| Graduate Associate Mengzhu Fu organized a well-attended hybrid international symposium in November that brought Māori and Asian activists and scholars from Aotearoa New Zealand with Tkaronto-based activists and scholars to address challenges and praxis of solidarity building. Speakers included: Sina Brown-Davis, Dr Arama Rata, Tāwhana Chadwick, Kirsty Fong, and Dr Mahdis Azarmandi. Decolonial Anti-fascism Symposium: Lessons from Māori and Asian organizing in Aotearoa New Zealand was supported by several internal and community organization in both countries. |  Photograph provided by M. Fu |
| YCAR was pleased to co-present the screening and publication launch organized by Graduate Associate Cindy Jiang (Critical Disaiblity Studies) on December 1. The Critical Perspectives on Mental Health Research Cluster at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies launched their second special edition of Canada Watch: Rethinking, Reframing, and Reimagining Madness, followed by a screening of short films related to racialized mental health and a discussion with the three Canadian directors: Nesa Huda, Kagan Goh and Emmanuel Teji. “There was overwhelming positive feedback on how this event was so different in terms of how we discuss mental health in the academy, especially among racialized populations,” said Jiang. |  Cindy Jiang photograph |
| The Philippine Studies Group celebrated research on Philippines and the Diaspora on December 1. Students and faculty reported on their research and accomplishments the past year. Members of the Consulate of the Philippines in Toronto, including the Consul General, were special guests. Attendees were also treated to a new dance choreography that PSG funding supported through its Community-Engaged Research Grants. The PSG’s 2023 activities were made possible with support from the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto. |   YCAR Photograph |
| Gardeners of Stories, led by YCAR Graduate Associate Arpita Bajpeyi, Vridhhi Chaudhry and Meera Kanageswaran, organized Paalam: A Reimagining South Asian Dance Salon Series in November 2023. The series, with works by international and Toronto-based artists, features art that explores stories we don’t typically encounter in South Asian dance: experiences of life on tea plantations, queerness, postpartum depression and much more. A virtual roundtable on November 12 included Dhanarajh Rasiah (Sri Lanka), Ranjini Nair (India/UK), and Sangram Mukhopadhyay (India) who reimagined how bharatanatyam, kuchipudi, and whacking/waacking can represent our experiences. The group’s second, very successful dance salon was held on November 18 and included work-in-progress dance performances from Ann Ariyadasa, Ramya Raghavan, and Niroshehaa Ragunathan with Marilyn Yogayrajah. YCAR was pleased to co-present the series. |    Y. Garcia photographs |
