Call for Proposals: Together in Action Summit 2023

Deadline: 23-Jul-23

The Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) is now accepting presentation or session proposals for this year’s Summit—CBRC’s annual knowledge exchange and capacity building conference on 2S/LGBTQ+ health research, programming, and advocacy in Canada.

CBRC’s annual knowledge exchange and capacity building conference on 2S/LGBTQ+ health research, programming, and advocacy in Canada takes place in Vancouver on November 16-17 at the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel.

The Summit aims to promote 2S/LGBTQ+ health care, research, and social services, as well as share best practice applications of, and new research informing 2S/LGBTQ+ culturally responsive health care. As well, this forum is a space to build the capacities of health care providers, researchers, and community members to address issues in 2S/LGBTQ+ health. In addition, the Summit aims to bring folks together to develop and improve networks of 2S/LGBTQ+ communities working to strengthen the health and wellbeing of the communities, by facilitating dialogue around current research and advocacy work happening in these communities.

Theme: Together in Action Summit 2023 will highlight the efforts and mobilization of 2S/LGBTQ+ communities in advocating for their health, safety, and rights. With the re-emergence of far-right, anti-trans, and other groups using tactics to attack and limit the rights of 2S/LGBTQ+ people, this year’s conference aim is to showcase the importance of mobilizing as a collective force in solidarity for the health, wellbeing, and rights of queer, trans, and Two-Spirit individuals.

Key Topics

In line with the Summit theme, they especially encourage submissions on:
- Initiatives combating homophobia, transphobia, anti-queer hate
- 2S/LGBTQ health research and healthcare
- HIV and STBBIs
- ‘Conversion therapy’ or Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts (SOGIECE)
- Chronic health needs
- Gender-affirming care
- Substance Use and/or harm reduction
- Mpox
- Mental Health
- Aging and Elder Care.

Eligibility Criteria

Everyone and anyone is welcome to submit a session proposal to Summit 2023. This includes community and/or grassroots organizers, community organization staff and/or volunteers, researchers and/or students, health and/or service providers, government staff and/or policymakers, and 2S/LGBTQ+ community members.
Through interactive sessions, the Summit aims to foster dialogue amongst participants and presenters, to explore the latest research, programming and advocacy work by and for 2S/LGBTQ+ people. Summit sessions can be any format that you propose, including workshops, short oral presentations, poster presentations, roundtable discussions and more.
They welcome submissions that identify community needs as well as promising programming or practices in health, social, and community services that support diverse 2S/LGBTQ+ people and communities in Canada or abroad. Submissions can be based on:
- Research
- Programming
- Policy initiatives
- Advocacy and activism
- Art-based approaches
- Personal lived experiences and stories
- Community-based actions, grassroots responses and organizing
In line with the aims and the Summit theme, they especially encourage submissions that answer the following reflection questions:
- What initiatives or advocacy work are taking place to help strengthen the health and wellbeing of 2S/LGBTQ+ communities facing homophobia, transphobia, and anti-queer hate? How can they support, sustain, and scale-up these approaches?
- How are leaders in the 2S/LGBTQ+ communities mobilizing towards equity and justice in addressing anti-queer stigma and hate? What resources are required to further their impact? What dialogues, and with whom, must take place as part of these mobilization efforts?
- Who is being left out of current 2S/LGBTQ+ health research, advocacy, and/or programs? How can 2S/LGBTQ+ community organizations and researchers, as well as healthcare and service providers and policymakers stand in solidarity for community members facing exclusion, marginalization, and/or violence?
- What insights from research, programming, and/or advocacy can shed light on how they can push for a more equitable, inclusive, and accessible future for 2S/LGBTQ+ communities? How can they leverage these insights to reduce barriers to care and support for HIV and STBBIs, mental health, gender-affirming care, substance use, and chronic health needs within 2S/LGBTQ+ communities?
- When it comes to the communities uniting together to address health issues– what community-led initiatives, programs, or campaigns have been successful in providing harm reduction tools for safer substance use amidst the national drug poisoning emergency? What were the strategies, messaging, or motivators that led to communities of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men going out to receive the Mpox vaccination at such a high rate?
They encourage queer and trans people with diverse lived experience to submit a proposal, and in particular, Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, Francophones, and historically underserved and underrepresented people in the communities, including but not limited to people living with HIV, drug users, sex workers, disabled folks, and people who are not “out”.