[HIDDEN] AC+B Funding

Mutual Aid Project Micro-Grants: Introduced in July 2024, these Mutual Aid Project Grants are for University of Alberta groups, units and informal collectives to support them and the communities of which they are a part, in their experiences of trauma, harm and grief. This includes addressing the needs of those most affected and harmed by the university’s responses to the encampment and Palestine activism. These grants seek to support projects oriented to imagining and learning about other ways together and to inspire diverse and community-specific approaches to individual, adjacent and collective grieving practices as part of collective holding toward care and conflict resolution. While individually focused approaches to accessing support are available, these mutual aid project micro-grants will aim to animate collective practices for holding harm and grief while encouraging diverse university communities to share their stories, learnings, imaginations and strategies towards mutual flourishing.

Prayer, Worship & Ceremony Space Support Grant: The Office of the Dean of Students (DoS), in partnership with the Office of the Vice-Provost Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, is continuing to pilot a funding initiative to support students in accessing the University of Alberta’s bookable spaces to engage in prayer, worship or ceremony to facilitate an equitable student experience.  Students and student groups have free access to many spaces on our campuses, including the HUB Multi-Faith Prayer and Meditation Space and the SUB Interfaith Prayer Space.  However, these spaces have size limitations that do not allow for larger prayer, worship, or ceremony gatherings.  This is an issue experienced at other Canadian Post Secondary institutions, as is the call from students for institutions to recognize students’ religious identities and support their religious practices. Recognizing these calls and responding to feedback from the  Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) regarding accessible and safe spaces, this initiative aims to enhance cultural safety on campus by supporting students’ ability to engage in prayer, worship, and ceremony as a community.