Initiatives
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The Office of Diversity, Equity and Sustainability Initiatives (ODESI) supports the OCAD U community by:
- Creating or supporting opportunities on campus to advance understanding and promote social change through collective and critical reflection, knowledge generation and mobilization, and art and design creation
- Coordinating, informing or supporting organizational change strategies that are designed to acknowledge and redress systemic, structural and historical disadvantage in employment and educational policy and practice, promote a culture of inclusion and advance sustainability.
- Providing information, training and educational opportunities, and capacity building in the areas of equity, accessibility, human rights and sustainable practices.
- Advocating for high standards in policies, procedures and practices in the areas of human rights, equity and sustainability
- Ensuring a fair and effective administration of OCAD U’s human rights policies and providing subject matter expertise on the principles of human rights, equity and accessibility and related obligations in the resolution of complaints.
Guiding principles
ODESI is dedicated to fostering a collaborative ecosystem of engagement and participation, establishing reciprocal relationships and community collaborations with equity-seeking communities both locally and globally.
While ODESI plays a crucial leadership and advisory role, the responsibility for human rights, equity, and sustainability is shared within the OCAD U community. Engaging this community in a unified effort to understand and advance equity and sustainability is essential and ongoing, with the OCAD U’s Employment and Educational Equity Committee (EEEC) playing a vital role in ensuring progress on the university's strategic equity and sustainability priorities.
To enhance its accountability and transparency, ODESI will continue to develop practices that include regular reporting on its activities and on issues of importance to the OCAD U community.
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