Press Release
Family and Children’s Services in Renfrew County
Tuesday, November 2nd was a day of learning, conversation, and planning at a Community Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity Forum, held at the Best Western in Pembroke. The forum, launched by the leadership of Family and Children’s Services of Renfrew County: Kathy Davis, Suzanne Elliott, and Jeff List, was a success thanks to the active participation and contributions of the many community leaders in attendance.
The day was facilitated by César Ndéma-Moussa, the Eastern Ontario Regional Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity of Children’s Aid Societies. Ndéma-Moussa is known for his influential work as an educator, facilitator, and consultant.
César actively advocates for equity in his roles with many not-for-profit organizations, and inspires his audience to do the same.
Over 30 pivotal Renfrew County stakeholders gathered for the event with the collective vision of better serving all people in the community through strategic and meaningful change that addresses barriers to equitable services.
Among other topics, César Ndéma-Moussa addressed commitments made to Indigenous people and Indigenous rights, systemic racism, anti-black racism, gender inequity, and socioeconomic disparity, while imploring his attentive audience to become positive change-makers in their respective roles as leaders in Renfrew County.
Suzanne Elliott, who is the Director of Services at Family and Children’s Services, commented on the importance of collaborative policy change, saying, “Senior leaders of organizations must acknowledge societal inequities and recognize that organizations are not a level playing field.”
“It is critical that leaders commit to equity work, not only at an organizational level, but also on a personal level, through recognizing their own unconscious biases, along with the power imbalances and their white privilege, in order to take steps to address systemic racism.”
Throughout this innovative forum, Ndéma-Moussa was able to seamlessly balance introspection with purposeful collaboration in order to challenge existing policies, and create space for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity.
Attendees collectively identified the tools and pathways necessary to solidify a shift in strategies for the betterment of all people residing in Renfrew County, and ended the day with a commitment to continuing to act together to impact change.
