Echoes of Inclusion
Echoes of Inclusion
An initiative led by Sayaspora aims to transform inclusion and governance practices within Canada’s creative industries. While Canada's diversity is a recognized asset, creators from racialized communities continue to face significant obstacles: systemic discrimination, underrepresentation in decision-making positions, closed professional networks, and governance policies that are not inclusive.
In response to these challenges, Echoes of Inclusion offers a participatory, collaborative, and intersectional approach focused on empowering women within the African diaspora. The project is based on six complementary components designed to inform, equip, support, and mobilize stakeholders in the cultural sector around a shared vision: building a truly inclusive, equitable, and sustainable creative ecosystem.
Project duration: September 2025 – July 2026
Project amount: $177,740
Funding agency: Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program (MARCP) – Canadian Heritage
Echoes of Inclusion is...
6 video capsules
A series of capsules highlighting women from the African and Caribbean diaspora who are making their place in the creative industries in Canada - music, visual arts, media, humour and more. Distributed free to 100,000 people across the country.
3 leadership and governance workshops
Practical training to learn how to assert oneself, influence decisions in institutions and finance one’s artistic practice. Because leadership skills are learned - and you get them.
3 creative and professional workshops
3-hour training sessions on visibility in the media, the art of telling one’s story in all its forms - song, text, image - and eloquence to convince and present oneself with impact.
Mentorship program
15 established women in the creative industries each accompany 5 participants over 8 weeks - regular meetings, concrete advice, and a widening professional network.
Innovation lab
A day of intensive work bringing together 5 Montreal cultural organizations around a concrete question: how to make our structures truly inclusive? Together, they co-create action plans that they then implement.
A free practical guide
A bilingual and accessible online document that gives cultural organizations concrete tools to recruit, integrate and promote the talents of the diaspora. Designed to be used, not just read.
A national digital campaign
Articles, videos and content published on the platforms of Sayaspora and its media partners - so that the stories and realities of women in the African and Caribbean diaspora in the creative industries are seen, heard and shared.
Workshops
6 free, bilingual workshops designed for you. Two complementary components: leadership and governance, creative and professional. Each workshop lasts 3 hours and you leave with a concrete deliverable.
Component A: Leadership and Governance
Stream B: Creative and Professional
Our videos
Six capsules for six stories. Women from the African and Caribbean diaspora of Canadian creative industries – in music, visual arts, media, the cultural night and beyond – who talk about their journey, their struggles and what they have built.
