Open Call for Applications: Climate Justice Study Collective (CJSC)
The UBC Centre for Climate Justice (CCJ), in partnership with SFU’s Community Engaged Research Initiative (CERi) and Vancity Office of Community Engagement (VOCE), is seeking program participants for its second annual cohort of the Climate Justice Study Collective. The aim of the Climate Justice Study Collective (CJSC) is to build connections and prompt reflection and strategizing among climate justice activists and practitioners within and outside of UBC.
This program will be held in Vancouver, on the unceded ancestral territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
About
We are on the cusp of revolutionary shifts in local and global agendas for climate justice. We have a collective opportunity to mobilize transformative systems change and create a more just and equitable climate future for all. The climate movement in Canada and much of the Global North faces chilling political conditions of rising authoritarianism, militarism, and right-wing populism, both domestically and globally. This comes on the heels of complex victories and a loss of national momentum, as groundbreaking policy wins sparked by the vision of the Green New Deal have been compromised by handouts to the fossil fuel industry. In Canada, federal government rhetoric on climate leadership pairs poorly with the purchase of a major oil pipeline, and public faith in mainstream policy approaches like the Carbon Tax is rapidly waning. Meanwhile, these same governments’ continued offloading of the harms of the ‘green economy’ (for instance, through critical minerals mining) and their complicity in militarism around the world remind us that climate justice cannot be achieved on the national scale alone, even while national-level advocacy remains critical for policy wins.
This study collective takes up the pressing question: what national climate policy agendas would strengthen and advance international solidarity for political freedom and decolonization, while also advancing just climate futures in Canada? CJSC members are invited to participate in a six-month engagement with UBC and SFU faculty members utilizing two frameworks: 1) a justice-oriented approach to climate jobs and the green economy; 2) opportunities and obligations for anti-imperialist and anti-war agendas within the climate movement. Starting points include: How can we align pro-worker Canadian climate policies with decolonial agendas, both in Canada and abroad? What are the national climate policy agendas that can strengthen or further internationalist climate agendas?
Who Should Apply
This call is intended for climate justice researchers and practitioners in and around the Vancouver area (e.g., community activists, labour leaders, traditional knowledge-holders, policymakers, journalists, analysts, etc.). This call is not intended for current full-time students or faculty as we are aiming to enhance community connections between the CCJ and movement actors, and other off-campus groups and organizations
CJSC Members will be selected based on their experience with and knowledge relevant to our core questions in the Vancouver area and beyond. We will especially prioritize involvement from practitioners and knowledge holders rooted in the Indigenous communities on whose lands our work is situated. We aim to convene a group of CJSC members with diverse experiences and work backgrounds, who can build connections between distinct issues and agendas and expand conversations on climate-just policy, and how we might implement such frameworks. Ultimately, our goal is to deepen and expand relationships between universities and climate justice practitioners, and to increase our collective capacity to mobilize more just climate policy in Vancouver and beyond.
Benefits of Participation
- Ongoing Climate Justice Dialogues: Deepen your understanding of climate justice issues and gain valuable insights from facilitated dialogues, readings, and workshops led by experienced climate justice researchers and practitioners.
- Collective Learning: Share your expertise and perspectives and learn from fellow program participants’ experience in climate-just policy coalition building via monthly dialogue sessions.
- Public Engagement: Showcase your insights and conversations with a wider audience through participation in a public-facing discussion. Through this event, you will get to share strategies, solidarities, and key issues within climate justice policy frameworks with a broad community base.
- Strategic Priorities: Collaboratively shape the research agenda of the UBC Centre for Climate Justice. Throughout this program, you will guide key issues, topics, and diverse connections to climate justice issues to inform future research priorities.
Terms of Engagement
Duration of Engagement: May – October 2024.
Honorarium for each CJSC member: $2000
Participants are expected to commit 8-10 hours per month to a mix of virtual and in-person activities (when in-person, at SFU’s downtown Vancouver campus) including readings, participating in monthly cohort meetings, contributing to public group discussions, and advising on the strategic direction of the CCJ research agenda.
Participant Roles & Responsibilities
We will launch our engagement with a collaborative workshop in May, which will set the stage for our extended conversation based on readings and facilitated dialogues. We will continue this engagement via hybrid sessions, including at least two opportunities for in-person gathering. The collective’s work will culminate with an in-person event in September or October 2024 to share the insights from these conversations with a broader public, prioritizing engagement with UBC and SFU students. The Collective’s work will also be documented in a public-facing summary that charts a research agenda for just climate policy in Canada, with an option of co-authorship by CJSC members. This research agenda will inform the research priorities of the UBC Centre for Climate Justice.
Participate in and help to lead monthly activities, both in-person and hybrid (May-September)
- CJSC Members will be asked to contribute reading and learning materials and to guide the group’s conversations. The first meeting will be a full-day gathering including CJSC members and guest presenters. Meetings thereafter will primarily be held remotely, with occasional opportunities for in-person gathering and discussion. Pending participant interest, activities could also include community/project tours or field trips.
Participate in one public group discussion
- The culminating event of this program will engage a wider public, including students, in the collective’s work. This will likely be an in-person event in September or October 2024 to share insights and prompt broader discussion on key issues and areas of opportunity for climate justice policy, or to share stories of strategies and solidarities currently in practice.
Participate in communication materials
- CJSC members will be profiled on the Centre for Climate Justice website and social media, with ongoing consent. There will be opportunities to share written or video reflections throughout the program and wrap-up.
Provide input for the ‘Findings’ and CCJ research agenda
- CCJ staff will support the production of a final summary of the collective’s work identifying a research agenda for climate just policy in Canada, with an opportunity for co-authorship and review by all group members.
How to Apply
Deadline: April 5th, 2024.
Complete the application form, addressing the following questions:
- How does your work intersect with or contribute to climate justice?
- How do you envision contributing to the CJSC and the Centre’s work?
- How do you anticipate benefiting from the program?
If preferred, applicants are also welcome to submit a video introduction answering the above questions.
If applicable, provide a CV or resume (helpful but not required). Please upload these materials to your application.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions or require further information, please consult our FAQ page or (if needed) contact us directly at: climate.justice@ubc.ca. (Subject line: CJSC)
