[background chatter]
[tap tap tap]
[woman] [speaking Anishinaabe]
[in English] Uh, nope. Not still on. 
Maybe it's off.
[speaking Anishinaabe]
Can anybody hear that 
besides me?
I don't think it's working.
[tapping on mic]
Yeah, I don't think it's working.
[technician]
Check.
[man]
Check.
[woman]
They both work?
Oh, okay.
[speaking Anishinaabe]
[in English]
So my name is Gina.
I am the manager 
of the Aboriginal Resource Centre,
and, uh, I am Algonquin,
from Ardoch Algonquin First Nation,
and my clan is, um,
Marten Clan on my father's side 
and Turtle Clan 
on my mother's side,
and so that's how I introduced myself,
uh, to start with.
And, uh,
I'm really happy to be here. 
I'm really happy that there's
so many people in the audience
because this is a,
this is a, 
something that,
that we all need to come out for.
So for me,
as an Indigenous woman,
um, the, the idea
of violence against women
is something that's real,
it's something that,
that h-
has been experienced in my life,
but it became really real 
when, um, I had my own child.
So I have a daughter,
and the idea of violence being committed 
against anybody is, is awful,
but when it's your own child,
that idea that...
that this little person
that you're supposed to protect 
could experience violence.
And so this is even more of the case,
being a young Indigenous woman,
that I ha-
I was fearful at the age of twelve 
for her to walk home
because of the numbers
of missing and murdered Indigenous women
in, in Canada.
So the numbers,
they range anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000.
And, and so we're
talking about women and girls
who, who never came home.
And so that's,
that's something that's really, um....
It's... it's a big part of my life,
and it's a big part of my life
as an Indigenous woman
because my ancestors,
this violence 
has been something that,
that's almost been normalized 
in our lives.
And so, uh, it's really great
that we live in a context
where we can come out,
and we can talk about these issues.
And so th-
I just wanted to open with those words,
um, started 
with opening in the language,
but also looking at
the experience of violence
and, and how it impacts 
Indigenous women and girls.
And beyond that,
I wanted to talk a little bit 
about something 
that connects us all.
And we are all 
connected by a simple fact.
We're connected to place.
And so coming here,
we all touch the Earth,
we all, um,
we all get from the Earth,
we, we get, uh, food,
we get water, we get spirituality.
And so the Earth provides for us.
And so I wanted to take a moment 
to recognize Adoobiigok,
which is the Place of the Black Alders 
in the Mississauga Anishinaabe language.
And so this place has been central 
for Indigenous peoples,
uh, going back 
to before our first stories were told.
So the land 
has always been there for us,
and it's always been a huge part 
of who we are as peoples.
And, um,
so I just wanted to take a moment 
to, to really recognize
the significance of land
and... and the significance 
of this place, Adoobiigok.
And so I just want you 
to leave with that one idea in mind.
Um, think about how we walk forward 
because we're...
we're leaving tracks 
that ancestors,
that... that descendents 
are gonna follow.
And so if we walk kindly,
then the, the next generations
will have a, a much better world to,
to, um, inherit.
And so I just wanna leave 
with those words.
Miigwetch.
[audience applause]
[moderator]
Hello, everyone.
Thank you, Regina Hartwick,
manager in the Aboriginal 
Resource Centre,
for your words and sharings 
this morning.
I would like to share
that the Aboriginal Resource Centre
will be hosting a reception 
in the art gallery this afternoon,
highlighting the exhibit
Dbaajimowinan – Our Stories
is happening in the LRC concourse,
3:00 to 5:00 PM today.
This exhibit features visual art,
dance, photography,
bead work, mixed media,
and exhibit feature,
and installations
by emerging Indigenous artists
and will run 
until January 19th, 2019.
I encourage everyone to attend.
To everyone joining us in person 
and online,
thank you for coming together
in community
to recognize the National Day
of Remembrance and Action
on Violence Against Women.
Thank you for your commitment 
to ending gender-based violence.
To any of you
who wish to contribute
to the dialogue
of the importance of this day
or wish to share moments 
of this event,
we ask that you use the hashtag 
#HumberRemembers.
So moving in our program....
Are we excited?
Are we excited?
[audience cheers and applause]
As we demonstrate our commitment
to ending gender-based violence,
I want to feel that energy.
So moving in our program,
Humber College is pleased to introduce
the first presentation
by the Raging Asian 
Women Taiko Drummers.
The Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers
is an arts collective
of Asian and Asian Canadian 
women in Toronto.
They are a Japanese
taiko drumming group
that exists as
a critical response and challenge
to both systemic 
and internalized oppressions.
Through performance, education,
and community outreach,
they seek to challenge, redefine,
and represent themselves,
and to inspire others.
Through collective membership,
artistic creation,
and active development,
they have carved space 
for self expression,
authentic engagement,
community, and healing.
Please join me in welcoming them.
[audience applause]
[woman] Hi, everyone.
Thank you so much for having us,
um, and for being here.
Um, so many of the people, um,
on the stage that you're seeing,
um, have experiences 
with violence and harassment.
Uh, so today we're here,
brought together
not only by our love of drumming,
um, and by being Asian,
but by a desire
to transform this world
where violence is the expectation 
and not the exception.
So as a survivor,
and someone who loves survivors,
and is in community with survivors,
I know that my stories
are not isolated ones
but part of a legacy of violence,
one that targets people 
with particular beliefs,
like in the 1989 Montreal massacre,
and particular bodies,
like in the ongoing crisis of missing
and murdered Indigenous women
that is part of our history 
of colonization on these lands.
To me, remembrance 
means refusing to be silent,
not only about the pain
that we have faced
but also about the pain
that we've caused
and the violence 
that we continue to be complicit in.
We can't erase 
the painful things in our past,
but remembering violence is a way
of not letting our personal stories 
be defined by it
and not letting it 
define the future.
So I've been an apprentice 
with RAW for a little bit over a year,
um, and I've learned that the songs
that I struggle the most to perform
are the ones where the feeling 
we're trying to convey is joy.
Um, I'm always like,
"I came to this group to feel powerful 
and to reclaim my rage, not to have fun."
Um, but I think that sometimes
when we're trying 
to do the very necessary work,
uh, of validating our experiences 
of violence and trauma,
or trying to prove 
that they exist in the first place,
it's hard to find space 
to express anything else,
but we are entitled to joy,
and we're entitled to more 
than the hard things that happen to us.
And believing
that we're entitled to joy
is a refusal 
to be defined by our pain.
So our first song is called Isami Goma,
uh, which means galloping horses,
and we invite you 
to make space for rage,
or joy, or power, or whatever else,
uh, you feel as we play.
Thank you.
[audience applause]
["Isami Goma" begins]
[drumming and kiaiing
for next three minutes]
["Isami Goma" ends]
[moderator]
Thank you.
I would now like to invite 
Lori Diduch,
Vice-President HR Services 
and Organizational Effectiveness,
to deliver welcoming remarks.
[audience applause]
[Lori Diduch]
Apparently, I've been upstaged.
[chuckles] The group is gonna perform 
a couple more songs before my remarks.
So over to you.
[moderator] Thank you 
for the stage, and apologies.
[woman] Uh, Jody,
before our first song,
spoke to us about refusing 
to be defined by our pain,
believing that we are 
entitled to more.
When I think about 
what this means for me,
I remember when I joined RAW,
uh, as an apprentice, a year ago 
and was taught to do something 
that we call kiai.
Uh, kiaiing is a vocal expression
coming from the Japanese tradition 
of martial arts.
It's a yell or a shout.
[drummers kiaiing]
And you'll see that we do this 
throughout our performance.
Kiai is a way in which 
we intentionally generate,
gather,
and express our collective energy.
At first, this act of kiaiing 
made me super nervous and uncomfortable.
The idea of screaming on stage 
almost kept me from auditioning.
Uh, never in my life
had I been encouraged to raise my voice
and never had I been taught
that screaming could be anything 
but a sign of fear or hate.
Learning to kiai gave a raised voice 
new meaning for me.
We in RAW are taught to kiai
as a way to announce ourselves
and take up space.
We are taught to kiai as a way 
to have each other's backs,
support each other 
on and off stage,
and provide our unconditional belief 
in each other's capacities.
We are taught to kiai
as a way to remember to breathe
when things get difficult 
or overwhelming.
And we are taught to kiai
as a way to find and express
our strength, power,
and joy.
It is our intention when we kiai 
to create the world we want to see.
A world in which we support each other 
in our communities,
to transform 
violence and oppression,
to build worlds where we are powerful 
and where we keep each other safe.
No matter what room or stage 
we find ourselves on,
when we kiai,
it reminds us of why we are here,
and it grounds us in the work 
we want to do.
The kiai is also an offering
and an invitation.
So I welcome you to yell and shout 
and kiai with us as we play.
Uh, our next song is called Relay.
Thank you.
[audience applause]
["Relay" begins]
[drumming and kiaiing
for next 1.5 minutes]
["Relay" ends]
[audience applause]
[woman] At the time 
of the 1989 Montreal massacre,
people were told to keep quiet
because of the fear
that naming the violence
would make it 
more likely to happen again.
What is ironic is that the goal
of the person who committed this atrocity
was explicitly to silence women
who were working towards 
building a different kind of world.
What is also scary 
is that nearly 30 years later,
these same types of women,
feminists at education institutions 
like École Polytechnique,
or even Humber College,
are still facing
these same types of threats of violence
despite the wake 
of the Me Too movement.
As we remember those deaths,
we have to name 
the roots of that violence.
Naming it makes it visible 
and allows us to confront it head on,
so we can transform
the roots of those violences
into something that allows us 
to redefine our own narratives.
Part of being in RAW is acknowledging 
violence at different levels,
internalized 
and external oppression.
Being is RAW is about creating a world 
in which we want to see change,
inclusion, equity.
Not only for ourselves 
but other marginalized groups.
Being in RAW means 
a refusal to be silent,
instead to strive for hope,
allowing ourselves to feel the impacts 
of violence and oppression,
and then to reclaim 
our strength and power,
and to take up space.
RAW is the women here today 
standing before you.
But it's also more 
than just the people in this group,
because as time moves,
people move on too.
What has remained the same about RAW 
is its existence.
It exists because of the necesses-
 necessity to speak the truths 
of East Asian 
and Southeast Asian Canadian women.
It exists to build community 
and to make music.
And it exists 
so we can voice our pain
and as we strive to try and put joy 
against violence and oppression.
This is Yamabiko.
[audience applause]
["Yamabiko" begins]
[drumming and kiaiing
for next four minutes]
["Yamabiko" ends]
[Jody] Those performances
had me all outs of sorts.
So hey, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Now, I would like to invite 
Lori Diduch,
Vice-President of Human Resources
and Organizational Effectiveness,
to deliver welcoming remarks.
[audience applause]
[Lori]
Thank you, Jody.
Thank you to everyone for coming,
and I'm sure you far more enjoyed 
that presentation 
than anything I'm about to say.
What a phenomenal job.
Well done, drummers.
I think they did a great job
of showing
both the rage and the joy 
that they spoke about.
So, um, well done.
On this day every year,
we remember the 14 female –
thank you –
female engineering students
at L'École Polytech de Montreal
who lost their lives 
to an act of gender-based violence.
We commemorate the lives of all women
who have been harmed or lost
to gender-based violence
including women with disabilities,
missing and murdered Aboriginal women,
two-spirited women.
December 6th represents
an opportunity for Canadians
to reflect on the phenomena 
of violence against women in our society.
It is an opportunity to consider
the women and girls
for whom violence is a daily reality
and to remember those who have died 
as a result of gender-based violence.
December 6th also serves
as a reminder to Humber
to reflect on our actions
in eliminating gender-based violence
across our campuses 
and our communities.
The Status of Women Canada
has identified this year's theme
as "my actions matter".
Humber College
joins the government of Canada
and community activists
in encouraging everyone to take action
and commit 
to ending gender-based violence,
now and throughout the year.
We at Humber College
can start by taking the pledge
and signing our name to this banner
to show our support for survivors 
and those affected by violence.
At Humber,
the Human Resources department 
continues to work
with our community partners
such as IGNITE,
Student Wellness and Accessibility,
our Department of Public Safety,
LGBTQ+ Resource Centre,
Aboriginal Resource Centre,
and the BASE program 
to create respectful
and equitable spaces
for our students, our staff,
and our faculty members.
On behalf of the senior team 
of Humber College,
we thank you
for your continued commitment 
to building equity, diversity,
and inclusion at Humber.
Thank you once again 
for joining us today.
[audience applause]
[Jody]
Thank you, Lori.
I would now like to introduce 
our second performa-
performer,
Paulina O'Keefe.
Paulina is a community worker,
program facilitator, and youth activist,
in addition to being 
a highly regarded spoken word artist.
She has been working and performing 
across Toronto for the last ten years.
Her appearances include performing 
at the opening for RUCKUS!,
an anti-racism,
anti-oppression conference for youth 
held at York University,
and competing
in the Toronto International Poetry Slam
in 2007,
and more recently in 2014.
Please join me 
in welcoming Paulina.
[audience cheers and applause]
[Paulina O'Keefe]
Good afternoon, everybody.
Good afternoon.
[audience]
Good afternoon.
[Paulina]
It's a manners. Okay.
Alright, welcome.
[clears throat]
Uh, I just wanna first, uh,
before I start my pieces,
thank Humber for putting on 
these very amazing events.
This is my third time 
being at Humber college,
from between the three camp-
the two campuses.
Uh, and, uh,
I have to really commend them 
for the amount of recognition 
that they put in to, uh,
a number of different events, uh,
celebrating, commemorating,
um, different days that recognize,
uh, a lot of diverse communities 
and their needs.
So shout outs to Humber.
[audience applause]
Yes.
So I'm gonna do two pieces.
And, uh, I'll just let you know 
the first one is, uh,
I'll give you a trigger warning 
'cause it can be a little bit, uh,
graphic and affected,
uh, for those of us who have experienced,
uh, gender-based violence.
And the second one's 
a little bit more triumphant.
So bring you back up.
I was always taught that hands
are meant for holding,
hugging.
Hands are for high fives, handshakes,
and healing caresses.
Hands hold tight through the storms,
handling with care.
His hands though,
his hands were for hurting,
for causing heartbreaks 
and hemorrhages from head tops.
His hands
were first cursed caresses
for crushing hopes, and dreams,
and vocal cords.
His hands coaxed silent screams 
to come forward.
His hands were 
for doling out demands.
Damned if you dared to deny him,
his hands were for causing damage.
So much that sometimes
only fragments of her
dangled from dangerous fingertips
so sharp you could 
mistake them for daggers.
His hands pierced hard 
and punched harder.
His hands were for wrapping tightly 
around arms and waists,
around throats.
His hands became cages clenched tight 
until the caged bird sang,
until the caged bird screamed,
until the caged bird went silent.
His hands were for blackouts.
Black and blue,
his hands were for bruises to her face 
when his bruised ego brooded 
and fell into bruise,
slipped into dark pools of liquor 
or dark portals of rage,
till his hands 
weren't even in his control.
His hands were 
for when he was triggered.
His hands were for triggers.
His hands were for targets,
for one shot, two shots,
14 shots to 14 souls,
stop 14 hearts from beating,
from being too vibrant 
for his head to handle.
He clutches blackened heart
with hands
while her hands lay motionless,
palms opened to the heavens 
where his hands can no longer reach her.
Hands grasping at our hearts to remin-
to remember every December 6th 
why his hands 
should be kept to himself.
And I am reminded that his hands 
are no match for mine though.
Clenched fingers into palms,
I raise my hand to the sky
in remembrance,
hands holding candles,
holds light, holds hope.
His hands can never extinguish.
His hands may be strong,
but my hand, and your hand,
and your neighbour's hand 
is real power.
So the next time 
you see his hands hurting,
hold your hands up together
in unison
and remind him 
that hands are meant for holding,
and hugging, high fives,
handshakes,
and our hands will hold tight
through the storm
until his hands,
every one of his hands,
learns to handle us with care.
Thank you.
[audience applause]
So my second piece, uh, is entitled,
uh, A Woman's Breaking Point.
It must hurt you to know 
that no matter what you do to us,
you will never destroy us.
No matter the mental anguish,
emotional battery.
Like waves breaking hard 
into the tide,
we will weather your elements.
We are too often 
stripped of our dignity,
our right to our own bodies,
our right to our own temples.
Whilst you perform sacrilege,
we have learned to elevate
into higher plains
until your pillage is over.
And we press on,
damaged,
scarred from doing battle with you 
who declare war on us 
for no reason.
We are David, daily,
facing Goliath,
but you or all your strength 
could never flicker out our flame.
We burn bright.
And we come back in droves,
sometimes with cops,
sometimes with legal teams,
sometimes with weapons
of our own devices
when your systems of justice fail us,
as they often do.
Our survival is prophesized.
We are the trees that bear fruit 
that sometimes go bad,
but we readily lose the branch
because the foundation 
is forever rooted in love.
We are supernatural,
raped, ravaged, wreaked havoc on,
and funny how we still stand tall,
still come out to play hard,
play ball.
Fists balled up,
we bawl out war cries for our sisters 
who we lose daily to your murders,
to your rapes, to your savagery,
to your egos.
Your egos, my God, your egos
are why we mourn
our disappeared,
our dismembered.
You forget easily,
but we remember often.
With vivid emotion, we replay 
our very violent images over and over,
reminds us that you 
are not to be trusted,
that you are not the protector 
the fairy tales predicted.
We were silly to ever believe
that knights in shining armour
would sweep us off our feet 
to live happily every after,
knowing full well that armoured men
have violent tendencies
with roads paved with good intentions 
and our bodies the collateral damage.
This poem is not in memory 
of any victim,
but rather commemorates 
the warriors who fought hard,
harder than they ever
should have had to
just for being a woman,
for being seen as some man's property,
or right to her vessel.
This is a reminder,
no, a guarantee 
that one day you will lose the war,
and we will be triumphant.
And we will no longer have to avoid 
walking home alone at night,
or holding keys 
slipped between our fingers,
or wearing whatever we want 
without asking for it,
or saying no,
or speaking up,
or speaking out,
or breathing,
or simply existing without the fear 
that at any given moment,
we may have to go into battle
because our very sex poses threat 
to your perceived power.
And I can only imagine
how much it must hurt you
to know no matter what you do,
you will never destroy us.
So bring forth your violence 
as we know you will.
Do your worst,
but know our bloodshed
will water the seeds 
of another generation of women warriors,
and they will be smarter,
less trusting.
They will not 
put up with your violence.
They will not stay battered,
and bruised, and silenced.
They will run,
and they will fight,
and they will remember,
with vivid emotion,
the very violent images we pass down 
through our generational trauma,
and they will push back one day
so hard
that you will know what it is
to feel the full strength
of a woman 
at her breaking point.
Thank you so much.
[audience cheers and applause]
[Jody] Thank you.
Thank you for that,
for those powerful words.
I'd now like to invite Monica Khosla,
President of IGNITE,
to share some remarks.
[Monica Khosla]
As president of IGNITE,
I am called to reflect
on the importance of my position
as a student leader in the fight 
against gender-based violence.
As students,
as a collective,
our voices in unison can,
and will,
reverberate 
across the college walls,
demanding action 
and championing change.
But it begins with us 
finding our voices as individuals.
Every year 
for International Women's Day,
IGNITE hosts
a Real Talk event on campus
to ra- raise awareness on the issues 
that women face in society.
It is our goal
to continue to host these events,
to push the dial forward,
and educate students on the hurdles 
that exist for women,
such as violence,
every day.
To the students present 
and to the entire Humber community,
I call on you to reflect 
on the following questions.
Do I challenge sexism,
homophobia, transphobia,
racism, ableism, Islamophobia,
anti-Semitism,
 and ageism in its,
all its forms?
Is my social media activity,
the posts I share,
the videos I watch,
uplifting and respectful 
to all communities?
Do I engage in allyship
and support and champion women
in group assignments 
or in the boardrooms?
Am I an active bystander,
and interrupt inappropriate
and offensive conversations
about women, LBGTQ+,
um, especially when the persons 
making the comments are my friends?
Do I honour Indigenous communities
and supports ef-
efforts towards addressing the missing 
and murdered Indigenous women?
Later on in this program,
we will be asked to sign our names
on this banner
to demonstrate our commitment 
to ending gender-based violence.
Let's ensure that this signature 
means something.
Let us ensure 
that it translates into action.
[audience applause]
[Jody]
Yep. No problem. Okay.
Thank you, Monica.
I would now like to inj-
invite Jessica Pilfold,
Student Services Coordinator 
in Guelph-Humber, to the microphone.
Jessica is
a student services coordinator
in the Student Life department 
at the University of Guelph-Humber.
Her role focuses on new student 
transition programming,
orientation, advising student groups,
and student leader development.
As a member of Humber's AODA
and Equity, Diversity,
and Inclusion Committee,
Jessica greatly values
opportunities
to bring important conversations
and perspectives across the bridge
to effect change at Guelph-Humber.
Join me in welcoming Jessica.
[audience applause]
[Jessica Pilfold] Great.
Thank you.
Oh, is that good?
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
Um, I am very honoured 
to be speaking here today.
Um, I just wanted
to give another shout out
to the, uh, drummers 
and the spoken word poet.
I'm, my blood's like....
So excited.
My heart's m- ramming in my chest 
just watching those.
Um, why are we here today?
Uh, so December 6th, 1989,
we remember this day,
uh, Canada remembers this day
as the day
that 14 female engineering students
at L'École Polytechnique
de Montréal
were killed in an act 
of gender-based violence.
The day now represents
a time to reflect
on the phenomenon of violence 
against women in our society.
It is also a day
for communities and individuals
to speak out against
all forms of violence against women
and its impact on survivors 
and their families and friends.
But,
what is gender-based violence?
The Status of Women Canada
defines gender-based violence
as violence involving the use and abuse
of power and control
over another person.
It is perpetrated against someone 
based on their gender identity,
gender expression,
or perceived gender.
Violence against women and girls
is only one form 
of gender-based violence.
It has a disproportionate impact 
on lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer,
questioning, intersex,
and two-spirit communities,
and gonder- gender non-conforming people.
Some populations 
are more likely to experience violence
and may face unique barriers
and challenges
that put them at particular risk.
For example, Indigenous women
are more than three times as likely
to report being victims 
of spousal violence.
Women living with physical
and cognitive impairments
experience violence
two to three times more often
than women 
living without impairments.
And people self-identifying
as part of the LGBTQ+ community
are three times more likely
than heterosexuals
to be victims of violence.
Finally, particularly, uh, relevant 
on our post-secondary, uh, campuses,
young women aged 15 to 34 years
are at highest risk 
of experiencing violence.
So what are we,
on our campus,
doing to, uh,
promote awareness
and to act against these,
uh, acts of violence.
Humber College
and the University of Guelph-Humber
are committed to ending 
all forms of gender-based violence.
Through Humber's 
human rights policy,
sexual assault 
and sexual violence policy,
and gender diversity policy,
we continue to respond
to calls for action
in ensuring the college community
is proactive and vigilant
in creating respectful, healthy,
and safer communities.
This is a screenshot
of the reporting procedure flowchart
for sexual assault and sexual violence,
uh, reporting on campus.
Helping to create a caring,
supportive, uh, community 
is everyone's responsibility.
Gender-based violence 
affects all of us.
And the attitudes and behaviours
that enable and excuse
gender-based and sexual violence
hurt everyone.
You can make your personal pledge
to help end sexual violence on campus
by taking 
the we don't stand by pledge.
It's available on the Sexual Assault 
and Sexual Violence Awareness website.
And finally,
new this year,
uh, is the Consent 
Peer Education Program.
Uh, so CPEP as,
is a student led program 
that aims to inform
and educate students
on consent and sexual violence
prevention on campus
through peer-to-peer interactions.
The Consent Peer Education Program 
provides consent education,
bystander intervention skills,
educational events and training.
So I encourage you,
after this presentation,
to stop by at their table 
in the back corner,
uh, and learn from our students 
that are passionate about this action.
I now call on all of us
to take a moment in silence
to reflect and remember the lives
that we have lost 
to gender-based violence.
Thank you very much.
[audience applause]
[Jody]
Thank you, Jessica.
At this time,
we have another exciting presentation 
by the Raging Asian Women 
Taiko Drummers.
Join me in welcoming them 
once again.
[audience applause]
[drumming and kiaiing
for next 2.5 minutes]
[drumming ends]
[woman]
Thank you, everyone.
Hello, up there.
Um, we have one more song 
to play for you before we are done.
We are Raging Asian Women
Taiko Drummers,
and I would like
to take this opportunity
to just introduce
some of our performers.
My name is Young.
This is Elvie,
Amy,
Mila,
Teiya,
Stephanie and Jody.
[audience cheers and applause]
The last song that we're gonna 
play for you today is called Tatsumaki,
and it's a real celebration 
of just the joy of playing.
It's also, um, uh,
you can translate it as hurricane.
And sometimes it can feel like that 
when we're doing social justice work.
It's like a struggle and,
and a whirlwind.
But, that we remember 
to find the joy in the work.
Thank you again.
[audience applause]
["Tatsumaki" begins]
[drumming and kiaiing
for next four minutes]
["Tatsumaki" ends]
[audience cheers and applause]
[audience cheers and applause]
[Jody]
I'm ready to go home after this.
[audience laughter]
Oh, yes.
So at this point in the program,
I would like to pause 
as we begin shifting 
from remembrance to action.
So joining us today are members,
are some of the members 
of Humber's senior leadership team.
I would now like 
to call on Lori Diduch,
Vice-President of Human Resources 
and Organizational Effectiveness,
and Jason Hunter,
Vice-President of Students 
and Community Engagement,
to come forward to be the first 
in signing the banner on my left.
Now this is an acknowledgement
of Humber as an institution
and as an entity 
within the community, uh,
as Humber demonstrates their commitment 
to ending gender-based violence.
Later on in the program,
we will be asking everyone here,
as a community and as a family,
to come together
and join in signing the banner
in demonstration 
and symbolism of,
of our commitment 
to ending gender-based violence.
But not only can 
we sign the banner here,
at various stations across the tables 
in our information market,
you will be seeing some signs 
that say sign here.
So you can also, um,
place your names there 
and engage 
with our community stakeholders,
um, in, in the display of the resources 
that they have available.
So I would now 
like to invite Zahra Brown,
Equity Generalist 
in the Centre for Human Rights,
to come forward 
and close today's event.
[audience applause]
[Zahra Brown]
Thank you, Jody.
Thank you, everybody.
Thank you, everybody,
for showing up.
It really means a lot to us
to see so many people here
on this day 
recognizing the day of remembrance,
National Day of Remembrance 
and Action Against Women,
Violence Against Women.
Let me begin to thank
President Chris Whitaker
and Vice-President 
of the Human Resources,
Lori Di- Diduch,
and, um, all the senior management team.
Uh, we want to thank you 
for your support,
your ongoing supporting, um,
your commitment 
in ending gender-based violence.
A special thanks to the performers,
Paulina Ke- O'Keefe,
and the Raging Asian Women Te-
Taiko Drummers,
for their powerful,
inspiring performance.
We love it.
Thank you so much.
[audience applause]
And your commitment 
in ending gender-based violence.
A special thank you to Kori Ploughman
and Lindsay, um, Lindsay Zaferis
and the entire IGNITE team
for the continued
partnership and support
in, uh, hosting today's event 
and donating the roses for today.
Thank you.
[audience applause]
And to everyone who par-
to everyone who participated 
in today's event,
Regina Hartwick, Monica Khosla,
Jessica Pilfold,
thank you for your time,
your words, 
[indistinct]
that you shared with us today.
[audience applause]
On behalf of the Centre,
we're, we'd like to thank
our community partners and stakeholders,
the Aboriginal Resource Centre,
Black Academic 
Success and Engagement,
the LGBT Resource Centre,
Department of Public Safety,
Student Success and Engagement,
for participating
in today's information market.
And, uh,
and I am encouraging everybody 
to take a look at, um,
their resources on their table.
Before you leave....
Oh, also, we have to thank facilities
and IT team
for providing the setup
and for allowing this event 
to be live-streamed...
[audience applause]
across Humber College campuses.
Before you leave this space,
I would like to invite everyone
to join to the community as family
to demonstrate your commitment
in ending gender-based violence
by signing the banner.
And, um, thank you so much,
and I really, really appreciate 
everybody being here today.
Thanks.
[audience applause]
[Jody] That's it everyone.
Thank you so much....
[background chatter]
