Mar 5, 2024
Vancouver BC – snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College is pleased to release its first equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) framework. The framework outlines Langara’s EDI work over the next three years (2024-27), and details the actions Langara is committed to taking in the immediate future and beyond.
The framework is an outcome of months of close collaboration and engagement with community members, ranging from surveys and focus groups to employee engagement sessions and interviews. The result is a dynamic guiding strategy for immediate and long-term social and systematic change at the College.
“It’s easy to say that equity, diversity, and inclusion are important and to claim them as principles that we value. But in our current climate, it isn’t enough to simply talk about EDI,” said Dr. Paula Burns, President, Langara College. “To be the kind of campus we aspire to be, Langara must meaningfully live these values, day in and day out, until they are woven into the very core of who we are and how we act towards one another.”
In 2019, Langara College created the Centre for Intercultural Engagement. In 2022, Langara’s first EDI Director was hired to lead initiatives, such as delivering EDI-related workshops and training for students and employees. In 2023, the Centre for Intercultural Engagement grew into a dedicated space to become the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, with one of its first tasks to create an institution-level framework representing the College’s diverse community.
“Langara’s journey towards creating and fostering a more equitable, diverse, inclusive, and safe environment at the College is an ongoing long-term commitment,” said Dr. Joy Walcott-Francis, Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. “The four themes identified in this framework set the stage for key actions to be taken in the short, medium and long term.”
About snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ Langara College
Located in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Langara College provides post-secondary education to more than 19,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara's expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path. Langara is also known as snəw̓eyəɬ leləm 'house of teachings', a name given to it by Musqueam, on whose unceded traditional territory the College is located.
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Mark Dawson
Manager, Public Affairs
Langara College
mdawson@langara.ca
