Laurier’s Tshepo Institute hosting workshop about preparing African-Canadian youth for educational and career success

April 25, 2022

On April 28 and 29, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa (TISCA) is hosting a workshop called The Role of African Ethnic Associations in Preparing Their Youth for the Future. It will be hosted in person at the Balsillie School for International Affairs in Waterloo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

TISCA members are bringing together leaders of African-Canadian associations, community practitioners, academic researchers and students to examine how African-Canadian associations function, as well as their role in preparing African youth for educational and career success. Researchers have long argued that immigrant social structures play an important role in the settlement and adaptation of immigrants in host countries.

“The main outcome of our event will be the development of best practices for collaborative work among ethnic associations, as well as how to effectively engage and support Black African youth in Waterloo Region and beyond,” says Oliver Masakure, associate director of TISCA and associate professor of Business Technology Management.

TISCA’s mandate is to produce and share timely interdisciplinary knowledge and discourse about issues affecting contemporary continental Africa and its diaspora.

“Dr. Masakure and I have been studying the school and labour market transitions of African youth across Canada for six years, but African ethnic associations have been largely unexplored in the scholarly discourse,” says Stacey Wilson-Forsberg, TISCA director and associate professor of Human Rights and Human Diversity. “The workshop will expand our existing research program on immigrant youth and allow us to include these associations in our future community-engaged research and practice.”

The first day of the workshop will begin with a keynote address by Leo Nupolu Johnson, senior advisor of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Non-Profit Management at Wentworth Strategy Group, while day two will conclude with a working group session to develop a set of best practice recommendations. Both days will consist of interactive panel presentations interspersed with networking breaks and meals.

Anyone interested in attending the workshop is asked to RSVP by email to Masakure (omasakure@wlu.ca) or Wilson-Forsberg (swilsonforsberg@wlu.ca) by April 26.