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Message from Naomi Andrew, Vice-President (Administration) and Catherine Cook, Vice-President (Indigenous)

UM community members:

As co-chairs of the Anti-Racism Task Force, we are pleased to share that today we have launched UM’s anti-racism webpagehttps://umanitoba.ca/anti-racism and released an Interim Reporthttps://umanitoba.ca/sites/default/files/2023-01/anti-racism-task-force-interim-report-09-11-2022.pdf that includes recommendations to address racism.

These foundational recommendations, focusing on education, policies and processes, lay the groundwork for dismantling racism in all its forms throughout our UM community.

The Anti-Racism Task Forcehttps://news.umanitoba.ca/dismantling-racism-um-establishes-anti-racism-task-force/ was established a year ago in February 2022 - a key step in advancing racial justice.

This Interim Report reflects the progress of the Anti-Racism Task Force and presents recommendations for immediate action based on the significant work already done by community members, stakeholder groups and key offices within the university and on the expertise of the Task Force members.

Interested in sharing your thoughts? The anti-racism webpage offers an opportunity for you to provide inputhttps://umanitoba.ca/anti-racism#how-you-can-contribute-to-the-conversation on questions like: What does anti-racism mean to you? What does an anti-racism strategy look like to you?

Community engagement sessions will start soon, with details to be posted on the webpage.

There will also be learning opportunities for students, faculty and staff to build capacity for anti-racist actions through upcoming events, including Black History Month activitieshttps://news.umanitoba.ca/february-is-black-history-month/ such as:

* Feb. 17, 7 p.m. UMBA presents: We signed the Scarborough Charter - Now what?https://umanitoba.ca/um-black-alliance

We thank all the Task Force members for their ongoing work and significant contributions, and we look forward to your participation as members of our UM community.