Allies and Allyship; particular focus on disabled people/people with disabilities
This workshop is designed to look at what it entails to be an ally of disabled people/people with disabilities and to be an ally of others as a disabled person/person with a disability. The workshop especially engages with the issue of allies being in danger of ally burnout and ally anxiety caused by social stressors in general and in relation to disabled people/people with disabilities.
This workshop does not cover personal strategies to minimize the danger of being burned out or experiencing anxiety as allies but focuses on the identification of social stressors and what to do about them to decrease the danger of burnout and anxiety of allies.
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Knowledge Levels
Beginner, no background required
Duration
1 hour, 30 minutes
Audience
Open to campus community: students, senior/executive leaders, faculty, and staff
Core understanding of EDI
- What is allyship
- Characteristic of Allyship in general and in relation to disabled people/people with disabilities
- Challenges to Allyship
- Measures for Solidarity
- Ability identity Self determination
- What is accessibility
- Different social groups have different ability expectations
- Ability Privilege
- Ability Inequity
- Ally burnout
- Ally anxiety
- To be an Anti Disablist
- To be an Enablist
- Measures for Solidarity
New learnings
- Explore what it means to be an ally
- Explore the danger of burnout and anxiety linked to being an authentic ally
- Explore the social stressors that could cause ally burnout and ally anxiety and how to decrease the social stressors
Facilitator
Dr. Gregor Wolbring (he/him)
Dr. Gregor Wolbring is a tenured full Professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine, Program in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies. He is presently also a member of the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS), Karlsruhe, Germany and a senior fellow of the Institute for Science, Policy and Society, University of Ottawa, Canada.
Dr. Wolbring defines himself as an ability studies, disability studies, sustainability studies and science and technology governance studies scholar and wheelchair user since his youth.
It’s our collective responsibility to create a more equitable and inclusive UCaglary and we all have an important role to play by learning and unlearning.
Dr. Malinda S. Smith, PhD
Vice Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) and Associate Vice-President Research (EDI)