Cohort Days: Strategy, Support, and Collective Care

After the Burning the Candle at Both Ends forum, one thing was clear: we needed to keep going. To keep meeting. To keep the conversations and reflections alive. Most importantly, to keep building concrete strategies grounded in lived realities.

That’s how the Cohort Days came to be, held on September 12 and 26, 2023. Organized by Ornella Tannous, these two gatherings brought together forum participants to reflect on urgent and shared concerns: tokenism, the financial sustainability of community-led research projects, and the protection of knowledge produced by Black and racialized communities.

Participants discovered a space that was flexible, nurturing, and practical—a space where they could share their experiences without needing to justify themselves. It was a space to learn, collectively, how to protect ourselves, defend our work, and envision new ways of doing things.

“As far as I know, I’m one of the only Black people in my PhD program, and I find it a bit isolating. When I saw the activities organized by the PARR project, I was like: Yes! Finally!” — Participant (Episode 3 – En Fleurs, Plus en Feu ! podcast)

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During the Cohort Days, sessions facilitated by Jade Almeida and Nelly Dennene (Maison turquoise & soeurs) offered hands-on workshops to explore practical strategies for navigating often hostile environments—without sacrificing one’s health or well-being. A highlight was the co-creation of a guide for drafting intellectual property agreements, tailored to the needs expressed by participants. After all, protecting our ideas and knowledge is also about safeguarding our mental health, autonomy, and communities.

The conversations also created space to name the impact of tokenism on our bodies and self-esteem—the exhaustion of constantly having to perform, self-censor, or make others comfortable.

Throughout both days, a thread of vulnerability and collective strength wove through every moment. We cried, we laughed, we listened. People found words for burdens they had carried alone for far too long.

Thanks to sensitive and committed facilitation, these workshops gave rise to more than just tools—they enabled the sharing of experiential knowledge, horizontal learning, and mutual validation of lived experience.

The Cohort Days were another step in building a living, breathing network where solidarity is not just a word, but a shared practice.

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This project has been funded through Women and Gender Equality Canada's Women's Program.