This inaugural episode of Diggin In with ONN sets the intention for the series on Decent Work and gives a preview of what’s to come as we dive into topics of racial equity, Truth and Reconciliation, organizational and individual systems change as it relates to diversity & inclusion within the nonprofit sector and more with leaders who are working to reshape the sector.
This inaugural episode of Diggin In with ONN sets the intention for the series on Decent Work and gives a preview of what’s to come as we dive into topics of racial equity, Truth and Reconciliation, organizational and individual systems change as it relates to diversity & inclusion within the nonprofit sector and more with leaders who are working to reshape the sector.
Learn more about Decent Work
Learn more about Yami and Kavita
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Yami: Welcome to Digging In With ONN. I'm your host Yami, and I'm joined with my co-host, Kavita. I currently am the network Engagement Manager with the Ontario Nonprofit Network, which means that I'm working on the decent work movement building-it's a mouthful-which is related to racial justice and equity, including Truth and Reconciliation within the working conditions of the nonprofit sector.
For this podcast, we'll be digging into public policy systems change that impacts Ontario's nonprofit sector, and how we can advocate together as a sector from decent work, reimagining governance, data privacy and more. For all nonprofits, sub-sectors across Ontario, big, small and everything in between, this series of Digging In With ONN will focus on decent work using an intersectional lens that centers truth and reconciliation, racial justice and practices of equity that can support the nonprofit sector.
Before we get into what this podcast is going to be about, I'm going to hand it over to my co-host, Kavita.
Kavita: Hello everyone. As Yami said, I'm Kavita. I'm the communications manager at ONN. Outside of my nine to five jobs over the last decade in the nonprofit sector, I have dabbled in some activism work in Toronto. I had my formative years in India and many years volunteering for Human Rights Watch. So I tend to think globally about human rights with a focus on women and girls in particular, I take that all of us or none of us approach to heart.
I joined the sector because I wanted to make a difference and advance social justice and embarrassingly enough, it took me a while but I did eventually come to the realization that the roots of the sector are problematic and built upon and benefit from colonization and white supremacy. So now I spend time thinking about and figuring out how to support the advancement of the dismantling of these problematic systems and disrupting the status quo.
I also spend a lot of my spare time with my dog Paro who often graces my Twitter feed. I could talk about her all day, but that's not why we're here. Yami, why are we here? Why are we doing this podcast?
Yami: See Kavita, this is why you always keep me on track because I didn't even tell you about myself.
Kavita: I know! I was going to say that! *chuckles*
Yami: Kavita is giving us a bio about her dog Paro, what she does outside of her nine to five, and actually like, just like, you know, in alignment with any nonprofit worker that's like, this is my job, this is what I do. So here's the Coles Notes version of what I do outside of my nine to five.
So I am a movement based practitioner, so I dabble in all things related to wellness and embodiment and how it relates to how we show up in the workplace and in our everyday life. And that's a fancy way of saying, I'm interested in the ways in which our mind, body and spirit connect to forge the connections that can create systems change. Systems change that address colonization, and white supremacy. I'm also a consultant part time outside of my time with ONN.
And so that's mostly been dabbling in organizational development, supporting organizations that are like, we don't know how to make this social justice or racial justice embedded in our organization. It's a lot of that, and it's also a lot of me taking care of my plant babies. That's another thing that I love to do.
Kavita: Ooh, love the plant babies.
Yami: Right? They're so cute. Anyways, right now I'm trying to keep my montesara alive, so for the next couple of episodes, you'll probably hear about my montesara, which is also known as a cheese plant.
Why are we here? Back on track. So we're here because we want to talk to you about all things that are related to decent work, racial justice and equity, Truth and Reconciliation, organizational development, organizational culture, the nonprofit sector, we want to dive into topics that matter to you. Now, the reality is we could have made this into a report or literature review, but we thought it would be more interesting to create a podcast so that as you're moving through your day, you can engage in the stories that are told around the sector. And so our hope is to really connect with you not only at an organizational level, but also on a human level. And that's why we hope you'll be digging in with us on the issues.
Now, Kavita, for folks who don't know what ONN is and let's, let's break down the abbreviation of Ontario Nonprofit Network. Can you walk us through what ONN does, who we are and how we strive to serve the sector?
Kavita: Absolutely. So the Ontario Nonprofit Network started in 2007 and is the independent network for the 58,000 nonprofits in Ontario, focused on policy, advocacy and services to strengthen Ontario's nonprofit sector as a key pillar of our society and economy. We work to create a public policy environment that helps nonprofits thrive. We engage our network of diverse nonprofit organizations across Ontario to work together on issues affecting the sector, and channel the voices of our networks to government, funders and other stakeholders. The vision is a strong and resilient nonprofit sector, thriving communities and a dynamic province.
Yami: So now that you know who we are, and you know a little bit about ONN, we hope that you'll join us next week as we dive into, what is decent work? One of the pillars in which we use in our frameworks at ONN to talk about creating equitable working conditions. So we will be joined by our colleague, Pamela Uppal, who is a policy advisor who will be discussing not only decent work as a framework, but also how it relates to gender equity, and overall creating the conditions that nonprofits need to thrive. So hopefully you'll join us then.
Kavita: Thanks for tuning in to our first episode.
Yami: Thanks so much, Kavita. We are so excited to be digging into issues that matter to you. Thanks for tuning into episode zero. We’re your hosts Kavita and Yami, and we hope that you'll join us for future episodes as we dig into all issues related to decent work, Truth and Reconciliation, as well as racial justice and equity.
We also wanted to let you know that we have an upcoming conference on October 27 and 28th 2021. You can find out more info at ONN.ca. That's ONN.ca. Make sure to like, comment, subscribe, so that you're the first to know when our episodes are live. See you next week.