Reconciliation Saskatoon has launched a new website to assist people with their reconciliation journey.
ConnectR provides users with a variety of calls to action for reconciliation.
“There’s many people who care but don’t know where to start or do nothing for fear of doing the wrong thing,” project manager Carrie Catherine says. “We wanted to create an online platform where people could find concrete actions that they could do at home to start their journey of reconciliation.”
Catherine adds elders and residential school survivors were consulted during the process of putting together the website.
“Reconciliation is different for everyone and often people don’t know where to begin,” Elder and residential school survivor Gilbert Kewistep says in a released statement. “ConnectR is a great resource that provides people of all ages a starting point for their journey. As a survivor, I’m excited about the future of reconciliation and seeing people, particularly our youth, respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action.”
Seven ConnectR Youth Ambassadors with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds were also involved in the project.
“As youth champions, we want to tackle difficult conversations about reconciliation so that more people feel willing to engage in calls to action,” ConnectR Youth Champion Sienna Waskewitch says in the same release.
ConnectR receives funding from the provincial government and the Saskatoon Community Foundation.
The City of Saskatoon and Office of the Treaty Commissioner have also provided in-kind support for the project.
“The ConnectR initiative shows us what is possible when we work with care and humility on the journey of reconciliation,” Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark says in a released statement. “Our city will only be successful if all people are able to be a part of its success, and ConnectR helps us to chart a path forward, pushes us to be a welcoming and resilient community, and inspires us to find strength in the differences of our neighbours and all of the people who call this place home. This project represents the best in our community, and I hope that many people in our community engage with this great resource.”
(PHOTO: ConnectR logo. Courtesy of the Be A ConnectR Facebook page.)