Advancing Disability Inclusion in Ethiopia Through Gondar-Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's Collaboration

The International Centre for the Advancement of Community-Based Rehabilitation—an organization committed to mainstreaming disability and advancing community-based rehabilitation—has engaged in a 10-year collaboration between the University of Gondar (UoG) and Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø. Supported by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, the collaboration connected university partners, scholars, disability organizations, community-based rehabilitation networks, and health systems.

Conversation Cafe: Insights into Community-Engaged Pedagogy

Date

Thursday November 26, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Location

187 A King St W

The session is designed as a welcoming space for reflection, relationship-building, and shared learning related to community engagement.

When universities engage with communities, they create opportunities for shared learning, impactful research, and mutual growth.

In this session we welcome Dr. Yasmine Djerbal, Associate Director in the Centre for Teaching and Learning, who will share insights into community-engaged pedagogy.

Join our drop-in session to learn more, ask questions, and connect with others committed to meaningful community collaboration in teaching, research and learning.

Who This Session Is For: All are welcome!

Date and Time: November 27, 2026 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EST

Co-hosts: Drs. Yasmine Djerbal, Michelle Searle and Reshma Nuri

Organized by: Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's University

Register here:

 

Conversation Cafe: Community-Engaged Research with Indigenous Communities

Date

Tuesday October 27, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Location

The session is designed as a welcoming space for reflection, relationship-building, and shared learning related to community engagement.


When universities engage with communities, they create opportunities for shared learning, impactful research, and mutual growth.

In this session, we welcome Dr. Alexandra Pedersen, Manager of EDII Capacity Development at the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, who will speak about community-engaged research with Indigenous communities.

Join this drop-in session to learn more, ask questions, and connect with others interested in meaningful community collaboration in teaching, research, and learning.

Who This Session Is For: All are welcome!
Date and Time: October 27, 2026 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EST
Co-hosts: Drs. Alexandra Pedersen, Michelle Searle and Reshma Nuri
Organized by: Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's University

Register here:

 

Krazy Glue Messaging: Making Your Evaluation and Research Findings Sticky

Date

Tuesday October 6, 2026
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Location

Joseph S. Stauffer Library room 014

Make your research findings stick! Learn how to distill key messages and communicate evidence in ways that busy decision-makers remember.

As researchers and evaluators, people need our evidence more than ever nowadays. But with so much going on, interest holders have even less bandwidth to absorb the results we give them. The solution? Sticky messaging! 

Smaller and more innovative forms of reporting such as infographics and two-page briefs have become standard over the years. However, these shorter forms of communication require us to condense our extensive findings into much less content. We also need to isolate our key messages and make them “stickyâ€� to ensure that busy decision-makers are able to understand, recall, and act on our key findings when the time comes.  

Join us for a fun and engaging workshop looking at what makes a key message “stickyâ€� and leave feeling inspired to try something new! 

Register here:

 

Using Liberating Structures in Community-based Research and Evaluation

Date

Monday October 5, 2026
2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Location

Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's Faculty of Education (511 Union St) room 110

Discover practical facilitation tools to make community research and evaluation more inclusive, engaging and collaborative.

When you work with community groups, do you worry that people are disengaged from the research and evaluation process, or worse, not included? Do you find yourself often using conventional approaches such as presentations or the traditional meeting format (too inhibiting), or large group brainstorming (too loose and disorganized)? Too often when working with community groups we default to old and tired methods that stifle inclusion and engagement. 

Enter Liberating Structures, a suite of simple but effective facilitation tools that ensure every participant is heard and groups work together more equitably and effectively. In this interactive workshop, you will experience a selection of Liberating Structures first-hand as you apply them to real-life research and evaluation scenarios. 

Register here:

 

Launching the Âé¶¹¹Ù꿉۪s Community Engagement Story Series

Community Engagement at Âé¶¹¹Ù꿉۪s is a shared commitment to working alongside communities to co-create knowledge, advance equity and well-being, and prepare students to contribute meaningfully to a complex world. Over the coming months, we will share stories about students, faculty, staff, educators, and community partners engaged in meaningful work locally, nationally, and globally. This series reflects Âé¶¹¹Ù꿉۪s commitment to Community Engagement as a collaborative process grounded in reciprocity, respect, and shared benefit.  

Conversation Cafe: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning

Date

Thursday September 24, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Location


When universities engage with communities, they create dynamic spaces for shared learning, impactful research, and mutual growth.
Join our drop-in session to learn more, ask questions, and connect with others committed to meaningful community collaboration in teaching, research and learning.

Who This Session Is For: All are welcome! 
Date and Time: September 24, 2026 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM EST
Co-hosts: Dr Michelle Searle and Dr. Reshma Nuri

Conversation Cafe: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, & Learning

Date

Tuesday August 11, 2026
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Location

When universities engage with communities, they create dynamic spaces for shared learning, impactful research, and mutual growth.

Join our drop-in session to learn more, ask questions, and connect with others committed to meaningful community collaboration in teaching, research and learning. The session is designed as a welcoming space for reflection, relationship-building, and shared learning related to community engagement.

Who This Session Is For: All are welcome!

Date and Time: August 11, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST

Co-hosts: Dr. Michelle Searle and Dr. Reshma Nuri

Organized by: Âé¶¹¹ÙÍø's University

Conversation Cafe: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning

Date

Friday May 29, 2026
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Location

When universities engage with communities, they create dynamic spaces for shared learning, impactful research, and mutual growth. Join our drop-in session to learn more, ask questions, and connect with others committed to meaningful community collaboration in teaching, research
and learning.

Who This Session Is For: All are welcome, including community members, Âé¶¹¹Ù꿉۪s faculty, students and staff.

Co-hosted by: Dr. Michelle Searle and Dr. Reshma Nuri