The Enchanté Network
The largest convening of 2SLGBTQI+ leaders in the country is happening in Ottawa Saturday, September 16 to Monday, September 18 as an urgent call to action to combat recent 2SLGBTQI+ hate in Canada. The conference is organized by The Enchanté Network, a newish bilingual, national network connecting and supporting over 200 2SLGBTQI+ Community Organizations across Canada.
Interviews available with Ottawa-based Enchanté Network Executive Director Tyler Boyce (bilingual) among other queer leaders (see below).
Tyler can all discuss why there is need for this conference and what results are hoped for to assist 2SLGBTQI+ communities across Canada, while an unprecedented queer backlash is happening across the country and the world. “When hate attacks happen, a lot of queer people don’t know where to get support. This conference will illuminate ways for our communities to come together, so that no queer or trans person in this country is facing this hate alone,” says Enchanté Network Executive Director Tyler Boyce. “When we have the resources to stand together and support each other, we can be resilient, sustainable, and able to bounce back.”
The hundreds attending the conference include not only local member groups but also allied groups that include unions, anti-racist & anti-hate groups, sexual health & rights groups, government, legal and school boards. The roots of 2SLGBTQI+ struggles are interconnected across these spheres, and therefore the solutions are also interconnected.
“In our collective journey to confront and dismantle anti-trans and anti-queer hate, it is imperative that we stand together, exchange knowledge, and ignite each other’s spirits to effect real and lasting change,” says Enchanté Network Executive Director Tyler Boyce. “Together, as Canada’s largest network of 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, we can generate tangible and transformative outcomes that reverberate beyond the confines of this conference. We will forge ahead inspired, and empowered, ready to dismantle the structures that perpetuate hate and create a society where every 2SLGBTQI+ individual can thrive.”
Conference Highlights:
– Queerness & Beyond Panel – Connecting the dots between anti-2SLGBTQI+ other forms of hate.
– Global Perspectives on Anti-2SLGBTQI+ Hate, with global activists from across the world.
– “What to do if your organization is targeted by hate” – workshop session.
– Dance Party Welcome – Creating space to celebrate our communities in the face of rising hate.
Keynote Speakers include: Fae Johnstone, President of the Society of Queer Momentum and Syrus Marcus Ware – Award-winning visual artist, activist, and scholar.
Location: Ottawa
Conference website link: enchantenetwork. ca/en/combatting-2slgbtqi-hate/
Interviews available from Tyler Boyce/ Enchanté as well as 2SLGBTQI+ leaders planning to attend, upon request. Those include:
Vancouver: Alex from qmunity
Saskatoon: Melody for OutSaskatoon
Barrie: Selly-Ann from Uplift Black (Intersections of Racism & homo/bi/trans phobia, great speaker)
Toronto: Colin from Pride at Work (Business and its importance in fighting hate)
Newfoundland: Logan from Trans Support NL (Newfoundland/small province, trans experiences in rural settings)
Nova Scotia/Altantic: John from Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance (Recently hosted the international 2 spirit gathering, excellent speaker, can speak to the intersection of hate affecting 2 spirit people)
Montreal (fr/eng) Celeste from Trans Legal Collective (Transgender law student, activist, Speaker at the conference)
Alberta (fr) Martin from Comité FrancoQueer de L’Ouest
About: The Enchanté Network / Le Réseau Enchanté
A national network connecting and supporting over 200 pride centres and
2SLGBTQI+ Community Organizations across Canada.
Their work is focused on:
● Supporting their members, especially in their work to grow their organizational
capacity, so they can make greater impacts in their communities through
effectively delivering services and supports.
● Reducing silos by networking the members and fostering collaboration.
● And engaging with funders and governments to advocate on behalf of the
members and share what they need to serve their communities.
Why they were created:
When a lack of connection and collaboration across regions was limiting the
sustainability and impact of 2SLGBTQI+ organizations, the vision for the Enchanté Network emerged as the collective response. The Enchanté Network was created to connect, support, and sustain a national ecosystem of thriving 2SLGBTQI+ organizations from coast to coast to coast. 2SLGBTQI+ organizations are often volunteer-led and chronically underfunded. Historically, these organizations have lacked the national infrastructure required to support and strengthen their frontline work. With the creation of the Enchanté Network, their members have gained a national champion advocating for the public policies that will ensure that their frontline work is resourced, innovative, and sustainable.
www.enchantenetwork. ca
BIO
Tyler Boyce (He/him) is the Executive Director of the Enchanté Network, and a nationally recognized human rights activist. Navigating the world as Black, Queer, and from an immigrant household, Tyler has used his experience to drive a career focused on movement building and dismantling the beliefs and systems that lead to discrimination and inequity in the first place, including colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchal structures.
The Enchanté Network builds capacity in and advocates for more than 200 2SLGBTQI+ member organizations throughout Canada and Tyler is always keen to learn about what movement building means to communities from across the country.
He is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa where he teaches Deconstruction of Racism in the Law, presented at the global roundtable for the International Decade for People of African Descent on the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and in 2022, he was recognized as one of Future of Good’s 30 Young Impact Leaders To Watch.
Tyler’s leadership is committed to bridging the worlds of research, policy, and social justice.