Decolonization
Updated: April 6, 2021
Vancouver B.C. – BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC) is pleased to host a session for Indigenous Peoples to hear about the work of BCOHRC and human rights from the “grandmother perspective.”
The public session, titled, “Meet B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner: A chat about human rights and the grandmother perspective,” takes place Thursday, April 8, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PST on Facebook Live.
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender will engage in conversation with BCOHRC’s Executive Director of Education and Engagement, Sharon Thira, and be joined by Elders. The Commissioner will share how her experiences ground her interest in human rights. By centering the grandmother perspective, this conversation will examine the importance of human rights for Indigenous Peoples.
“Decolonizing our laws, systems and society, is one of my Office’s core strategic priorities,” says Commissioner Govender. “Effective human rights work – especially the work of decolonization – begins with building respectful relationships. Transformative social change won’t happen without it.”
This conversation draws on BCOHRC’s 2020 report, “Disaggregated demographic data collection in British Columbia: The grandmother perspective. The grandmother perspective, is an approach to research informed by Indigenous ways of knowing and was coined by data governance expert Gwen Phillips from Ktunaxa Nation.
To join this virtual event:
- If you have a Facebook account, visit this link to RSVP for the event.
- If you don’t have a Facebook account, click here to watch the event live.
- To join via toll-free phone number instead: At 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 8, call 855-703-8985. When prompted for the Meeting ID, enter 917 3894 2891# and for the Participant ID, just enter #.
- Members of the public with questions can contact Emily Chan, Engagement Advisor, at engagement@bchumanrights.ca or call our toll-free number at 1-844-922-6472.
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Media contact
While Commissioner Govender will not be giving interviews before the event, if you are a member of the media and would like more information, please contact Elaine O’Connor, Acting Director, Communications, at Elaine.OConnor@bchumanrights.ca or 1-250-216-4534.
Media kit
Download our media kit for new images of Commissioner Kasari Govender. The report is available for download at: bchumanrights.ca/datacollection.
About BCOHRC
BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner exists to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures. We do this work through education, research, advocacy, inquiry and monitoring. Learn more at: bchumanrights.ca.
About the Commissioner
B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, started her five-year term on Sept. 3, 2019. Since then, our Office has been working swiftly to build a strong team, to listen deeply to the concerns of British Columbians, to issue policy guidance to protect marginalized communities and to lay a human rights-based foundation for our work. As an Independent Officer of the Legislature, the Commissioner is uniquely positioned to ensure human rights in B.C. are protected, respected and advanced on a systemic level throughout our society.
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