Equity in Access(ability)/Access(ability) in Equity Conference 2027
Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada
April 26-28 2027
Advancing equitable, accessible experiences through research and community practice.
Our keynote: Professor Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion is a former Canadian diplomat and politician. He served as Canada's ambassador to Germany from 2017 to 2022, and then to France and Monaco from 2022 to 2025, while also serving as the Prime Minister of Canada's Special Envoy to the European Union and Europe from 2017 to 2025. From 2006 to 2008, he was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2015-2017), Minister of the Environment (2004-2006), and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs (1996-2003). He represented the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville (now Saint-Laurent) in the House of Commons from 1996 to 2017. Back at the University of Montreal, where he previously taught political science, Stéphane Dion is now a diplomat-in-residence and shares his experience with students.
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Stéphane Dion est un ancien diplomate et homme politique canadien. Il a été ambassadeur du Canada en Allemagne de 2017 à 2022, puis en France et à Monaco de 2022 à 2025, tout en occupant les fonctions d’envoyé spécial du Premier ministre du Canada auprès de l'Union européenne et de l’Europe de 2017 à 2025. De 2006 à 2008, il a été chef de l‘opposition et chef du Parti libéral du Canada. Il a également été ministre des Affaires étrangères (2015-2017), ministre de l’Environnement (2004-2006) et ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales (1996-2003). Il a représenté la circonscription de Saint-Laurent - Cartierville (devenue Saint-Laurent) à la Chambre des communes de 1996 à 2017.De retour à l’Université de Montréal, où il a auparavant été professeur de science politique, Stéphane Dion est désormais diplomate en résidence et y partage son expérience avec les étudiants.
***
Stéphane Dion est un ancien diplomate et homme politique canadien. Il a été ambassadeur du Canada en Allemagne de 2017 à 2022, puis en France et à Monaco de 2022 à 2025, tout en occupant les fonctions d’envoyé spécial du Premier ministre du Canada auprès de l'Union européenne et de l’Europe de 2017 à 2025. De 2006 à 2008, il a été chef de l‘opposition et chef du Parti libéral du Canada. Il a également été ministre des Affaires étrangères (2015-2017), ministre de l’Environnement (2004-2006) et ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales (1996-2003). Il a représenté la circonscription de Saint-Laurent - Cartierville (devenue Saint-Laurent) à la Chambre des communes de 1996 à 2017.De retour à l’Université de Montréal, où il a auparavant été professeur de science politique, Stéphane Dion est désormais diplomate en résidence et y partage son expérience avec les étudiants.
Our vision and mission
The Equity in Access(ability)/Access(ability) in Equity Conference envisions a transformative, multi-disciplinary ecosystem where critical research and reflexive practice converge to dismantle systemic exclusion. We reject superficial compliance models. Instead, we disrupt the neoliberal and (neo)colonial structures that perpetuate inequities across disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and intersecting identities. By bridging the gap between rigorous scholarship and grassroots mobilization, we empower researchers, practitioners, and emerging graduate scholars to think beyond traditional institutional silos. Together, we generate actionable knowledge that fuels social movements, shapes democratic policy, and redefines educative leadership within global civil society.
Core Pillars of the Conference
Multi-Disciplinary Inquiry We merge diverse fields of study to confront power, privilege, and structural inequities.
Theory-to-Praxis Mobilization We turn rigorous research into concrete, community-based action that impacts policy.
Cultivating Next-Gen Scholars We actively support graduate students with dedicated spaces for feedback and growth.
Democratic Co-Creation
We break down institutional walls to build a truly inclusive, global knowledge network.
Theory-to-Praxis Mobilization We turn rigorous research into concrete, community-based action that impacts policy.
Cultivating Next-Gen Scholars We actively support graduate students with dedicated spaces for feedback and growth.
Democratic Co-Creation
We break down institutional walls to build a truly inclusive, global knowledge network.
Welcome Letter from the Founders
Welcome to the digital home of the Equity in Access(ability)/Ability (Access) in Equity Conference.
When we first envisioned this gathering, we did so with a shared, urgent conviction: that educational leadership and policy cannot afford to be passive, procedural, or merely compliant. True inclusion requires us to directly confront power, privilege, oppression, and the structural inequities that traditional institutional frameworks quietly reproduce.
This conference was born out of a desire to create a rigorous, multi-disciplinary nexus where complex critical scholarship directly fuels grassroots, community-based action. We explicitly reject the neoliberal assumptions and checkbox diversity models that dominate modern institutions. Instead, we invite you to help us co-create an alternative framework—one where theory and praxis work in seamless harmony to build a genuinely democratic and accessible society.
When we first envisioned this gathering, we did so with a shared, urgent conviction: that educational leadership and policy cannot afford to be passive, procedural, or merely compliant. True inclusion requires us to directly confront power, privilege, oppression, and the structural inequities that traditional institutional frameworks quietly reproduce.
This conference was born out of a desire to create a rigorous, multi-disciplinary nexus where complex critical scholarship directly fuels grassroots, community-based action. We explicitly reject the neoliberal assumptions and checkbox diversity models that dominate modern institutions. Instead, we invite you to help us co-create an alternative framework—one where theory and praxis work in seamless harmony to build a genuinely democratic and accessible society.
Who This Space Is For
We designed this gathering to dismantle traditional hierarchies. Whether you are an established researcher challenging institutional power, a frontline practitioner acting on equity, a community member, or a graduate student seeking mentorship and critical academic networks, you are welcome here. Thank you for joining us in this vital work. Together, let us turn critical dialogue into actionable knowledge.
In solidarity,
Professor Stephanie Chitpin, PhD
Conference Co-Founder
Series Editor, Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice
Awad Ibrahim, PhD
Conference Co-Founder
Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, University of Ottawa
Steering Committee Members
Steven Van Zoost, PhD Chair of EiA
Késa Munroe Anderson, PhD
Ahlam Rahal, PhD
In solidarity,
Professor Stephanie Chitpin, PhD
Conference Co-Founder
Series Editor, Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice
Awad Ibrahim, PhD
Conference Co-Founder
Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, University of Ottawa
Steering Committee Members
Steven Van Zoost, PhD Chair of EiA
Késa Munroe Anderson, PhD
Ahlam Rahal, PhD
The Team
Stephanie Chitpin, PhD
Co-Founder
Series Editor, Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice
Awad Ibrahim, PhD
Co-Founder
Vice-Provost, Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Excellence, University of Ottawa
Steven Van Zoost, PhD
Chair of EiA
Késa Munroe Anderson, PhD
Conference manager
Ahlam Rahal, PhD
Program manager
The Conference
Registration
Conference Theme
The theme for the 2027 conference is "Exploring Equity in Access(ability) through Creativity." We invite abstracts that reflect the application of creative practices or approaches used to promote equity and accessibility. Abstracts that are accepted for the conference will be arranged in a variety of presentation formats. In your abstract, please indicate your preferred presentation format (workshop, poster presentation, panel, or keynote).
From conference to publication
We are pleased to announce the upcoming volume titled Mental Health for Social Justice, edited by Dr. Ahlam Rahal (Assistant Professor and Registered Counselling Therapist). This volume builds directly upon the critical scholarship presented at the previous Equity in Access(ability) conference held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2026.
The completed volume will be formally considered for publication in the book series Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice, overseen by Series Editor Dr. Stephanie Chitpin. Another volume is under review from the first Equity conference held in Port Louis, Mauritius, in 2025.
Scope & Vision of Marrakech
conference volume:
The edited volume on mental health for social justice encompasses a range of manuscripts and creative works on anti-oppressive, anti-colonial, and decolonial approaches to wellbeing, advocacy, and psychosocial growth across diverse contexts. Dr. Ahlam Rahal, an assistant professor, registered counselling therapist, critical feminist, and advocate for social justice and liberation, is editing this volume. This edited book aims to disrupt institutional violence and oppression embedded in education and mental health discourses and to help foster practices that centre the voices and lived experiences of those who have been historically silenced in mental health services.
The completed volume will be formally considered for publication in the book series Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice, overseen by Series Editor Dr. Stephanie Chitpin. Another volume is under review from the first Equity conference held in Port Louis, Mauritius, in 2025.
Scope & Vision of Marrakech
conference volume:
The edited volume on mental health for social justice encompasses a range of manuscripts and creative works on anti-oppressive, anti-colonial, and decolonial approaches to wellbeing, advocacy, and psychosocial growth across diverse contexts. Dr. Ahlam Rahal, an assistant professor, registered counselling therapist, critical feminist, and advocate for social justice and liberation, is editing this volume. This edited book aims to disrupt institutional violence and oppression embedded in education and mental health discourses and to help foster practices that centre the voices and lived experiences of those who have been historically silenced in mental health services.
Previous conferences - Mauritius 2025 and Marrakech 2026
Contact
- 35 Rue Laurier, Gatineau, QC, Canada