The Spring Series for 2025 is here!
Curious about expanding your anti-oppressive and peer-based facilitation skills? Interested in learning within an intersectional and decolonial framework? Join us for 4 interactive, virtual workshops May 10 – May 24 Whether you’re a beginner or practiced facilitator, these sessions are designed to be inclusive and relevant to all experience levels.
Our workshops are small (capped at 15 participants) and involve peer-based learning, experiential activities, and group discussions. We aim to accommodate a variety of access needs – see accessibility description below. Our workshops are interactive and are not webinar/presentation format. If you are no longer able to attend a workshop, please let us know by emailing alexa@peernetbc.com so that we can let someone else in from the waitlist.
For more information on our facilitators please go here.
ASL Interpretation Video for the 2025 Spring Series
A Note on Prerequisites
A prerequisite for all of our other workshops is our Planting the Seeds of Anti-Oppression workshop. In order to attend our other workshops, participants will need to have taken this workshop with PeerNetBC and/or have a basic understanding and be able to identify examples of:
- Colonialism
- Intersectionality
- Systemic Oppression.
To attend our Building on Foundations of Facilitation workshop, participants will need to have attended our Foundations of Facilitation workshop and/or have a basic understanding of:
- A facilitator’s role as a guide and container-setter for a group to learn from each other / work together rather than a teacher or commander
- What group agreements, check-ins, land acknowledgements, icebreakers/energizers, and closing are and how to use them to meaningfully
- How systems of oppression show up in facilitated spaces
Planting the Seeds of Anti-Oppression
May 10th, 10:00am – 12:30pm PST
Systemic imbalances of power exist in our society. Recognizing how these imbalances influence group dynamics is an important skill for facilitators, group members, and community members at large. Through a blend of discussion and experiential learning, participants will reflect on their personal relationship to power and have an opportunity to broaden their perspectives on decolonization, systems of oppression, and intersectionality.
Redefining Allyship
May 14, 5:30pm – 8:00pm PST
Through experiential learning and group discussions, participants will unpack the idea of “being an ally”. Building on concepts introduced in “Planting the Seeds of Anti-Oppression”, this workshop will focus on examining participants’ own positions within systems of power and putting theory into practice. This workshop is designed for participants with varying experiences with allyship work, including those interested in furthering their understanding of how to work together for liberation.
Facilitation 1 – Foundations of Facilitation
May 21, 5:30pm – 8:00pm PST
This workshop will identify roles of the facilitator and delve into the facilitator’s toolkit that assist facilitators to effectively create safer, more supportive, and productive peer-led groups. This introductory workshop is open to folks with little or no facilitation experience as well as those with facilitation experience looking to brush up on their foundational skills and connect with peers. To be eligible for “Foundations of Facilitation”, participants must have taken an anti-oppression workshop with PeerNetBC, or be able to identify examples of: colonialism, intersectionality, and systemic oppression. This course is a prerequisite for “Building on Foundations of Facilitation”.
Facilitation 2 – Building on Foundations
May 24, 5:30pm – 8:00pm PST
This workshop builds confidence in handling tricky moments while centering anti-oppressive and intersectional approaches. We will explore how to navigate common real-life challenges that occur when facilitating dynamic and diverse groups. In this workshop you will learn how to build frameworks that lead groups in participatory decision making and practical strategies for fostering equitable, engaging conversations.
Ideal for those who have had challenging facilitation experience and looking to try something new. Please refer to PeerNetBC’s prerequisites portion of registration before signing up for this workshop.
Although we are gathering in a digital space, we would like to humbly acknowledge that our organization predominantly does our work on the stolen and unceded homelands and territories of sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xwməθ kwəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations.