PACT Announces ALL IN: National Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative
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The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) is launching a major, highly collaborative program focused on increasing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) throughout Canada's theatre sector - called All In: A National Equity, Diversity & Inclusive Initiative.
This capacity development program is unique to Canada's professional arts ecology, in that it promotes a Social Justice framework that gives equal importance to the barriers and inequities experienced by all equity-seeking communities.
"While we've been working on this initiative behind the scenes for a while now, the program's public launch comes at a timely moment in Canadian theatre history - when equity, diversity and inclusion has become a mobilizing force in the zeitgeist of national cultural conversation," notes PACT Board President Jay Dodge. "All In will help provide our sector with the EDI tools needed to be leaders in this important area."
The ultimate objective of All In is to develop a national cohort of arts equity facilitators and advocates, who collaborate on increasing the reciprocal participation of equity-seeking artists and companies the potential for equitable cross-cultural collaboration and the promotion of a truly diverse theatrical landscape.
"PACT believes strongly that, in all EDI work, it is vital that the equity-seeking arts community be reciprocally involved," asserts Sara Meurling, PACT's Executive Director. "This is why our national EDI initiative has been developed through extensive consultation with the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, ADHOC Assembly, and The Deaf, Disability & Mad Arts Alliance of Canada - theatre associations that specifically advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion in the arts."
Also key to the success of this initiative has been PACT's collaboration with municipal and provincial theatre associations including Theatre Nova Scotia, Theatre Ontario, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Theatre Alberta, and the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance. These associations came together in January with the Board of Directors of PACT to pilot an adopted EDI framework and training method through an introductory EDI capacity development training session. There was a wholehearted commitment by all to continue with this approach as part of a larger national initiative.
Building on the success of early pilots, PACT has fully launched the All In program with EDI capacity development training in regions across Canada in collaboration with local cohort leaders.
For more information contact Sara Meurling, ED; sara@pact.ca; 416-595-6455 x 11
