The First Nations Technology Council has launched a new project to advance reconciliation by decolonizing corporate systems and transforming the innovation, technology, and technology-enabled sectors both provincially and nationally.
The Moving Beyond Inclusion: Partnerships and Reconciliation Project began in 2021 as a pilot program with five available partnership opportunities. SAP Canada was the first organization to sign on, with Pagefreezer, Microsoft, and Bench Accounting following shortly thereafter.
Today’s announcement coincides with the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
“We’ve seen that a lot of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work does not have enough emphasis on cultural safety and systems change to make a tangible impact. As a result, we saw a need to do more than focus on inclusion and design actions grounded in reconciliation with an Indigenous lens. That’s how Moving Beyond Inclusion was born,” said Lauren Kelly, Director, Sector Transformation at the First Nations Technology Council (FNTC).
The Technology Council, along with partners Chastity Davis-Alphonse, Shelley Joseph and Reciprocal Consulting, supports program participants in developing a strategic and coordinated, actions-based approach to identifying and addressing barriers that prevent Indigenous persons from accessing employment, having a positive experience, and thriving within the respective company.
Both participants and the Technology Council are aligned in their vision of increasing opportunities and leadership of Indigenous peoples in the technology and innovation sectors, developing a deeper understanding of race bias in these sectors, and creating tangible responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Actions while advancing meaningful reconciliation in a demonstrable way.
“Diverse perspectives fuel innovation. We joined the Moving Beyond Inclusion partnership with the First Nations Technology Council in acknowledgement of our responsibility to make reconciliation a focused pillar of our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy,” says Cindy Fagen, Managing Director, SAP Labs Canada.
“Over the past few months, FNTC has guided us in examining our internal structures, policies and processes, and how they might be optimized for full inclusion of Indigenous people in our organization. We are excited to move from insights to action as we continue this journey alongside a community of technology industry peers.”
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