In this episode, we chat with Mallory Nezam, Creative Consultant at Justice + Joy and a strong advocate of incorporating play into your everyday life. ⠀ ⠀ Mallory shares her work embedding artists into all levels of government, and using art to reflect and meet the needs of different communities. She talks about how play is beneficial to us at all stages of life and how it can be used to break down social barriers and release creativity.⠀ ⠀ We discuss some ways we lean into play in our own lives, and how you can reconnect with play and use it to bring joy and imagination to your circles and communities. ⠀   Want more of Mallory? You can reach her at: https://www.mallorynezam.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mallorynezam/  https://twitter.com/activatethecity  

In this episode, Sheliza chats with Javier Davila (he/him), a queer Latine award winning educator from Toronto. The conversation covers the facilitation of safe spaces for students of all identities in the education system, how to introduce equity into school environments, and the creation and sharing of equity resources. ⠀ ⠀ Javier also discusses his work in designing policies that center student voices and support BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ youth.⠀   Curious about Javier? Find him on: https://twitter.com/XjusticeXpeace

Host Sheliza Jamal is joined by Heather Watts on this episode to discuss Indigenous rights, treaty responsibility and highlighting truth and healing in Reconciliation. The discussion also addresses ways to understand and participate in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th, and the upcoming federal election.    Want to learn more about Heather? Find her on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlwatts/?originalSubdomain=ca  https://firstpeoplesgroup.com/team-member/heather-watts-she-her/

In this episode, host Sheliza Jamal chats with Samanta Krishnapillai, founder of The ON Canada Project. They discuss Samanta's Instagram page, which has accumulated over 100k followers and seeks to provide accessible education about COVID-19 and other social equity issues. They also talk about how to mobilize communities, particularly Gen Z and Millenials, to seek change and social impact. The two discuss Canada's upcoming federal election, critical issues for Canada's communities and how you can get involved and contribute to the causes you care about.  Want to know more about The ON Canada Project? Find them on:   https://www.instagram.com/oncanadaproject/  https://oncanadaproject.ca/  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaT6j8B7ihpjEwYGzZxMxCQ  https://www.facebook.com/OnCanadaProject/    Curious about Samanta? Find her on:   https://www.instagram.com/samkrish_/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-krish/?originalSubdomain=ca  https://twitter.com/SamKrish_ 

The global Muslim community is often represented through a singular narrative, as a monolithic identity. As the world's fastest-growing religion, Islam’s 2 billion followers are assumed to share the same values, beliefs, practices and even physical traits.  In our inaugural podcast episode of Curated Conversations, host Sheliza Jamal is joined by Tristan Mohamed, Gilary Massa, Shafik Kamani, and Laila Ackison to debunk that myth of the Muslim monolith, share their personal experiences, and discuss the harmful impacts of the Muslim tropes in the media. Curious about today’s guests? Find them on: Tristan Mohamed https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristan-mohamed-07271785/?originalSubdomain=ca    Gilary Massa https://twitter.com/gilaryPmassa  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilarymassa/  https://www.instagram.com/gilarym/    Shafik Kamani https://www.instagram.com/shafikkamani/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/shafik-kamani/?originalSubdomain=ca  https://twitter.com/shafikkamani