For four days beginning March 22, the University of Victoria will host the third iteration of Moving Trans History Forward, a biennial conference spearheaded by the chair of the Transgender Archives.
In collaboration with speakers, activists, and artists from all over the world, the event is a unique mix of academia and community-based conversation.
B次元官网网址淭here really isnB次元官网网址檛 any other event [like this],B次元官网网址� explains Aaron Devor, chair of the Transgender Studies program. B次元官网网址淚 want to encourage that kind of dialogue. ItB次元官网网址檚 important that academics and community members have that contact with each other.B次元官网网址�
From March 22 to 25, members of the global transgender community will converse about the importance of connecting across generations. One of the highlights this year are the youth and elders panels B次元官网网址� open to the public B次元官网网址� and keeping in step with the theme, B次元官网网址淔rom Generation to Generation.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his time we wanted to go not just into the present, but into the future,B次元官网网址� Devor says. B次元官网网址淸Panelists] will speak about the work theyB次元官网网址檙e doing to bring that future into existence.B次元官网网址�
That future is something Devor sees changing, as someone who interacts daily with students. Universities can be a protected environment, he says, but they offer a glimpse of the future, populated by people who are making positive changes.
Across Canada, he says, attitudes are changing and people are more receptive to the changes they see happening around gender. B次元官网网址淚t is uneven and there are people who resist, but I see them at this point in the minority.B次元官网网址�
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Here in Victoria, has been slowly chipping away at those changes as the founder of , offering trans inclusion training to businesses, community groups and most recently B次元官网网址� members of St. GeorgeB次元官网网址檚 Anglican Church.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 definitely been more and more uptake, it just reflects the community desire to engage in conversations like these,B次元官网网址� says Strudwick, thankful to have a space to engage in intergenerational conversations with people he describes as B次元官网网址渢houghtfulB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渒een to continue the dialogue.B次元官网网址�
A lot of the work Ambit does is focused on bridging seemingly different communities, Strudwick says, but the conference is unique in that it provides an opportunity to do that bridging work within communities.
So often people donB次元官网网址檛 hear about the impact their work has on the ground, Strudwick explains. Because the transgender community is one that often B次元官网网址渕eetsB次元官网网址� online, itB次元官网网址檚 just so important to see people face to face, he says.
B次元官网网址淭hat gives me that fuel and memory as to why IB次元官网网址檓 doing the work, and propels me forward.B次元官网网址�
Kent Monkman, a Canadian Cree two-spirit artist whose work has been shown in museums, galleries and collections across the world, will deliver the keynote address, speaking about his new series of paintings.
B次元官网网址淭he T is Not Silent: Centering Black Trans-Identities in an Historical Context,B次元官网网址� is a talk presented by Andrea Jenkins, the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the U.S. The historian, poet, and curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota is also a Black Lives Matter activist.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so deeply important to honour the work weB次元官网网址檝e done to bring us to this cultural moment,B次元官网网址� Strudwick says. B次元官网网址淸But] part of the conversation has to be about what isnB次元官网网址檛 in the archives and witnessing whose histories are usually maintained and whose are strategically and subconsciously left out.B次元官网网址�
Do you want to attend the conference but youB次元官网网址檙e not sure that you can afford it? NO WORRIES! Show up at the door and pay-what-you-can (which includes zero). ItB次元官网网址檚 important to us to be as open and inclusive as possible.
B次元官网网址� TransChairArchives (@TransArchives)
DevorB次元官网网址檚 hope is that at its root, the conference provides a space for people to meet and engage with others they may not typically be exposed to. That includes transgender, non-binary, two-spirit people, but cisgender people B次元官网网址� those whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth B次元官网网址� as well.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e all here learn to from each other,B次元官网网址� he says, asking that everyone remains kind and gentle with each other. B次元官网网址淚t makes a difference in the experience B次元官网网址� weB次元官网网址檙e all going to make mistakes, but be generous.B次元官网网址�
For more information regarding Moving Trans History Forward, or to download the conference program, click .
