Engaging Critical Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Insights from Art, Activism, and Scholarship

Colloquium
Zeinab Farokhi,  Faiza Hirji,  Kirsten Mc Allister,  Evangeline Holtz Schramek,  Kenza Oumlil  

This panel is part of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada research project “Intersectional Community Communications as Critical EDI Work,” which looks at practices that operate against the well-established framework of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within community organizations in Canada and Morocco. EDI has long been critiqued for its symbolic exploitation of notions of equity, diversity and inclusion. Sara Ahmed’s pivotal work in this area has raised concerns on how EDI is translated in academia and other corporate settings. Our project seeks to identify how EDI enters into, is reconfigured and recast in critical community work. How are equity, diversity and inclusion understood? Where does social justice fit into this triad of terms? How is EDI even put into practice? This panel, " Languaging EDI," brings together scholars to explore the dynamic convergence of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the realms of art, media, activism, and scholarship. Through a nuanced examination of Critical EDI Work, our diverse panelists collectively illuminate the multifaceted ways in which these domains intersect, challenge, and inspire one another at the community level and in diverse settings. Each presenter will delve into their unique experiences, providing insight into how art, activism, and scholarship intersect within the framework of EDI.