Developing a Critical Decolonial Feminist Embodied and Community Leadership Praxis

Group Submission Type: Pre-conference Workshop

Description of Session

This workshop aims to test and share innovative pedagogies to encourage women’s leadership through embodied learning and community frameworks. These methodological approaches challenge, unsettle and resist the dominant, hegemonic and colonial conception of leadership with solutions and alternative practices that value community engagement and collective action. These strategies will do more to address and inspire social justice in educational leadership and beyond.

The workshop will delve into the decolonization of women's community leadership within the African and Canadian contexts, employing Ubuntu philosophy as a guiding framework. Ubuntu, rooted in African indigenous knowledge and values, emphasizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of individuals within a community. By exploring the intersections of gender, feminism, and education, we aim to center women's experiences and decolonize the concept of women's community leadership. Drawing embodied theory and Afro-feminist theories, this workshop will conceptualize Ubuntu and embodied learning as powerful tools for decolonizing and dismantling oppressive systems and fostering inclusive and equitable societies. Participants will gain deeper understandings of the significance of cultural knowledge and social and relational approaches in community development, recognizing their transformative leadership potential.

Throughout the workshop, we will explore practices that amplify women's voices, challenge gendered power dynamics, and integrate feminist and decolonial perspectives into educational systems. By valuing women's knowledge and experiences, we aim to foster an environment where participants can reclaim agency and actively contribute to the creation of inclusive societies.

The workshop strongly emphasizes embodied learning, Ubuntu, and community building pedagogies. Through engaging activities, discussions, and collaborative exercises, participants will see and experience how these approaches can strengthen and support women's leadership. By working together, we can create spaces that enable women to thrive, challenge societal norms, and create positive change.

Learning objectives:
1. Experience embodied learning and community building pedagogies to strengthen and support personal leadership praxis.
2. Compare and challenge traditional, individual, competitive, and hierarchical conceptualizations of leadership with more pluralistic and community action-oriented leadership approaches.
3. Engage with each other in group conversations to compare experiences with leadership and the workshop from personal contexts and professions.
4. Develop a more critical understanding of leadership with ways to advance both personal and collective leadership praxis.
5. Identify empowering practices that support women's leadership.
6. Incorporate Ubuntu's Indigenous leadership framework into personal and professional contexts.
7. Decolonize leadership by challenging gendered power dynamics and integrating feminist and decolonial perspectives.
8. Explore the potential of decolonized leadership to foster more inclusive and equitable societies.

Delivery Plan:
30 min – Introduction (Land acknowledgement, Sharing circle for group introductions)
55 min – Part 1 (Grounding Meditation, Embodied Movement Practice, Group Discussion on embodied learning and self-determination to support leadership)
10 min – Break
55 min – Part 2 (Sharing stories on women’s community leadership, Group discussion on Afro-feminism and Ubuntu in community work)
30 min – Conclusion (Closing circle with sharing and reflections from participants on how they will apply the knowledge generated in the session to future pedagogy and practice)

Sub Unit

• Pre-Conference Workshops, Book launches, and Visual Art Exhibits / Pre-Conference Workshop

Chair

• Emily Dobrich, home

Workshop Organizer

• Emily Dobrich, home

Presenting author

• Rachael Kalaba, University of Toronto