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40 # R I S I N G Y O U T H C O M M U N I T Y I M P A C T #RisingYouth grantee Celia White facilitated the "Decolonizing the Food System Book Club", a youth-led virtual meeting space for cross-cultural dialogue between Indigenous and non- Indigenous youth to discuss the intersections between food justice, decolonization, and reconciliation. The book club was led by Indigenous voices but encouraged non-Indigenous participants to listen and learn. Celia was part of a diverse team of facilitators who met regularly to build and share knowledge from both Indigenous and settler perspectives, develop and distribute three learning toolkits, and host three national book club sessions over the academic year. The gatherings took place in Montreal at the Meal Exchange's National Student Food Summit and Food Secure Canada's National Assembly, in Toronto during a Meal Exchange student leadership retreat, and finally, via video conference to accommodate participants from across the country. " Bringing together people from across the nation was an extraordinary learning experience. Different perspectives were shared from rural and urban areas, from the grasslands to the oceans. As food comes from the land, having people representing different geographical areas was essential to having rich and fruitful conversations." CELIA WHITE Decolonizing the Food System Book Club Celia White | $1,500 Nanaimo, British Columbia BRITISH COLUMBIA Nanaimo is located on Coast Salish (Snuneymuxw) Territory. LEARN MORE AT WWW.WHOSE.LAND

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