September 13, 2023
October is National Disability Employment Awareness month! AEFN is pleased to present the second annual DEAM IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility) conference in Edmonton, Alberta on October 26th. The event will be held from 9 am to 5 pm at the Delta Hotel conference room in Edmonton South. If you’ve heard about DEAM before and want to jump registration, click here! The event features a regular ticket price and a pay what you can price.
This conference will provide employers an opportunity to share their experience with supportive employment practices through panel discussions, and employees who have disabilities will also get the chance to speak on their experiences in the workforce. Businesses, any employers or individuals who may be interested in learning more about inclusive and supported employment through the lens of disability and disability intersectionality are invited to attend.
Alberta Employment First Network is expecting to host 160 attendees from across Alberta. The event is a great opportunity for employers to gain insight from industry leaders with lived experience that have tools and resources that can be implemented to create sustainable, inclusive, and diverse workplaces that retain employees with disabilities. We have a list of panelists and conversations planned for the day, stay tuned for more information on the full day agenda by following us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Two things we can announce are our event emcee and keynote speaker.
Carly Neis is an Edmonton local, a graduate of MacEwan University’s Arts and Cultural Management program and has completed the Azimuth Theatre Mentorship and Apprenticeship Program. Carly is passionate about musicals, creating new works, and ensuring accessibility for all in the world of storytelling. A disabled actor, playwright, and arts advocate with Cerebral Palsy, they also work as a disability/access consultant when not on stage, applying their lived experience to help curate accessible experiences and spaces for all. We are honoured that they are the event emcee!
Our keynote speaker, Nisha Patel, is an award-winning queer and disabled spoken word artist. She was the City of Edmonton’s 8th Poet Laureate and is a Canadian Individual Slam Champion. With gratitude to the disability justice movement, Nisha Patel will be speaking to the power of disabled knowledge and labour in the workplace, and the unique, transformative contributions that are made with proactive co-creation with disabled employees. Highlighting her own experiences with good and bad practice and care, Nisha will share her belief that the future of employment justice starts with expanding the expectations of what disabled labour is capable of, and dreaming beyond the practices on paper.
October 26th will be a day full of community, conversation and the opportunity to build upon your knowledge of inclusive and supported employment and recruitment. In addition, topics such as intersectionality, equity and “disability as a diversity” will receive further examination. Registration will be open until October 20th!
Purchase your ticket here.
Author : Mariebelle Sawma
