Our Voices Symposium Nos Voix 2026

The Our Voices Symposium is rooted in the belief that transformative change begins with deep dialogue, collective reflection, and shared vision. The symposium is part of the Our Voices Project, funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), which seeks to uplift and center the leadership of Black, Indigenous, and Racialized advocates, activists, workers, researchers, and community members in Ottawa.

The project focuses on strengthening capacity and collective leadership to reimagine approaches to ending gender-based violence and violence against women, grounded in community knowledge, lived nad living experience, and relational care.

The Our Voices Symposium is envisioned as a space for connection, reflection, and collective imagining. Our intentions for the symposium are to:

• Create space for connection and relationship-building among Black, Indigenous, and racialized frontline workers, advocates, and activists, while centering their leadership within Ottawa’s gender-based violence movement and broader community sector.
• Reimagine safety beyond mainstream institutions. In a time of growing political and social polarization, the symposium invites reflection on liberatory and community-rooted responses to gender-based violence that emphasize collective care, accountability, and survivor-centered approaches.
• Center storytelling as a tool for resistance and change. The symposium will hold space to reflect on how lived experience, cultural work, and collective narratives shape movements, challenge systems of oppression, and inform feminist policy and advocacy.
• Explore sustainability and accountability within movements. We aim to consider how grassroots and community-based efforts can be sustained without compromising values, including reflections on ethical funding, philanthropy, and organizational practices that remain accountable to the communities they serve.

If you have any questions, would like additional information, or want to connect further about the Our Voices project or symposium, please feel free to reach out to Khadija at [email protected]. We welcome your curiosity, reflections, and engagement, and look forward to being in conversation as we continue building this space together.

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Host or Publisher The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW)