Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity (CCGSD)

We are so sad to share with you that after 19 years of education and advocacy alongside 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and allies across the country, The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity is bankrupt and will no longer be operating. This is the result of severe financial pressures that could not be overcome. We are profoundly grateful to all staff, funders, donors, partners, and community members for believing in and working toward a world free of discrimination.   Right now, our focus is on supporting the group of motivated and talented former CCGSD staff members that are seeking new opportunities. These staff members are highly skilled in  program management, coordination, communications and facilitation, and are leaders in the fields of education and inclusion, and queer history for queer and trans youth in various communities.   In solidarity, -         The CCGSD Board of Directors 

To show up fully for the youth we work with, we must feel confident that we can talk with them about hard things. We need to be able to move past the justified fear of backlash, the dread of dealing with negative social attitudes, and the unease that comes with searching for answers to the questions we are asked. This is especially true when the hard thing we have to talk about with youth is comprehensive sexuality education or gender-based violence. Educators deserve access to formal training, support, and resources to provide youth, and especially 2SLGBTQIA+ youth with the comprehensive sexuality education they need and deserve as well as to strengthen youth’s practical skills to prevent and address the gender-based violence they and their peers might be experiencing. Nevertheless, educators are denied the support and resources they need to provide this life-saving education to youth. This is why, on September 23rd at 5pm EDT, we are hosting a virtual panel titled Sex Ed Saves Lives on the power of collaboration among community services regarding strengthening the capacity of educators to teach comprehensive sexuality education and to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth experiencing gender-based violence. Our Sex Ed Saves Lives panel, which includes community-based service provider organizations from various regions across Canada, will speak to the importance of collaboration with educators to deliver impactful, intersectional, inclusive, and inspiring comprehensive sexuality education to youth. The discussion will also draw upon lessons learned from CCGSD’s recent collaboration with other sectors through our Not Just the Tip Project and will showcase some of the work accomplished through collaboration to advance inclusive sex ed across the country. This virtual panel for educators, community members, and service providers will feature the following panelists: - Tonya S. Lewis (she/her),  Manager of Youth Programs at Canvas Programs - Abbey Ferguson (she/her), Executive Director and Health Promotion Coordinator of the Halifax Sexual Health Centre (HSHC) - Ceara (she/her), Educator at Planned Parenthood Ottawa (PPO) - Alejandra (she/they), Education coordinator for Planned Parenthood Regina, treaty 4. This conversation will be moderated by Janani Suthan (she/they), Comprehensive Sexuality Education Program Coordinator at CCGSD. Register now and save your spot for this virtual panel on September 23rd, 2024 at 5pm EDT: https://wkf.ms/3Zm2Zbg

As we are all on our journeys to queer faith, navigating through different religions and spiritual practices, we are often faced, as queer and/or trans Black, Indigenous or people of color (QTBIPOC) youth with a lack of spaces and resources to support us in navigating our queerness and our faith. We each hold a lot of knowledge and expertise about navigating the intersections of QTBIPOC identities and faith. This is why we invite you to join us for our Pride in Faith and Spirituality Workshop Series which aims to create spaces and educational resources that centre the intersections of race, queerness, and religion. This workshop series offers a unique opportunity for QTBIPOC youth aged 18-29 from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities to connect with other Queer individuals from their faith group. Come share space with other QTBIPOC youth navigating the intersections of race, queerness, and religion! Register now and secure your spot for your faith-specific workshop: https://wkf.ms/3MnGXgP

The path to queer faith, to the peaceful coexistence of our racial, queer, and religious identities, is filled with pain, joy, uncertainty, and community. As we are all on our journeys to queer faith, navigating through different religions and spiritual practices, we are often faced, as queer and/or trans Black, Indigenous or people of color (QTBIPOC) youth with a lack of spaces and resources to support us in navigating our queerness and our faith. We each hold a lot of knowledge and expertise about navigating the intersections of QTBIPOC identities and faith. This is why we invite you to join us for our Pride in Faith and Spirituality Workshop Series which aims to create spaces and educational resources that centre the intersections of race, queerness, and religion. This workshop series offers a unique opportunity for QTBIPOC youth aged 18-29 from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities to connect with other Queer individuals from their faith group. Come share space with other QTBIPOC youth navigating the intersections of race, queerness, and religion! Register now and secure your spot for your faith-specific workshop: https://wkf.ms/3MnGXgP

Like you we have noticed that classrooms and learning spaces have been radically transformed by anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, misinformation and repeated attacks on the rights of trans and gender-diverse youth. As a new school year is upon us, we invite you to our webinar entitled The State of Gender and Sexuality Inclusion in Ontario Schools: What can we do? to come together with other educators and share insights, information and resources on how to address rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate and misinformation in our classrooms and youth environments In this webinar, you will grow your: ✅ connection with other educators navigating the challenging context of misinformation and rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate in our classrooms; ✅ understanding of the impact of increasing hate and misinformation in classrooms and how our findings these past school years will reshape CCGSD’s approach to our Affirming Schools Program for 2024-2025 to better address this challenging context; and your ✅ toolbox of resources to support you in the work of disrupting anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, misinformation, and transphobia in your classrooms. By uniting our forces and coming together, we can disrupt misinformation and rising hate and make a difference for all youth, especially 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, by improving access to comprehensive sexuality education that is inclusive, intersectional, and evidence-based. Register now and secure your spot for this webinar on The State of Gender and Sexuality Inclusion in Ontario Schools on August 21st, 2024, from 10:30am to 12pm EDT: https://wkf.ms/3SNYMZU

What does mental health and wellness mean in the context of a violent sociopolitical context and rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate? This August, we will be exploring, through art and themed peer-to-peer conversations by and  for QTBIPOC youth aged 15 to 25, this question in our workshop series entitled Caring for Ourselves and Each Other: A Workshop Series on Mental Health, Wellness, and the Power of Intersecting Identities. Caring for Ourselves and Each Other is a free virtual workshop series for youth aged 15 to 25 who are both queer/trans and Black/Indigenous and/or people of color (QTBIPOC). Using approaches that center collective health, and decolonial ways of approaching mental health, this workshop series aims to foster a space of critical discussion, resource sharing, and capacity building for Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and Racialized youth across Canada. In this workshop series, through these conversations with peers that share similar experiences, you will: ✅Analyze oppressive structures: gain insights into the systemic barriers that affect our communities and learn strategies to challenge and dismantle them. ✅Strengthen your support system: build lasting connections with fellow youth from across the country, expanding your network and support system. ✅Grow your mental health and wellness toolbox: discover valuable resources and tools to support your mental health and wellness journey. Join us this August for our Caring for Ourselves and Each Other workshop series! Register now and secure your spot or share this workshop series with a QTBIPOC youth in your life: https://lnkd.in/e5GMB6K3 

Join us and help ensure that youth have the tools they need to identify and fight anti-trans hate online! We are excited to share that we are seeking 5 Youth Advisory Council members aged 16 to 24, for our new project, Unfollow Transphobia: Mobilizing Youth Against Online Hate. Through workshops and training with both high school and university students, Unfollow Transphobia will ensure that youth across the country have the tools they need to identify and disrupt transphobic rhetoric when they encounter it online. 📖Read about about the project and the role: https://lnkd.in/e2JttPPX DEADLINE TO APPLY: July 25, 2024 at 11:59pm EDT ✅Share this post with a youth leader you know ✅Apply to be part of the youth advisory council: https://wkf.ms/3W27oOM This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada. This project is also made possible by the generous support of the Enchanté Network and the Unifor Social Justice Fund. --------- Joins-toi à nous et veille à ce que les jeunes aient les outils dont iels ont besoin pour identifier et combattre la haine anti-trans en ligne! Il nous fait plaisir d’annoncer que nous sommes à la recherche de 5 jeunes qui ont entre 16 et 24 ans pour faire partie du Comité-conseil jeunesse de notre nouveau projet intitulé Unfollow Transphobia : Mobilizing Youth Against Online Hate. Grâce à des ateliers et à de la formation auprès d’étudiant·e·s au secondaire et à l’université, Unfollow Transphobia veillera à ce que les jeunes de tout le pays disposent des outils dont iels ont besoin pour identifier et combattre la rhétorique transphobe lorsqu’iels la rencontrent en ligne. 📖 En savoir plus sur le projet et le rôle : https://lnkd.in/e2JttPPX DATE LIMITE POUR POSER SA CANDIDATURE : 25 juillet 2024 à 23 h 59 HAE ✅Partagez ce post avec un·e jeune leader que vous connaissez ✅Poser sa candidature pour faire partie du comité-conseil jeunesse https://wkf.ms/3W27oOM Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada.  Ce projet est également rendu possible grâce au généreux soutien du Réseau Enchanté et du Fonds de justice sociale d’Unifor.

As we mobilize to fight rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate, it is more important than ever that we have the resources we need to sustain programming, resources, and advocacy that improves the lives of queer youth, centre their joy, and cultivate a world free of discrimination. Through your participation in fundraisers by our partners at Hillberg & Berk and Rivet Dawg, your individual donations to CCGSD, and your engagement with our email pride month campaign, you have made an impact in the work we do to ensure every queer and trans youth in Canada feels safe, supported, and celebrated. This pride season, you can continue to make a difference in the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth by participating in Prime Video Canada’s “Watch to Give Back” program. CCGSD has been selected by Prime Video Canada as one of the beneficiaries of their program this year. Between June 1, 2024 and August 30, 2024, if you rent or buy one of the 17 titles highlighting 2SLGBTQIA+ voices and stories included in the Watch to Give Back program, 100% of your purchase will be donated to CCGSD. The invaluable unrestricted funding coming from your purchases during Pride Season will help support our work offering programming, resources, and advocacy to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Unrestricted dollars cover what government grants do not: creating additional in-person or online spaces for youth and educators throughout the year, advocating for the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to comprehensive sexuality education, and building CCGSD’s organizational capacity by funding our operations, fundraising, administrative and communications costs.  Research shows that nonprofits that balance their project-specific funding with the unrestricted funds needed to adequately cover their administrative costs can carry out their mission with greater efficiency, impact and sustainability. This pride season, make your unique contribution to our efforts to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. 🎬 Watch a queer movie to donate to CCGSD: https://lnkd.in/gi8nhz_4

While all youth deserve to feel safe and respected, queer, trans, and gender-diverse youth often face barriers, including violence and discrimination, to the safety and respect they require to build community and become the leaders they have the potential to be. That’s why the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity—Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ youth organization—offers programming and resources and advocacy to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. Hillberg and Berk is partnering with the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity during Pride Month. Through the month of June, 20% of proceeds from Hillberg & Berk's Prism collection will support the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity. Created in celebration and support of Pride, the Prism collection has raised over $40,000 in support of CCGSD's mission since our partnership started in 2021. This Pride month, join us in our mission to improve the lives of queer and trans youth so they can realize their full potential: https://lnkd.in/de9wVSqz

Join a community of people who are as concerned as you about 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, comprehensive sexuality education and the work of building a future free of discrimination. Subscribe to CCGSD's weekly newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eT-KvBb5 Already subscribed? Share our newsletter with a friend and ask them to subscribe! [Image Description: The background is a photograph of a person with long hair smiling at their phone and sending messages with glowing email icons coming out of their phone. For each slide, the text is written in beige in a marine rectangle. Slide 1: Do you support the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to comprehensive sexuality education? Slide 2: Do you want to learn about projects that support queer and trans youth’s work toward a future free of discrimination? Slide 3: Do you want access to resources to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth as an educator, parent or community organization? Slide 4: Subscribe to our newsletter today! Learn every week what you can do to make a difference in the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth!]