Languages of POWER – Understand your own, and that of others
How many times have you seen great ideas take much longer to come to fruition than they needed to, or even fail altogether, because people or politics got in the way? Power informs the way we take up space and whether or not we leave room for others. How we unconsciously accept the way the playing field is tilted and cede ground to other people also reinforces power structures.
It doesn’t have to be this way: power literacy and competency are skills like any other that can be learned and perfected. Power Fundamentals is a foundational session to give participants a common language for power and the building blocks for a greater understanding of their own power and the power of others, as well as the tools to refuse powerless identities.
Its a Game: Where Power, Policy, Practice, and Courage Collide. I think about this a lot when I am teaching about power. Power informs the way we take up space and whether or not we leave room for others. But how we unconsciously accept the way the playing field is tilted and cede ground to other people also reinforces power structures. Refusing powerless identities is a critical part of changing power dynamics.
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Event Timezone Reference - GMT
Presenter(s) Bio
Andrea Reimer: Former three-term Vancouver Councillor; Metro Vancouver Regional District Director, one-time Vancouver school trustee and former Vice-Chair of Canada’s Green Municipal Fund Council. During her decade on the City Council, Andrea spearheaded a number of initiatives, including the City’s effort to be the Greenest City on earth and Vancouver’s nationally significant municipal framework for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. After leaving public office she was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard's Graduate School of Design in recognition of her leadership on green cities and urban policy and subsequently was appointed as the inaugural Policy Practitioner Fellow at the University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Andrea currently teaches about how power works at UBC and Simon Fraser University, and provides strategic advice to Indigenous and municipal governments, non-profits and mission driven local businesses on climate and social policy through her consultancy, Tawaw Strategies. She is a sought after commentator and speaker on where power, courage and the most urgent issues of our times collide. Simon Fraser University - Lead Instructor, Practice of Engagement Practicum Supervisor, Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement Course Moderator, Renewable Energy Transition Strategies: Practical Innovations for Urban Areas University of Britsh Columbia - Adjunct Professor. I teach about Power & Practice (GPP 591N), am the Practitioner Lead on the capstone MPPGA project GP2, the faculty lead on Laxgalt'sap GP2 and teaching GPP 590B in the spring.
Posted By - Andrea Reimer
Email - andrea.reimer@citizenandrea.ca