“What shape is your body making right now, and how has that been influenced by choices that are made for you?”
“How might we nurture a community of belonging for folks arriving as refugee claimants to Canada?”
“Wouldn’t it be cool to hear the stories of some of the people who also walk down this park pathway?”
“How do you walk the talk of “creating trauma-informed, equitable, inclusive group cultures”?”
“How might we effectively use creative services like videography, photography, and motion graphics to showcase and highlight Black excellence?”
These are some of the questions that the pod members of this first-ever iteration of the BUILD Program are asking and answering in their work.
Over six months in 2023, the people of BUILD* have been expanding our strategic and tactical emotional, intellectual, and relational capacities while prioritizing rest and imagination in the process.
Along with invited knowledge keepers and subject-matter experts, we engage in learning guided by Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Indigenous worldview** and consider concepts including economic reconciliation, financial foundations, strategic frameworks, and values-based storytelling and marketing.
Meet the thirteen incredible people who have chosen to trust the program team in co-creating this emerging and imaginative program at RADIUS. We celebrate them all as they deepen their learning and expand their skills in service of their systems-shifting work.
*Inclusive of the BUILD Pod members and program team as a deliberate choice to blur the lines between “service provider/expert” and “participant/learner.” This gestures toward dismantling supremacist notions and stepping into shared power, mutual support, and collective action.
** Raised hands in gratitude particularly to Sxwpilemaát Siyám (Chief Leanne Joe) for starting our program in a good way, and to Charlene Williams for generously sharing presence and teachings from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).
Photo of the people of BUILD from the 2023 retreat on the unceded and occupied lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation). Captured by Dalia Al-Ahmad of Media for Good.
Program note: The conventional professional and academic practice of introducing oneself and one’s work in the form of a written bio has its strengths and limitations. Many of us in the BUILD Program are trained in a variety of cultural contexts that typically practice different forms to foster connection. This is often in the oral tradition, highlighting relations, context, and inviting dialogue; the written form then serves as a supplement.
In our distributed and digital context, we lead with voice and keep the text intentionally brief. Please consider these as the mere glimpses that they are into thirteen multifaceted lives and bodies of work. We hope there is just enough here to spark genuine, respectful, reciprocal connections.
(Listed in alphabetical order by first name.)
About the Person:
she/her
Anati is a university student studying media and one of the co-founders of the multimedia company DDB Media. She is excited to learn more about elevating her brand.
About the Work:
Daily Dose of Blackness Media Co-op
A multimedia cooperative comprised of young Black creatives, working to highlight and showcase Black and BIPOC stories through videography, photography and motion graphics services. Currently focused in “Surrey, BC”, this connects to the larger vision of inspiring other youth to foster a community of creatives.
About the Person:
he/him
Aslam is a 4th-generation South African Indian living on unceded Coast Salish lands. In his words: “Growing up Muslim in South Africa has brought me the gifts of an acute power awareness, spiritual grounding and a love for bringing people together.”
About the Work:
Waterline Co-op is a group of experienced facilitators who hold space for teams in conflict, and train other facilitators and leaders to develop their conflict and leadership skills. Using tools and frameworks from Deep Democracy, Process Work and other modalities help to create trauma-informed, equitable, and inclusive group cultures. Is your group dealing with some challenging team dynamics? Our consulting services can help!
she/her
About the Person:
Carla is a feminist, proud mom, wife, and an activist. She is also a clinical counsellor and a member of the Immigrant Advisory Table of the Tri-cities Local Immigrant Partnership (TCLIP).
About the Work:
A unique place-based community storytelling experience that bridges analog relations through digitally mediated story-points, centred around the area known as Coquitlam (kʷikʷəƛ̓əm).
he/him
About the Person:
Husain is a mental health clinician that works in both private and public spaces. His public work involves therapy with comorbid addictions. Husain is privately Registered as a Clinical Counselor (RCC) and is a co-founder of Marula Counselling.
About the Work:
Currently building an exploratory community initiative, in collaboration with Marula Counselling, that seeks to explore the various gaps in adult mental health care through qualitative frameworks. Through data collection and program development, this project seeks to build better supports for long-term advocacy, outreach and adult mental health care.
By centering deep collaborative learning, this project aims to ultimately increase the overall available inventory of mental health services inside the Lower Mainland Region for both service providers and participants.
he/him
About the Person:
Imrahn is a Class Actions Lawyer, with a specialization in Indigenous Law. He co-founded a project which provides affordable, easily-understandable legal services to traditionally marginalized Canadians.
About the Work:
A digital legal service platform designed to increase access to vetted legal information for migrant communities, by translating dense English-based “legalese” procedures and jargon into user-serving tools and resources.
he/him
About the Person:
Kian Cham is a movement coach, martial artist and pole dancer who happens to be transgender. For him, movement is an opportunity to train a deeper internal self in alignment with our expanding capacity to externally express. Kian collaborates with clients to create holistic movement practices defined by their true values beyond mainstream ‘fitness’ standards.
About the Work:
Beginning by learning about our unique postures, Centre of Gravity creates holistic movement programs to enhance strength, mobility and responsiveness that is enduring. Centre of Gravity addresses whole body wellness to improve everyday mobility, relieve pain, and grow into physical fitness aspirations we truly value.
she/her
About the Person:
Lulu is one of the co-founders of The Cleaning Co-op. She is eager to expand her skills and apply the knowledge from the program to the growing success of the co-op and its members.
About the Work:
An uncompromising ethical cleaning company providing their worker-owners with equitable and empowering living-wage work opportunities. Founded from lived experiences of exploitation, discrimination, patriarchy, and capitalism, the co-founders decided to create better opportunities for themselves and their communities.
she/her
About the Person:
Mayra is a social entrepreneur, founder of Resilient Care & Student Counsellor. Her work supports BIPOC international students by inviting the exploration of their unique stories in a compassionate space.
About the Work:
A Group Narrative Therapy program that serves international students pursuing post-secondary education to transform survival stories into resilience narratives.
he/him
About the Person:
“I am Palestinian as you can tell.” Mohammed is a Co Founder and Director of LightWork JEDDI Consulting Cooperative. He is passionate about advocating for Refugee Claimants’ belonging and financial mobility.
About the Work:
A consulting cooperative that holds compassionate and competent un/learning spaces for people and organizations focused on fostering justice and belonging through safer, inclusive, and more diverse work environments.
she/her
About the Person:
Paulina is a Co-founder of The Cleaning Co-op. A nurse by profession, Paulina is passionate about learning and new projects.
About the Work:
An uncompromising ethical cleaning company providing their worker-owners with equitable and empowering living-wage work opportunities. Founded from lived experiences of exploitation, discrimination, patriarchy, and capitalism, the co-founders decided to create better opportunities for themselves and their communities.
she/her
About the Person:
Rubina has wide and varied career experience in film/television, ecommerce and HR operations. A seemingly odd mashup of skills and experience has led her to her true passion – building a social enterprise that creates a ripple effect of awareness, support and engagement for refugee women.
About the Work:
Project Massar is a social enterprise seeking to create equitable work opportunities for Muslim refugee women. Through the sale of handmade artisan products like prayer beads or tasbeehs made from semi-precious stones, Rubina hopes to destigmatize the refugee label while driving awareness to increase support.
she/her
About the Person:
Saliema is a student majoring in communications at Douglas College. She is the co-founder of the multimedia company DDB Media. Saliema’s main role in DDB Media is photography and videography.
About the Work:
Daily Dose of Blackness Media Co-op
A multimedia cooperative comprised of young Black creatives, working to highlight and showcase Black and BIPOC stories through videography, photography and motion graphics services. Currently focused in “Surrey, BC”, this connects to the larger vision of inspiring other youth to foster a community of creatives.
she/her
About the Person:
Siu Yin is an analytics-focused professional with a strong desire to promote wellness locally and internationally through physical education, sports, and physical recreation. With more than 20 years of professional experience in higher education, Siu Yin brings considerable skills and insights to this work.
About the Work:
Wellness for Migrants
A comprehensive holistic group wellness program that keeps recent migrants fit, relieves stress, and boosts confidence. Slogan: “Move! Be Happy and Healthy.”
Making The BUILD Program Possible
BUILD is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre. Le projet BUILD est financé par le Centre des Compétences futures du gouvernement du Canada; Definity Insurance Foundation; Community Foundations of Canada; Gore Mutual; Vancouver Foundation; RBC Foundation; Health Sciences Association; BCAA; and SFU’s Community Engagement Initiative.