Visions for A Just, Food Future on Campus: BIPOC Students’ Stories of Food

BIPOC students at the University of Guelph, University of British Columbia, and University of Waterloo are invited to a free, online, digital storytelling workshop. 

As a participant in the workshop, you will explore your ideas about, and experiences with, food and food (in)security by creating your own engaging 2-4 minute digital story. Expert facilitators will guide you step-by-step through the process. 

The deadline to apply to participate is January 31st, 2022 (9am PST / 12 noon EST).

Apply here

Please contact Sam Laban (slaban@uoguelph.ca) with any questions.

Background

It is estimated that 30-45% of all students experience some form of food insecurity, and BIPOC students are at an even higher risk of being food insecure. The workshop will explore the role of race, systemic racism, and colonialism in both the food system and the food movement, as well as BIPOC activism and leadership, and movements for Black and Indigenous food sovereignty. 

“For many folks of colour — our feelings, experiences and vast knowledge is routinely dismissed and tokenized. People of colour are a significant part of the food movement, in fact much of it has been built on our backs and our ancestors — these contributions need to be acknowledged. As we move forward, it is critical that we prioritize dismantling racism in our movement and beyond. It’s not extra work, it is the work.” Paul Taylor, Executive Director, FoodShare

Staff, students and faculty at each of the three universities are working to address student food insecurity, and this project will help to centre BIPOC voices in these efforts. 

You will be invited to create a story that envisions the future of food on your campus. Once you have created your story, you will have the opportunity to work with members of the project team to share your story with food activists and advocates at your university. Each student will receive a $400 stipend from their university to support their participation. The stipend recognizes the knowledge and experience each student brings to the workshop and is designed to reduce financial barriers to participation. The stipend is informed by living wage rates. 

This project is made possible by the James Alexander Campbell Nutrition Education and Knowledge Translation Fund (University of Guelph). For specific information about food insecurity at each university, see UBC, Guelph, UWaterloo.

FAQs 

What is digital storytelling? 

Digital storytelling involves making 2–5 minute-long videos pairing audio recordings of personal and communal narratives with photographs, video clips, music, dance, artwork, and more.

What happens during a storytelling workshop?

Workshop facilitators will be guiding you through the steps of creating a story. The workshop is online and you will use the “WeVideo”  software to create your story. 

The workshop will happen over 4 consecutive weeks. You will be asked to participate in scheduled group meetings and live interactive tutorials. These will be on Saturdays (10am-1pm PST / 1pm-4pm EST). You will also work independently and one-on-one with Digital Story facilitators during the week to complete your story. In total you should expect to spend 5-6 hours per week participating in workshop activities. 

Through the workshop, you will:

• Develop knowledge about digital storytelling in research and community action
• Explore the possibilities of using arts-based methods for community dialogue, policy change, and personal growth
• Examine the theory and practice around challenging dominant representations through art-making
• Create an engaging digital story

Participants will receive a detailed agenda and guide before the workshop begins. 

What happens to the stories? 

Each student storyteller owns the story they create and they are free to decide if and how their stories are shown. We recognise that stories are often deeply personal and student storytellers who participate in the workshop are not required to share their stories with others outside of the workshop. 

Each of the partners involved in this project is committed to hosting a screening (or screenings) of the stories on their campus, with the goal of shaping emerging responses to food insecurity. The screenings will happen after the workshop, likely in Spring or Summer 2022. The partners and storytellers from each campus will work together to determine the right audience(s) and ways to screen the stories. 

When is the workshop? 

Group sessions are held on 4 consecutive Saturdays, beginning on Saturday Feb 12th, 2022. One-on-one sessions with a facilitator will be scheduled in between each group session. 

• Saturday Feb 12th 10am-1pm PST / 1pm-4pm EST - First Group Session
  • Feb 12th to Feb 18th - x2 one-on-one sessions scheduled with a facilitator
• Saturday Feb 19th 10am-1pm PST / 1pm-4pm EST - Second Group Session
  • Feb 19th to Feb 25th - x2 one-on-one sessions scheduled with a facilitator 
• Saturday Feb 26th, 10am-1pm PST / 1pm-4pm EST - Third Group Session
  • Feb 26th to March 4th - x2 one-on-one sessions scheduled with a facilitator 
• Saturday March 5th, ​​10am-1pm PST / 1pm-4pm EST - Fourth Group Session
  • March 5th onwards - one-on-one sessions scheduled as needed

Ideally participants will attend every group session. It is also understandable that because of individual needs, alternate and tailored arrangements can be made with the workshop facilitators to support your completion of your digital story. 

You will schedule your one-on-one sessions with a workshop facilitator at times that are convenient for you both. You should expect to schedule approximately 2, 1 hour sessions per week. Some flexibility may be necessary. 

Do I need to be an artist or film-maker? 

No. The process will be made enjoyable, comfortable, and straightforward. The workshop facilitators are artists (skilled writers, filmmakers, and creative thinkers) and will support you in creating your story. The story-making process is designed to support any participant. Absolutely no experience in video, film, storytelling, or photography is necessary. All ways of learning are welcome. Participants often find this is a very fun, rewarding experience.

What will I need during the workshop? 

This is an online workshop so participants will need: 

• Access to a computer and the internet. This is an online workshop, and uses a combination of Zoom (for group and one-on-one sessions) and WeVideo (to create the stories). Headphones are strongly recommended. 
• Access to a smartphone or tablet. Smartphones are a good way to capture the images, videos and sound that you will use to create your story. 

There will likely be times when you and your fellow participants are sharing stories with each other during group sessions, so you will also need: 

• Access to a quiet and ideally private work space. If you do not have access to a private workspace, you will need headphones so that conversations in the workshop are kept private. 

If you do not have access to any of these requirements, please contact the coordinator for your campus and they may be able to help. 

Students at University of Guelph contact Sam Laban (slaban@uoguelph.ca)

Students at University of Waterloo contact Kalpita Gaitonde (kgaitonde@uwaterloo.ca) 

Students at University of British Columbia contact Sara Kozicky (sara.kozicky@ubc.ca)

Who are the partners in this project? 

This project is a partnership between: 

• The Food Security Initiative at UBC 
• The Community Engaged Scholarship Institute, the Guelph Lab, and Dr. Phil Loring at the University of Guelph
• Food Services and Campus Wellness at the University of Waterloo 
• The Re•Vision Centre for Art and Social Justice

Who facilitates the digital storytelling workshop? 

The workshop is designed and facilitated by the The Re•Vision Centre for Art and Social Justice, at the University of Guelph. 

Re•Vision is an arts methodology research hub that investigates the power of the arts, and especially story, to open up conversations about systemic (rather than individualized) injustices in health care, education, and the arts sectors. Re•Vision’s driving purpose is to support and equip academics, artists, activists and storytellers from justice-seeking communities seeking to shift misrepresentations with cutting edge technological tools and methodologies. 

Re•Vision has worked with a wide variety of partner organizations, using their digital storytelling workshops to explore a range of topics and ideas. 

Visit the Re•Vision website to learn about their methods and to explore other projects and workshops they have facilitated.