Please join Queer Studies in Education and Culture (QSEC) for a celebration of 10 years of fYrefly in Saskatchewan. Founder Dr. André Grace from the University of Alberta will join a panel of speakers from this province’s LGBTQ+ communities to speak of the progress and activism of the past decade that has moved gender and sexual diversity (GSD) in from the margins. In this interactive session, participants will address some of the challenges still facing vulnerable GSD populations and the complexities of identity politics in the 21st Century. Members and allies of local Gay Straight Alliances will also participate. Light refreshments will be served.
Where: Luther College (LC) Auditorium, University of Regina Campus
When: Saturday, May 26, 2018 from 1:30-3:30 pm
About fYrefly Saskatchewan
First organized at the University of Alberta by Dr. André Grace and Dr. Kris Wells, Camp fYrefly came to Saskatchewan in 2008 through the support of two strong community-based committees in Saskatoon and Regina and the leadership of Dr. James McNinch of the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina. Since then, this four-day residential leadership retreat for LGBTQ+ youth has alternated between these two cities, encouraging gender and sexually diverse youth to develop leadership and self-advocacy skills to become positive change agents in their schools, families, and communities. fYrefly is an arts-based camp with an elder-in-residence and an artist-in-residence providing guidance and leading some of the many workshops. As more than 500 campers over the years have told us, fYrefly stands for: fostering Youth resiliency, energy, fun, leadership – yeah! The fYrefly generates its own light making it a powerful symbol of the goals of camp. The camp is funded entirely from donations from the public which ensures that no youth is prevented from attending.
Three years ago fYrefly in Schools expanded the mission of the camp and began working directly with school divisions providing professional learning opportunities for educators and administrators and peer-to-peer educational workshops for students. This work has been funded by TD Canada Trust, Sask Power, the Sask Community Initiatives Fund and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
