Let the voting begin!
Our new communications manager, Pamela Daoust, asked me what observance and holiday celebrations ASPECT notes in our Aspectives newsletter. It's a question I have never found the right answer to in the 7 years I have been producing the Aspectives newsletter. Quite often, I'm not aware of a special day of recognition until after it has passed. I worry that my colonialist lens may be leaving important dates out when my goal for ASPECT is to be an inclusive and diverse organization that shows leadership in this area. We've noticed over the years that while some of our members punctually celebrate traditional or religious holidays, others observe few holidays, and others dutifully mark their calendars with non-traditional celebrations and observances.
Pamela has deeply explored what days, weeks, or holidays we might observe. She has consulted the BC Government communications department for a list, the municipal lists, the UN and the UNDRIP lists, all producing an extensive collection of dates that could leave us in a perpetual state of celebration, or worse, having us grudgingly choose between a vast array of celebrations.
Help Us Choose
In short, we can't decide and are asking for your help to participate in this process to help us pick and choose those moments that are important to you and your community that we should recognize in Aspectives. Please take a moment to vote for what dates we should observe and add to this list if we have forgotten anything.
Asking for your help is a community development project that could go horribly wrong, but I'm willing to take the risk. We will leave the survey open until mid-July. In the meantime, a few dates I missed, some that are in progress, and some that are yet to come:
Let the
voting begin!
Janet Morris-Reade, CEO
ASPECT
