Atkinson Field Notes
Learning in Action
News, presentations and reflections from Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer Colette Murphy and the rest of the Atkinson team.
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by Category: COVID-19
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by Media:
21 Dec 22
The Atkinson Foundation turned 80 this year. We arrived at the threshold of a new decade quietly, in stark contrast to the boisterous celebration of our 75th anniversary at 1 Yonge Street, in the space that once housed the Toronto Star’s printing presses. In October, Atkinson’s Board and staff members raised their glasses to Joseph Atkinson and Elmina Elliott... Read more >
5 Jul 22
“Musicians are the original gig workers. Same as Uber drivers and food delivery workers. I realized we’re in the same fight.” Rollie Pemberton (aka Cadence Weapon) said this in response to a question about artists as workers at a public reading of his new book, Bedroom Rapper. Read more >
27 May 22
My life feels suspended in a whirlwind of change, opportunity, and unlimited possibilities. Now more than ever, I’m convinced of our ability to garner collective power for good. Growing up in east Scarborough, I’ve always found myself drawn to examining overarching systems of oppression and their long-lasting effects on various communities. Read more >
23 Dec 21
This latest variant of COVID arrived like a sudden blizzard: disorienting, frightening and all-too-familiar. Since then, we’ve been madly pumping our brakes, keeping a cautious distance, and rapidly recalculating routes. Some of us are, once again, getting organized to wait this one out from the safety of home – fully vaccinated, boosted, and compensated. Read more >
6 Sep 21
I’m standing on the shore of the great lake once known as Niigaani-gichigami at Point Petre, looking toward Soup Harbour where friends live. Their barn’s blue roof is barely visible against the summer sky. A flat limestone shelf stretches across the bay and suggests a footpath from one point to another. But things are not as they seem. Read more >
1 May 21
This pandemic continues to distort our sense of time. Scientists call it “temporal disintegration”. A feeling of living in the moment, day to day, unmoored from the past and unable to imagine the future. But also a feeling of living large, emboldened to act with moral purpose in the here and now. Read more >
22 Jan 21
You know those picture frames that appear sometimes on Facebook? The ones to demonstrate a cause you care about? I usually avoid them but recently, I saw one that proclaimed “no more preventable deaths, paid sick days now.” I quickly updated my profile photo and added a link... Read more >
18 Dec 20
2020 has been a year like no other in memory. Decent work activists and advocates have taken centre stage with hard-hitting campaigns for paid sick days, child care, employment insurance, and other income supports for essential workers and their families. Migrant workers Luis Gabriel Flores Flores, Blanca Islas Perez and many others have said: “This is enough... Read more >
13 Jul 20
Essential workers and their families continue to bear the brunt of COVID-19 for little more than our gratitude. It should be no surprise that these workers are mostly Black, Indigenous and people of colour. Read more >
10 Jun 20
When I first joined the Atkinson Foundation in 2019, I wrote a field note entitled “I am where I need to be”. I’ve learned a lot from this small but mighty team on the importance of understanding how narrative plays such an intricate role in our lives and how it shapes the world we’re in. Read more >
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