EDI formation and workshops
EDI Formation
A training session was offered by Marie-José Naud, an EDI advisor at Université Laval. During this training session, conducted in a relaxed and interactive setting, the main concepts of EDI were presented, as well as the benefits of this approach. The training concluded with an exploration of some avenues for fostering a more inclusive environment.
First EDI workshop
Following this training, an initial workshop was held to determine our team values. To facilitate discussions and create a collaborative environment, the activity began with an icebreaker where each member was invited to present their favorite place in Quebec City and the surrounding area. Subsequently, to define the values, each team member was asked to share a positive experience they had had within the team. Based on these experiences and through discussion, various values were identified. They were then grouped under more general terms, and a vote was held to select our team values:
-Support: Being attentive to the people around you, offering daily help/support, and knowing how to motivate and encourage others to highlight the constructive side of things.
-Improvement: Aim for a retrospection of the path taken, reflecting progression or development in a proactive and constructive approach. Leads to a sense of accomplishment.
-Cooperation: Helping each other, collaborating to accomplish tasks, sharing opinions and expertise, joining forces to derive individual and collective benefits.
-Openness: Being receptive, flexible, curious, and humble, which allows, particularly through exchanges, for personal development. Accepting and embracing diversity.
-Team Spirit: Forming a social core that forters pride, inclusion, solidarity, and unity, where everyone supports one each other and encourages sharing to move the entire group forward.
Following this activity, the team gathered for a meal outside and a few games.
Second EDI workshop
A second EDI activity was conducted to see how team values were already integrated within the team, but also to find other ways to operationalize them, whether in research, collaborations, or team meetings. To begin the day and foster a climate of exchange, each team member was invited to share a tradition related to a holiday in their family, city, region, or country, which led to some great discoveries! The team was then divided into subgroups, and for each value, the subgroups had to write ways to apply it in different spheres. Afterward, a return was made in the large group to present the examples that had been found. The day continued with a potluck, and we cooked meals to offer in the shared fridges of a community aid organization.
