizations
To create respectful workplaces, leadership needs to feel confident and equipped with the knowledge and skills to model respectful behaviour and monitor their workplaces for compliance. Participants will gain practical strategies to improve communication and create a positive workplace environment. This in-depth course will be taught using a leadership and health and safety lens to explore cultural sensitivity, discrimination, how to prevent bullying and harassment, relevant laws, WCB policies and employer policies. It will also cover conflict resolution strategies, dealing with incidents and complaints, reporting procedures and conducting investigations.
Jada-Gabrielle Pape is Coast Salish from the Saanich and Snuneymuxw Nations. She has been working with urban and rural First Nations people and communities since 1992. A specialist in cultural safety training and workshops Jada has worked with doctors, nurses, doulas, prison staff, prison inmates, women in the sex trade, teachers, Chiefs and Council, government agencies, non-profits, elementary and high school students. Her professional experience includes UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, BC Centre for Disease Control, the Vancouver School Board and BC Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Her work has brought her to Aboriginal communities across the province. Much of the knowledge that Jada draws upon is respectfully carried forward from the generous traditional teachings of Elders, Community members, and valued mentors.
Building on the skills she has learned studying mediation, negotiation and coaching at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, Natasha has developed and presented workshops and master classes for the BC Federation of Labour, Canadian Labour Congress, BC Government and Employees Union, BC Teachers’ Federation, Federation of Post-Secondary Educators, United Food and Commercial Workers, Women in Film & TV – Halifax, Directors Guild, various IATSE locals and Summer Institute for Union Women (SIUW).
Some of Natasha’s foundation workshops are; Building Inclusive Organizations, Facilitating Conversations on Equity & Inclusion, Anti-oppression Training for Facilitators, Conflict Management for Film & Stage Workers, Shop Steward Training and Anti-Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment in the Workplace.
“Jada is very, very good at balance of kindness, toughness, addressing challenging material, creating safe enough environment, positive energy in face of brutal history and topics, and being accessible. ”
“Natasha’s talk was well organized and her points were extremely clear. She helped us feel the pain and discomfort of the victim, the practical challenges (and inherent opportunities) of the employer...”