News

Dear ARIDO Community,

We’ve recently reflected on a recent post we made and want to take a moment to address it. While it was not our intention, we understand upon reflection that it may have caused offense for some members in our community. The EDAA Awareness Committee's priority is to promote ARIDO's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, as we highlight various cultural and religious events throughout the year. 

Recently, we acknowledged UNESCO's International Day of Education on January 24^th. 

We recognize that the image used in our post did not align with our intended message. While the image depicting young women wearing hijabs in a classroom aligned with UNESCO’s message, we now realize it did not accurately represent the intent of our message, the connection to ARIDO’s goals and strategies around advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in our community, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

We understand and appreciate that this was not appropriate, and it was not our intention to cause any discomfort or offense. As we continue on our journey of understanding Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility, we will continue to learn and grow from our experiences and ensure that all intentions behind our work align with our commitments and have meaningful, positive impacts.

We have learned along our journey as an organization, of the importance of leaning into the uncomfortable moments related to this important work. This includes vital moments of unlearning behaviours and cultures that may sometimes be inherent in the way we function, and being opening to relearning a new, mindful way forward. We are committed to learning from this experience to further advance our opportunity to be leaders in this work and advance the representation of diverse communities.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support as we strive to create an inclusive environment for all.

Sincerely, 
Your ARIDO EDAA Awareness Committee