Feminist Summer Camp began on May 26th in Saskatoon. It is a ten-week initiative bringing together feminist participants who want to deepen their understanding of gender issues, develop a network of fellow feminist activists, and grow their skills around creating feminist narratives.
Based on a speaker series inspired by Next Up's model of learning from others working in the community, Feminist Summer Camp's 20 participants will explore issues around gender construction, Indigenous feminisms, masculinity, queer theory, women in politics, and neoliberal feminism. Skills facilitators will also work with participants to understand anti-feminist arguments and distraction strategies, and participants will take part in assertiveness training, learning about impromptu speaking and feminist messaging techniques.
At the end of the ten weeks, the hope is that participants will come away with a deeper consciousness of gendered issues and a strong skill set to bring the conversations into the community.
I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this project, including the Next Up community, which has taught me about facilitation and putting theory into action (and Tracey and Sasha Hanson-Pastran have been major idea shapers!), and the Saskatoon community at large, which has a beautiful habit of saying "yes" when I ask for help.
For more about feminist summer camp, read here...
Tanya Andrusieczko, NU Sask 4 Alum // Next Up Saskatchewan