April 12, 2011 

Halton District School Board recently held its annual Inside and Out Conference – enjoying its largest attendance to date, with more than 200 students turning out.

The goal of the Friday, April 1, 2011 conference was to provide a forum for students and teachers, through various workshops, to discuss how they can make their schools more welcoming and inclusive for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender students, as well as to celebrate diversity in our board. The conference is organized by the Spectrum Team, a group of educators, who since 2007 have been dedicated to shaping our school communities into safe and supportive environments for people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

The conference’s opening keynote speaker was Waawaate Fobister, award-winning actor, playwright, choreographer, dancer and producer. In 2009, his production of Agokwe— a solo play he wrote and starred in — won six Dora Mavor Moore Awards from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts. Agokwe is the Anishnaabe word for a person who is two-spirit. Fobister is a proud Anishnaabe from Grassy Narrows First Nation. The closing keynote speakers were David Hein and Irene Sankoff, a couple that wrote, produced, and starred in My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding for the Toronto Fringe, Mirvish Productions, and the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Workshops helped students talk about an inclusive learning environment. Topics included Intersectionality: Where do I fit in?, Out Students Survival Guide, People First: Transgender and Transsexual communities and identities, and It’s not Rocket Science – Dealing with Homophobia in schools.

“Students learned that their school board supports them, and they are valued members of our school communities,” says j wallace, Halton Gay-Straight-Alliance Facilitator. “They learned the power of expressing themselves and worked with professionals to help craft their messages. Students learned about different identities, the history of two-spirit people in Canada. They learned about intersections of identity, how we are never just one thing. Students shared what it is like being out in school, and how to make that easier. They also talked about how they could be better allies to each other, and learned to be active in their support. Teachers learned how to better respond to homophobia. It was a day without bullies, and a day where no one was the bystander, everyone was a hero making a difference.”

Wallace noted students were very supportive of the conference.

“Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive,” he says. “One student said he came ‘to stop bullying, to help people who are afraid to come out and be themselves.’ Another said he ‘loved the enthusiasm of everyone’ while another one added ‘people weren't afraid to be who they really are.’”

The next Halton Inside and Out Conference is being planned for late October/early November.