What is the African Nova Scotian Strategy vision?
Our vision is the execution of a comprehensive, structured, and resourced strategy grounded in the understanding of African Nova Scotians as a distinct people and operationalized through engagement with African Nova Scotian communities.
We will achieve our vision through:
Pathway programs for students
Pathway programs for faculty and staff
Student bursary and scholarship support
Enhanced curriculum and research opportunities
Community engagement on a local and global level
African Nova Scotian Strategy recommendations
The strategy recommendations were developed based on the collective research, experience, expertise and wisdom of African Nova Scotian students, staff, faculty and other members of the African Nova Scotian community. If actioned, these recommendations will enable the full and equitable participation of African Nova Scotians at Dalhousie.
Each group of recommendations listed relates to one of the pillars of Dalhousie's Strategic Plan (2021-2026).
- The execution of a comprehensive, structured, and resourced strategy grounded in the understanding of African Nova Scotians as a distinct people and operationalized through engagement with African Nova Scotian communities.
- The establishment of an African Nova Scotian Advisory Council inclusive of African Nova Scotian students, staff, and faculty, as well as alumni and community representatives. Among other terms, the Council would receive progress reports and advise on African Nova Scotian specific policy and programming.
- Ongoing consultation with Dalhousie Departmental and Faculty leaders to support their efforts to implement the African Nova Scotian Strategy.
- Engage in ongoing consultation with African Nova Scotian communities, students, staff and faculty and internal and external stakeholders.
- Develop a consistent definition of Indigenous Black/African Nova Scotian for programmatic and other purposes, to be periodically reviewed.
- Develop and adopt an acknowledgment statement to be used at Dalhousie to recognize the African Nova Scotian presence and contributions to Nova Scotia.
- Increase the visibility, recognition and understanding of African Nova Scotian contributions in curricula, art, lectures, and events at Dalhousie.
- Develop annual African Nova Scotian community immersion education and training with senior Dalhousie leaders.
- Compile and communicate an annual report card on the progress of the African Nova Scotian Strategy to African Nova Scotians with a reciprocal opportunity for African Nova Scotians to provide feedback.
- Develop and offer for-credit courses in African Nova Scotian communities and through distance education, which will encourage recruitment and include mature/adult learners.
- Develop and offer free lectures and workshops in the community (e.g., Humanities 101).
- Partner with the community to develop an African Nova Scotian Saturday school and work with organizations, governments, and Centers for Education to infuse elementary and secondary school curricula with African Nova Scotian content.
- Organize an annual youth summit in partnership with African Nova Scotian organizations to engage African Nova Scotian youth.
- Develop a communications plan to support the African Nova Scotian Strategy and to engage internal and external stakeholders and partners. The plan should include social media platforms and discussion groups that can connect directly with young African Nova Scotians.
- Enhance the collection of disaggregated statistics in order to measure the progress of African Nova Scotians across the various dimensions of the African Nova Scotian Strategy.
- Review and implement the unfulfilled recommendations of the Breaking Barriers Task Force Report as they relate to the African Nova Scotian Strategy.
- Facilitate the development of an accessible system whereby African Nova Scotian organizations can access meeting space at Dalhousie University. Until such time as the African Nova Scotian Centre is established, provide a designated meeting space where African Nova Scotian staff, students, faculty, and community members can engage.
- Develop and implement an African Nova Scotian statement of principles and policy to guide Dalhousie University policy and programming.
- The development of an African Nova Scotian Research, Policy and Engagement Centre that would be the hub of African Nova Scotian research, policy development and student, faculty, community, and staff engagement at Dalhousie. We recommend a Presidential mandate be given to the Department of Advancement to develop the Centre.
- Recruit, promote, and retain African Nova Scotian faculty and staff, including developing and implementing a mentoring strategy.
- Support African Nova Scotian staff in the most vulnerable employment positions in addressing racism and other challenges that they may experience in the workplace.
- Increase representation of African Nova Scotians in leadership and management positions including culturally specific outreach strategies, targeted hiring and supporting a range of leadership opportunities (e.g., secondments, African Nova Scotian Talent Management).
- Hire an African Nova Scotian Human Resources professional to support African Nova Scotian outreach, hiring and retention strategies.
- Ensure that data collection methods are sufficiently disaggregated to identify and measure diversity gaps for African Nova Scotian faculty, staff, and students.
- Review the Dalhousie Quality of Work Life data and the implementation of programming to improve the quality of work life of African Nova Scotians including safety resulting from on campus racism directed toward African Nova Scotians.
- Recognize unpaid equity, diversity, and inclusion work undertaken by African Nova Scotian faculty and staff, particularly as it pertains to tenure and sabbaticals.
- Designate African Nova Scotian representative(s) on the Senate and Board of Governors.
- The strategy will be led by an Associate Vice-President (AVP) of African Nova Scotian Affairs and Engagement (or equivalent) and a corresponding African Nova Scotian Office with a minimum initial staffing complement of four positions addressing research, community engagement, student services, and administrative support functions
- Develop and implement a Research Ethics Policy Framework and Protocol on working with African Nova Scotian peoples and communities.
- Through community engagement, develop a research and policy agenda grounded in the distinctiveness of African Nova Scotian people that focuses on African Nova Scotian needs and concerns, including justice, economic development, employment, education, health, and Africadian culture.
- Include an African Nova Scotian research, policy and learning function in the development of the African Nova Scotian Centre.
- Develop a faculty exchange program with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the United States, the Caribbean, and on the continent of Africa.
- Develop and distribute a directory of African Nova Scotian courses, African Nova Scotian faculty and instructors, and other faculty and researchers who study African Nova Scotian topics.
- Develop and distribute a directory of African Nova Scotian courses, African Nova Scotian faculty and instructors, and other faculty and researchers who study African Nova Scotian topics.
- Develop initiatives that enable instructors, program leaders and faculty to infuse African Nova Scotian and Africentric perspectives, issues, pedagogies, and ways of knowing into curricula and program development.
- Encourage faculty to engage with African Nova Scotian communities, build relationships and create service-learning opportunities.
- Organize an African Nova Scotian summer institute that would offer credited courses.
- Increase strategic and targeted outreach to and recruitment of African Nova Scotian students from across the province into undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs.
- Enhance pathway programs for African Nova Scotian students, including direct entry and graduate and professional programs.
- Develop an African Nova Scotian access program for the Faculty of Medicine and School of Public Administration, similar to the IB&M Initiative at the Faculty of Law.
- Review and enhance entrance and in-program needs-based bursary and merit-based scholarship offerings (including the Indigenous Black Entrance Scholarships, graduate, post-graduate, and professional scholarships) for African Nova Scotian students.
- Support African Nova Scotian student success by developing and implementing a faculty and staff recruitment and advancement program.
- Support African Nova Scotian student success by working to address and rectify curricula and classroom cultural competence limitations.
- Enhance academic transition and support services to meet the needs of African Nova Scotian students. The services should be African Nova Scotian-centred and trauma-informed:
a. Develop a system of proactive referral of African Nova Scotian students with risk factors to a culturally competent support person and provide continued support using a wrap-around model.
b. Match African Nova Scotian students with a dedicated Dalhousie mentor (preferably from the student’s discipline).
c. Establish an African Nova Scotian Elder-in-Residence program whereby Elders can share wisdom, provide culturally specific spiritual guidance and support to students, faculty, and staff, and help to process trauma and pain, referring as necessary to culturally competent medical services.
d. Designate culturally competent clinicians to serve African Nova Scotian students.
e. Provide advisory support to the Black Student Advising Centre.
- Streamline and publicize research assistant opportunities and the promotion of graduate opportunities for African Nova Scotian students. Develop a pool of on campus part-time and summer jobs for African Nova Scotian students to support income attainment and exposure to post-graduate/professional schools.
- Implement programming, with funding, to expose African Nova Scotian students to international study opportunities.
- Establish an exchange program with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the United States, the Caribbean, and universities on the continent of Africa.
African Nova Scotian Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is composed of dedicated community leaders, many of whom are also Dalhousie students, staff, alumni, and faculty members.
The main role of the Advisory Council is to oversee the implementation of the African Nova Scotian Strategy recommendations and to build upon them at the university. The Working Group plays a supportive role in operationalizing the vision.
Central to the need for the strategy, and the foundation of the strategy itself, is the understanding that African Nova Scotians are a distinct people.
The strategy sets out the need for a proactive approach to increasing support for African Nova Scotian students, staff, and faculty at Dal. Having the student voice well represented within the Advisory Council remains critical to this work.
The Advisory Council meets on the third Friday of every month, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Approximately once per semester, the Advisory Council hosts an event for members of the broader Dal and African Nova Scotian community outside of the regular monthly meeting.
Watch: African Nova Scotian Strategy at Dal
Watch members of the African Nova Advisory Committee talk about Dalhousie's African Nova Scotian Strategy and how it was developed.
