Events
Upcoming Events
BCCHR Community Partnership Super Hub
2026 Community Partnership Symposium
The Joy and Mess of Creating Together
October 8-9, 2026 | Vancouver, BC
This free two-day event will foster bi-directional learning among researchers, people with lived experience, and community partners. Across two days of dialogue, arts-based practice, and shared experience, this symposium asks what it takes to unsettle power, follow Indigenous and community leadership, build accountable relationships, and create together through mess, tension, and joy.
Advance registration is required. If you would like to attend, please complete this registration form.
Date and Location
Our 2-day event will take place in 2 locations:
- October 8, 2026: Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings St., Vancouver (TBC)
- October 9, 2026: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, 938 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver
Agenda
Thursday, October 8, 2026
| Time | Session Title | Speakers / Facilitator |
| 8:30-9:30am | Breakfast and Networking | |
| 9:30-10:00am | Opening and Land Acknowledgement | • Elder Kathy Nahanee, Squamish Nation • Elder Linda George, Squamish Nation • Elder Lorna Joseph, Squamish Nation • Knowledge Keeper Candice Norris, Cree Dene People • Welcome from Dr. Steven Miller, Department Head, UBC Dept. of Pediatrics |
| 10:00-10:30am | Break and Refreshments | |
| 10:30-12:00 | Session #1: The Possibilities of Arts-Based Engagement | Speakers: • Biz Nijdam, UBC Pop Culture Cluster; Assistant Professor of Teaching, UBC Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies • Caylee Raber, Director, Emily Carr Health Design Lab Facilitator: Britt Udall |
| 12:00-1:00pm | Lunch Break | |
| 1:00-2:30pm | Session #2: On Our Own Terms: First Nations Teachings on Health and Wellbeing in Western Academia | Speakers: • Amy Shawanda, Anishinaabe Scholar; Director of Research, Kenjgwin Teg (Ontario) • Johanna Sam, Tŝilhqot’in Nation; Associate Professor, UBC Faculty of Education • Carmen Tait, Gitxsan Nation; Indigenous Health Program Lead, BCCH Facilitator: Matt Carwana |
| 2:30-3:30pm | Break, Refreshments and Transit Time | |
| 3:30-5:00pm | Community-based Session #1 / Activity | |
| Option 1: Squamish Nation Medicine Walk | Facilitator: Jared van Somer | |
| Option 2: Arts-Based Activity (creating buttons, a zine, or tarot cards, etc.) | Facilitators: Biz Nijdam and Caylee Raber | |
| Option 3: Sharing Circle (Japanese Language Hall) | Facilitator: Candice Norris | |
| 5:30-8:30pm | Social and Dinner at Steamworks in Gastown, 375 Water St., Vancouver, BC | |
Friday October 9, 2026
| Time | Session Title | Speakers / Facilitator |
| 8:30-9:30 | Breakfast and Networking | |
| 9:30-11:30 | Session #3: Doing Research Together: Relationships, Ruptures, and Repair | Speakers: • Shazeen Suleman, Pediatrician, BCCH; & youth partner • Katelynn Boerner, Psychologist, BCCH; & Levi Du, BCCH • Cameron Eekhoudt & youth partner, UBC Youth Overdose Prevention Research Cluster Facilitator: Danya Fast |
| 11:30-12:00 | Break and Refreshments | |
| 12:00-1:00 | Pediatric Grand Rounds: Community Based Participatory Research with Black Youth in Canada: Issues and Strategies | Speakers: • Dr. Bukola Salami, University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing, Canada Research Chair (CIHR) Tier 1 in Black and Racialized Peoples’ Health • Ezinne Nwachukwu, youth partner |
| 1:00-2:30 | Lunch and Transit Time | |
| 2:30-4:00 | Community-based Session #2 TBD | |
Questions? Please contact Cathy Chabot, CPSH Manager, at cathy.chabot@ubc.ca.
Additional Events
- September 25, 1:00 – 1:30pm: BCCHR Room 3113 and via Zoom
- December 11, 1:00 – 1:30pm: BCCHR Room 2108 and via Zoom
- September 25, 1:30 – 3:00pm: BCCHR Room 3113 and via Zoom
- December 11, 1:30 – 3:00pm: BCCHR Room 2108 and via Zoom
Coming soon.
Past Events
- December 4, 2025 North American Speakers’ Series presentation by Michelle Leach and Taylor Jobin: “Walking Together in Research: Dismantling Research Norms Through Relationships, Reciprocity, and Respect in Partnership with First Nations,” co-sponsored by BCCHR’s Community Partnership and the Indigenous Child Health Knowledge Super Hubs
- June 4, 2026 North American Speakers’ Series presentation by Ashley Vandermorris and Soliana Lijiam: “Power, Participation, and Possibility: Youth-Engaged Approaches to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Research”
