The Diversity Working Group.

The Diversity Working Group was formed to create an intellectual, professional and social safe space and network for like-minded BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) and ally students and alumni of the Faculty of Information. The group was formed in the spring of 2019 with the main objectives being to push for changes within the Faculty of Information. This includes:

​

• incorporating critical race perspectives within the iSchool curriculum;

• providing a support network for BIPOC students;

• holding the iSchool accountable to its commitments to uphold the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

​

We are also working to provide an alternative avenue through which iSchool students can engage in discussion about how colonialism and Eurocentric biases have shaped professional practice and the workforce in the GLAM (gallery, library, archives and museum) professions, and to eventually affect changes within the iSchool curriculum in order to ensure that all future graduates from the iSchool will be aware of and ready to identify racial inequity within their professions.The DWG continues to strive to create safe spaces for BIPOC students at the Faculty of Information and to challenge the Faculty of Information to do better.

Opportunities to be involved include attending events and helping out with various initiatives, including:

​

• BIPOC (and ally) social gatherings

• Guest speaker events and workshops

• Participation in campus-wide reading group for professional faculties (i.e. Education, Law, Medicine, Social Work and so on) in partnership with the Jackman Humanities Institute to engage in discussions about race, ethnicity, religion and the concept of ‘professionalism’

• Engagement with iSchool faculty members and committees to promote key changes within the Faculty of Information

​

The Diversity Working Group (DWG) is a working group within the Master of Information Student Council at the University of Toronto. All MI students and alumni are encouraged to participate.