Je suis Montréal : A Youth-Led Initiative For an Inclusive City

Speaking Rights would like to share an amazing youth-led initiative that was started by its newest member, Taïna! This initiaitve is called Je suis Montréal, which can be translated to I Am Montréal.

Je suis Montréal is an online platform that aims to challenge the dominant view and narrative of a Montreal and Quebec identity to include all its inhabitants. Through beautiful artistic photography and discussions on themes such as social inclusion, engagement, identity and sense of belonging, the project aims to highlight those who are too often excluded from the dominant view - particularly Indigenous peoples, Black people and people of Colour.

Je suis Montréal's mission is to create a sense of belonging among Aboriginal people, Black people, and people of Colour so that they can experience the civic engagement in their community that they deserve.

By igniting these discussion, Je suis Montréal wants to create a safe space for the dialogue of people from different ethnocultural communities. Together, they hope that these discussions will create a better understanding of the issues individuals of the community are experiencing, and create possibilities to develop empathy, as well as to identify how it is possible as a community to be agents of change.

Through this project, it is possible to navigate through a diverse but unified city. Je suis Montréal is not just a photo project, it is an opening into an understanding of another - on their reality and on the issues they face on a daily basis.

To find out more about this youth-led initiative, visit: www.jesuismtl.net