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Celebrate Black History Month with The Lens: Living Diverse. As Black individuals raised in Canada, Neisha, Vivi and Ben discuss their opinions of Black History Month, Black History curriculum, pivotal Black figures, powerful literature and modern-day celebrations to commemorate the month. You won’t want to miss this honest and thought-provoking discussion, where we examine our Black history, present and future. Content to Check Out Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – book by Frederick Douglass Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl – book by Harriet Jacobs Beloved – book by Toni Morrison Sugar: A Bitter-Sweet History – book by Elizabeth Abbott

In this thought-provoking episode of the Lens: Living Diverse, Ben speaks with Nav Dhillon – a passionate advocate and founder of 1iCollective, a not-for-profit aimed at empowering and instilling hope in individuals impacted by vision and ocular adversities. Nav shares her experiences as a South Asian woman living with an artificial eye, her journey navigating the sight loss community, and her initiative to change perceptions of disability through her foundation, 1iCollective. Ben and Nav also discuss representation and mentorship in diverse communities and mainstream media. Lastly, Nav shares details about initiatives and resources that exemplify the beauty of disability, more specifically, artificial eyes. Nav is making it her mission that she and other intersecting identities are appropriately seen throughout many communities. Show Notes Connect with Nav Instagram: ndhilly Email: nav@1icollective.com 1iCollective information: Website: www.1icollective.com Instagram: @1icollective Twitter: @1icollective Inclusive Talent Agency: https://www.kelloinclusive.org/

In this episode of the Lens: Living Diverse, Ben and Vivi welcome Lily – a vocal advocate and community member – to share her story of immigrating to Canada from China. In this candid conversation, Lily breaks down the experience of immigrating with sight loss and highlights the cultural differences and language barriers that come with navigating a new country. Lily also chats about an experience with her landlords that challenged her to flex her advocacy muscles to address and fix her living situation.   Plus, Lily discusses her field of research and explains how she works to incorporate her own intersecting identities as part of her practice. Keep pushing no matter what language you speak, your culture, or the geographical location from which you immigrated. Always look forward to finding a new world in sight!

The Lens: Living Diverse welcomes Dr. Mahadeo Sukhai, Vice President of Research & International Affairs and Chief Accessibility Officer at CNIB, to the podcast. In this in-depth conversation, Mahadeo discusses the importance of research, analysis, and evaluation for diverse communities. He also tells the story of his family’s migration from the Caribbean to Canada and the experience of achieving his lifelong goal of becoming a genetic scientist. Listen and learn more theories and practices such as persona, social determinants of health, and others that should be highlighted to make delivering services and programs effective for diverse participants in human service organizations. Listeners will get their food for thought after listening to this stimulating episode!

In the podcast series finale, Jacob meets with college student, advocate and influencer, Alicia Chenier, and human rights and employment lawyer, Hina Ghaus, to discuss legal rights related to post-secondary education and advocacy strategies. To access links to external resources referenced in Episode 9, visit www.cnib.ca/knowyourrights Disclaimer: Content covered in the Know Your Rights podcast series is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. CNIB does not make guarantees about the comprehensiveness or accuracy of the content. CNIB and the podcast participants assume no responsibility for how you use the information provided. If you require legal advice about a specific issue, contact a lawyer or community legal clinic. Each Know Your Rights podcast episode contains 30 minutes of Law Society of Ontario Accredited EDI Professionalism content.

In Episode 12 of The Lens: Living Diverse, Ben, Vivi, and special guest Kat Hamilton have a candid conversation about allyship. Kat is a strong supporter of many diverse communities, which include people living with disabilities, women’s rights, racialized communities, BIPOC and the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Listen to the trio chat about entitlement vs. advocacy and effective methods for promoting empowerment over perpetuating acts that are enabling. Learn about allyship, strategies for being an ally, misconceptions about allyship, fears and discomfort that may come with being an ally, the balance of being an effective ally, and more. If you want to get a hold of the allyship workshop run by CNIB’s Advocacy team, email advocacy@cnib.ca.

In Episode 8, Jacob meets with guide dog handlers, Patti Ellis, Guy Carriere, and Federal Crown Attorney, Jason Mitschele, to discuss the rights of guide dog handlers and some of the strategies that can be used to challenge discrimination. To access links to external resources referenced in Episode 8, visit www.cnib.ca/knowyourrights Disclaimer: Content covered in the Know Your Rights podcast series is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. CNIB does not make guarantees about the comprehensiveness or accuracy of the content. CNIB and the podcast participants assume no responsibility for how you use the information provided. If you require legal advice about a specific issue, contact a lawyer or community legal clinic. Each Know Your Rights podcast episode contains 30 minutes of Law Society of Ontario Accredited EDI Professionalism content.

In our latest episode The Lens: Living Diverse, Ben chats with the ultra-talented George Quarcoo (aka DJ GQ) – an inspiring DJ and producer who is already leaving his mark on the music industry. George reflects on his journey as a black male living with sight loss entrenched in the Ghanaian culture, his passion for music, and what it’s like being a DJ who lives with partial sight.

In the latest episode the The Lens: Living Diverse, Neisha, Vivi and Keya examine toxic femininity. Listen to the trio discuss navigating the world as racialized women, the countless expectations associated with being feminine, and different techniques they use to combat toxic femininity. Show notes: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11337.The_Bluest_Eye Survival of the prettiest by Nancy L. Etcoff: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/106860.Survival_of_the_Prettiest You Can't Touch My Hair And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29496435-you-can-t-touch-my-hair CNIB Diversity & Inclusion website: https://cnib.ca/en/support-us/advocate/diversity-inclusion-we-are-cnib

Episode 9 of The Lens: Living Diverse, celebrates Guide Dog Access Month and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Special guests Stephen McKinney and Andrea McIvor share their lived experiences as guide dog handlers from an Indigenous perspective. Listen and learn about the barriers of being a guide dog handler, the successes of having a guide dog, extinguishing misconceptions about guide dogs in cultural communities, the experience of sight loss in Indigenous culture, and more. CNIB Diversity & Inclusion website: cnib.ca/en/support-us/advocat…inclusion-we-are-cnib

In Episode 8 of The Lens: Living Diverse, we introduce our new co-host, Vivi Dabee! Hear our conversation about our favourite cultural events, the accessibility of events, fun and memorable moments. CNIB Diversity & Inclusion website: https://cnib.ca/en/support-us/advocate/diversity-inclusion-we-are-cnib

To mark Guide Dog Access Awareness Month, Ryan Hooey spoke with Blair Young about his experiences as a guide dog handler. Listen to their conversation about about guide dog rights in the workplace, physical and attitudinal barriers, education, advocacy, and more. Transcript: https://cnib.ca/en/blog/guide-dog-access-awareness-month-meet-blair

Ryan Hooey caught up with Taylor Bauer, a first-time guide dog handler, to chat about guide dogs in the workplace, barriers to employment, misconceptions, and advocating for your rights.

In Episode 7 of The Lens: Living Diverse, Ben becomes young again as he chats with two incredible youth living with sight loss, Maggie and Daren. The teens share their perspectives on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as their own lived experiences with their intersecting identities. At the end of the insightful discussion, Ben plays a word association game with his guests. CNIB Diversity & Inclusion website: cnib.ca/en/support-us/advocat…inclusion-we-are-cnib

CNIB Lake Joe is known for its ability to connect others in the most unique of circumstances. In episode four of Lake Joe On The Go!, we explore friendships that formed at Lake Joe, and how these relationships have shaped and changed lives.

In The Lens: Living Diverse, co-hosts Neisha Mitchell and Ben Akuoko explore the many facets of intersectionality from a blind, partially sighted and Deafblind perspective. In Episode 6, Kamini Rodhan joins the podcast and shares stories about her experiences growing up with sight loss in Guyana and Canada. Neisha, Ben and Kamini also explore the attitudes and perceptions that different cultures have towards sight loss and the white cane.

CNIB Lake Joe is the perfect place to make connections of all sorts! In this episode, we’re joined by Marsha and Butch, two long-time Lake Joe guests whose love story began in 1983. Nearly 40 years later, the pair still come to camp to experience the magic that brought them together.

In our second episode, we discuss the journey of seeking employment as a person with a disability. Our guests open up about the challenges and successes that come along with the job-seeking journey and reflect on what could make that journey easier for people who are eager to work.

Discover the magic of CNIB Lake Joe with your host, Taylor Gaudon. Hear from passionate guests, volunteers, and staff as they explore a new topic in every episode. Tune in to hear about Lake Joe memories, stories of love and friendship, a day in the life, and more! Episode 1: Memories of Lake Joe CNIB Lake Joe is a magical place where lasting memories are made by all who have the great pleasure of stepping foot on-site or by simply being a part of the Lake Joe virtual community! In our first episode of CNIB Lake Joe On The Go!, we reminisce and share some beautiful memories of Lake Joe.

In this episode of The Lens: Living Diverse, Ben and special guest, Ali Khalil, take a closer look at racialized masculinity. Ali reflects on his journey adjusting to sight loss as a Middle Eastern Muslim male and the expectations he experienced from his family and culture alike. Ben and Ali dissect the challenges of having to be tough, societal expectations, vulnerability and other topics pertaining to racialized men with sight loss. CNIB Diversity & Inclusion website: https://cnib.ca/en/support-us/advocate/diversity-inclusion-we-are-cnib