1.1 Introduction, Land Acknowledgement and Getting to Know Each Other

Learning Objectives:

• To facilitate trust, mutual respect, and group cohesion
• To assess participants’ feelings and gauge their energy level

Materials: Markers, Name Tags, Flipchart

Time Required: 20 Minutes

Activities & Instructions

Instructions to Participants:

1. Facilitator #1 says, “Hello everyone, welcome to the first session of the CHAMPs-In-Action Training. My name is                     , and I am a Program Associate for the CHAMPs-In-Action Project. I will be co-facilitating all our training with my colleague                     . Before we begin today’s session, we will take time to honour and acknowledge the history of the land we are meeting on. The Land Acknowledgement helps remind us of the histories and negative impact of colonialism and racism. It supports us to be mindful about what it means to occupy space on Indigenous lands, our relationships with Indigenous peoples and our responsibilities towards the lands. (Facilitator reads Land Acknowledgement below)

   Land Acknowledgement

   “With gratitude and respect, we acknowledge that we are meeting on the traditional territory of many Indigenous Nations. Toronto is in the ‘Dish With One Spoon Territory’. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas, and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. As we begin our learning journey together, we are mindful of the continuing impact of colonialism, racism, HIV stigma and other forms of social injustices that disproportionately impact the Indigenous peoples and other racialized and socially marginalized communities in Canada. We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples as allies to continue our fight for social justice and work towards ending HIV stigma and other forms of discrimination locally and globally.”

2. After Land Acknowledgement, Facilitator leads the introduction. “Again, my name is                     . My background is                     . I look forward to working with all of you. I will now invite my co-facilitator                      to introduce herself/himself/themselves.”
3. Facilitator #2 says, “Hello everyone. My name is                     . I am also the CHAMPs-In-Action Program Associate. My background is                     . Now, we would like to invite you to introduce yourself. Tell us briefly, in a minute or so, (i) your name, (ii) whatever you wish to share with the group about yourself, (iii) a colour you choose for today and why. It does not even have to be your favourite colour; and (iv) your energy level. From a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being extremely low energy level and 10 being very high, tell us your energy level. We may ask you about your energy level at the end of each session.”
4. (After all the participants have taken a turn, the facilitator debriefs the activity.)
   Facilitator #2 says, “Thank you, everyone, for sharing. We will get to know each other more as we go through the training sessions together. Notice that each of us may choose a different colour from others, and even if we do choose the same colour, we may bring different meanings to it. So, we all bring in our own unique perspectives and experiences. There is room for all of them. And together, we have a wider spectrum of colour! It is also great that we all share where we are at in terms of our energy level. Knowing this will enable us to be aware and support each other during our learning together.”
   Facilitator #1 says, “Before we go on to our next activity, I just want to take care of a few housekeeping items.”
   (Facilitator #1 provides participants with information on training facilities, e.g., washroom, any announcements, honoraria, etc.)

Key Summary Points

• Thank participants for sharing.
• Remind participants to be mindful of the diversity of perspectives and energy level amongst themselves.
• Encourage everyone to be sensitive and supportive to each other and to participate in the best capacity they can.