When: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 12:00 – 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Where: Zoom and in person on UBC Point Grey campus, David Strangway Building Room 3132
Talk Abstract
As global climate change accelerates, the crisis of species survival invites holistic ways of knowing. There is a resurgence of engagement in Indigenous spiritual wellbeing systems as part of anti-colonial liberation movements. Green collective wellbeing systems (GreenCoWell) offer opportunities to heal both people and the planet, addressing the notion of separation between life forms.
Objective
We plan to study and elaborate upon six BIPOC health practices based on interconnection, including family constellation healing (Zulu nation, Southern Africa), ifa (Ghana), sweat lodge ceremonies (Turtle Island/North America), shinrinyoku (Japan), Danza Azteca (Central America), and one practice to be identified in the course of the study. From a feminist, anti-racism and decolonial lens, our work aims to support ways of knowing which originate from the Global South and Indigenous communities.
Methods
Applying a participatory action research approach, we will blend qualitative and arts-based methods to portray six global GreenCoWell. Healers from each tradition will be interviewed separately and will engage in a collective dialogue on the desire, need, and methods for proliferating GreenCoWell systems.
Results
The results of this project will be a film, poems, stories, academic products, social media messages, and a manifesto emanating from the collective dialogue.
Conclusion
This mixed methods arts-based, feminist, anti-racism, and decolonial project brings together healers from six traditions, representing a novel approach to addressing climate change. Those who practice GreenCoWell engage in environmental conservation. Our long term aspiration is for more people to experience mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing through these and related GreenCoWell and take action for climate justice.
Speaker Bios
Dr. Farah M. Shroff is a visionary Canadian public intellectual with expertise in global public health research and education who works toward Health for All on a Healthy Planet. With her extensive policy background, she has contributed significantly to various governmental initiatives in Canada and beyond. Her main focus is on solving health problems with innovative approaches. She initiated, for example, a randomized clinical trial to treat osteoporosis in Kerala, with 12 yoga poses. Her work focuses on the triple aim—better health, better care, better/lower cost. Dr. Shroff’s research focuses on integrative health approaches, particularly Ayurveda and yoga, as well as social and environmental justice through a feminist anti-racism decolonial lens. She is a policy researcher with a focus on the health of those who identify as women, mental well-being and other areas.
Dr. Lumas Joseph Helaire currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Population Health Management and Health Equity Education at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. He assists the dean and members of HSPH in the identification, development, and promotion of health equity collaborative initiatives. Dr. Helaire also works with the Harvard HealthLab, an accelerator for social impact ventures that offers comprehensive support to Harvard University students who are entering the innovation space.
Formerly he served as Senior Associate Director, overseeing operations and programs in the Office of Academic and Multicultural Initiatives at the University of Michigan. Dr. Helaire also chaired the university’s Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium planning committee and coordinated the annual keynote lecture which hosts national and international activists and social justice organizers.
His previous research focused on youth development, particularly through the involvement in college preparatory and access programs. His new line of research will center on spirituality and health.