Anima News

Anima Leadership's Newsletter

Autumn 2008

Director’s Notes

 Hope you’re enjoying the beginning of our autumn season! Here is an update on what Anima has been up to over the last few months…. We’ve been to the east coast for an exciting new project in Newfoundland-Labrador (see Project Spotlight). Our team was invited to Calgary to present at a national conference on anti-racism and discrimination. And the Netherlands was once again the site of our leadership program on integration and racism issues. Enjoy reading about these and other highlights from the spring and summer. Furthermore, check out what Anima programs are being offered this Fall, including the Equity and Leadership Institute coming for the first time to the West Coast!

Highlights of Spring & Summer 2008


Conference participants in a plenary session in Calgary at the CRRF conference.
  • You may remember us mentioning in the last newsletter that our partner, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, had it’s Annual Conference and Equity Awards in Calgary at the beginning of April. Anima presented a workshop at the Conference called “Fierce Compassion: Integrating Anti-Racism and Emotional Literacy”. Shakil Choudhury, Anima’s Senior Partner, also presented on a panel entitled “A Policy on the Integration of Race and Anti-Racism in Education and Training” alongside Dr. Anne Curry-Stephens from the University of Portland and Oscar Brathwaite, Chair of the African Canadian Legal Clinic. Their presentations should be available on the CRRF website in the next couple of months:http://www.crr.ca.
    For those that are curious, the Award of Excellence for anti-racism initiatives was shared by a program run by Le Carrefour BLE, called “Agrippez-vous!” which assists foreign-trained graduates to integrate into the agricultural food industry in Quebec, and the campaign to get an apology and redress for the Chinese Head Tax by the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC). Congratulations to both of these organizations for the good work they are doing!

 

  • Anima was also called in to offer some leadership sessions as part of an innovative and dynamic program initiative held for the first time in Eastern Canada called the "Social Tech Training: Building New Leaders, Supporting Social Change, Harnessing New Web Thinking". This conference was a spin-off of the highly successful Web of Change conference held for the last few years on the West Coast. Held in June at the MARS multimedia center in Toronto, this Social Tech training was a comprehensive primer for non-profits and charitable organizations on how to use new web technologies to support their social change efforts. Watch out for future internet trainings offered by this highly skilled team with the next one taking place again on the West Coast: www.webofchange.com.

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    UWC-YLS participants present workshops on integration and dialog issues to family members and community leaders during the community presentation day.
  • We returned to the Netherlands once again this July for our fourth year offering the United World Colleges Youth Leadership Summit (UWC-YLS)in conjunction with the United World Colleges Netherlands, our organizational partner. Using the Anima Leadership Development process which incorporates anti-racism theory with storytelling, self-awareness skills, empathic communication and dialogue, participants in this 2-week program become more aware of their own hidden biases and learn how to communicate across differences to build stronger relationships and more inclusive communities. In a context where ethno-cultural tensions are high, and conflict is close to the surface, this program offers critical skills and knowledge for leaders to help bridge differences and make a positive impact in their communities. We will be in Bolivia this December to launch a similar program there, so stay posted.

    Quotes from UWC-YLS participants:

    "Before this programme I never thought of integration in this way... I had many subconscious prejudices that I never examined... I never realized the disadvantages for darker-skinned people... During the programme I learned to see integration from another perspective and to analyze... It made me aware of my privilege."

    "It was a great opportunity for me to recognize myself as a leader that not necessarily appears on the screen but is able to contribute to the program in ways that may not be easy to recognize. I can now see the leader within me that recognizes and acknowledges inner strength... and that gives me the energy that I need to keep going... "

    “I loved it! I really changed in my behaviour, in the way I look at other people and in the way I deal with problems... Thanks a lot!”

  • You may also be interested to know that Shakil Choudhury, our Senior Partner, was featured in this July's Reader's Digest in an article entitled “Turning Adversity into Art” by Diane Elizabeth Hill. Check it out! (although you’ll have to order an actual copy as the article doesn’t appear on-line).

We hope that you can make it to one of our Fall programs. The Equity and Leadership Institute is being offered for the first time in Vancouver- not to be missed! Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Warm Wishes,
Annahid Dashtgard, Executive Director

 


Middle Cove, just outside of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Annahid Dashtgard, Anima’s Executive Director, talking with the Honorable Premier of Newfoundland-Labrador, Danny Williams, at the press conference to launch the project this June.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

We are very excited about our involvement with an important project tied to the future of Newfoundland and Labrador. Anima is working with the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) this Fall to conduct a series of Deliberative Dialogue sessions with young people in the province to feed into the Government’s “Youth Retention and Attraction” Strategy. With its economy growing, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador wants to tackle problem of out-migration of young people and establish itself as a province of choice for youth to live and work in.

The twelve one-day dialogue sessions will culminate in a final Summit this November in which young people will have a chance to meet and discuss with government and community leaders. We commend this province's government for taking this highly-democratic and proactive step for the future health of their province and are honoured to be a part of the process. Click here for more information.

 

 

UPCOMING PROGRAMS - SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER, 2008

Below is a list of Anima's Fall programs. All of our experiential-based leadership programs are grounded in innovative approaches to inclusion and equity, emotional intelligence research, the relationship sciences (neuroscience, quantum physics and social psychology), and cutting edge theories of change.

**Pls. note that the ALIVE Program for Non-profit leaders has been postponed until the New Year.

We also offer customized programming, organizational consulting and facilitation. Contact us if you are interested in any of these other offerings.

1) ALIVE Program for Women, October 23rd-24th, Toronto

Annahid Dasthgard, Anima ED, teaching at the last ALIVE Program for Women in January, 2008

REGISTER ONLINE!

The Anima Leading with Integrity, Vision and Effectiveness (ALIVE) program is Anima’s flagship leadership program tailored specifically to catalyze, strengthen and deepen women’s leadership potential and abilities. The ALIVE program puts women's leadership into the context of an emerging paradigm: a leadership re-balancing the 'feminine.' In essence, the approach is based in developing emotional intelligence alongside critical thinking; linking presence with action; and connecting our hearts with our minds. This form of leadership examines how to share power, how we can strengthen relationships across difference, what it takes to build truly inclusive organizations and communities. The ALIVE program has been offered across Canada over the last year, helping women become more powerful agents of change, offering the knowledge and skills to create breakthrough results in both their personal and professional realms. The feedback has been outstanding—be part of this growing community of women leaders! Limited space due to intimate nature of the workshop. Click here for more information.

“The ALIVE program is an excellent example of the kind of space we need to open up to share our power and potential and this training truly empowers women to be more inspired and intentional leaders in their relationships, organizations and communities.”
~ Jennifer Brammer, Program Coordinator, Oxfam Canada

2) Equity & Leadership Institute: Integrating Anti-Racism, Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Resolution, November 6-7th, Vancouver

Shakil Choudhury, Anima Senior Partner, teaching an Equity session at the British Columbia Nurses’ Union Labour School.

REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE through the Hollyhock Leadership Institute

Anima Leadership has teamed up with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation to present this unique, interactive workshop for managers, educators, and leaders of equity initiatives. For the first time, this program is being offered on the West Coast!! By integrating anti-racism with emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, a unique and very hopeful approach has been developed to create inclusive organizations and environments. The Equity & Leadership Institute balances intellect with emotions, and internal factors with structural forces. Self-awareness, empathy, compassion and truth speaking are the foundations for this embodied, relational approach to equity. Using theory, practice and experiential activities that have been developed and tested in national and international settings, this cutting-edge program will both challenge and support your current equity strategies. Limited space due to the experiential nature of the workshop. Click here for more information.

“I know that what I learned in terms of being present, checking in, building inclusive communities up front (as a form of “prevention”) will stay with me and inform my teaching and research practices, as will the emotional intelligence piece and how this is connected to equity work.”
~ Susan Walsh, Professor, Mount Saint Vincent University

3) ABLE Program for Women, PRE-HOLIDAY SPECIAL!
Wednesday Evenings Nov. 19th – Dec. 10th , Downtown Toronto
REGISTER ONLINE!

The Anima Body-Leadership and Eating program is a unique, bold and life-transforming weekend program for any woman desiring positive changes in her relationship to food, eating and body image—offered at a time in the pre-holiday season when many of these issues can become more pronounced. This course is designed to support women where many get caught-- in judgments of ourselves and our bodies, and in controlling our relationship to food, to nourishment. Our struggle is not with controlling how much food we eat or monitoring the size of our bodies, but for our own power—power gained through accepting aspects of ourselves that have been silenced, threatened or devalued. This program is designed to go to the emotional root of patterns with food and body image and to give women the critical analysis, tools and experiential practices to break free of the prison of "not enough". You will emerge with new levels of self-awareness, confidence and capacity to enact change in all areas of your life. Limited space due to deep experiential nature and emotional depth of the work. Click here for more information.

“I felt support, comfort, strength, power, and answers not only in all my food issues but also in my life.”
~ Previous Participant

Contact Anima Leadership for more information or to register for any of these programs:
info@animaleadership.com (416) 462-9512 x1 www.animaleadership.com.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Baltimore’s Mansion, A Memoir

by Wayne Johnston, 1999, Vintage Canada

In honour of the important work that the Government of Newfoundland-Labrador is doing over the next few months, we thought we would promote a book that offers a wonderful and often surprising glimpse into the history of this remarkable province. This book by award-winning author, Wayne Johnston, tells the story of three generations of fathers and sons whose struggle for meaning and identity reflects the coming of age of the land they inhabit. Johnston’s father is a staunch British patriot in opposition to Confederation, holding strong to the vision of Newfoundland as an independent country. The struggle for Confederation is humorously and aptly depicted, coming down to a tight history-making margin of just 7000 votes! There are many other gems in this heart-warming reflection of Newfoundland’s growth as a province that go hand in hand with an accompanying sense of loss-- of choice, of identity, of happiness even — in the struggle to survive in such rugged and isolated geography. But also, there is an abiding feeling of pride and love for the New-foundland. It seems there is more to what differentiates Newfoundland from the rest of Canada than just it’s physical attributes--- you'll have to make a visit or read this book to discover more for yourself.

QUOTE from the book:

“…with Charlie’s [Johnston’s grandfather] passing… the old Newfoundland ceased to be. His death divided the century and… kept his children rooted in both time and space, imposed on them an obligation to continue, however pointlessly or tokenly, to resist confederation. Confederation and the death of their father were forever linked in their minds.”
~ p. 202, Wayne Johnston, Baltimore’s Mansion