IONS is situated in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaw people. Unceded means that the Mi’kmaq have never relinquished, sold, traded, or transferred ownership of their land to European settler colonies, yet land was taken over without their consent through various processes of settler colonialism. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, which the Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik people first signed with the British Crown in 1726. These Treaties did not involve the surrendering of rights to the lands and resources they had traditionally used and occupied. We are all Treaty People.

We further acknowledge that Nova Scotia is the birthplace of Black culture and heritage in Canada. People of African descent have shared these lands for over 400 years, and over 50 strong and resourceful African Nova Scotian communities exist here today.

We are committed to the struggle against systems of oppression that have resulted in profound inequities and the denial of self-determination rights. We are working actively to deepen our learning at an individual level, provide learning opportunities about anti-racism and decolonization, and to develop partnerships with organizations serving and led by underrepresented groups.
  • Information Morning with Portia Clark – Recognizing Nova Scotia’s “invisible champions”

    Information Morning with Portia Clark – Recognizing Nova Scotia’s “invisible champions”

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  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Learning Journey

    2SLGBTQIA+ Learning Journey

    2SLGBTQIA+ Learning Journey Alphabet Soup: Queerness at the Kitchen Table AN E-LEARNING SERIES EXPLORING 2SLGBTQIA+ DISCRIMINATION, COMMUNITY, HISTORY, AND HOPE ACROSS NOVA SCOTIA. Each series and each session will have a different learning theme. These sessions are designed to enhance personal reflection and to open a dialogue on how to implement change in our organizations.…

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  • Mainstreet Cape Breton: Alphabet Soup

    Mainstreet Cape Breton: Alphabet Soup

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  • EXPLORATIONS: A JEDDI Book Club

    EXPLORATIONS: A JEDDI Book Club

    We’re launching a community book club pilot! Learning and knowing happen is many different ways. Reading and engaging with diverse stories and narratives that don’t mirror our own experiences has been a source of personal and professional development for the IONS team. Internally, we hosted a book club, reading titles that challenged us, pushed our…

  • Resisting a Rest: How Urgency Culture Polices our Work

    Resisting a Rest: How Urgency Culture Polices our Work

    How do you challenge the status quo when you’re just trying to keep your head above water? Urgency culture is sinister in the way that it wreaks havoc on rest and keeps us in the overwhelm, allowing the status quo (white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism) to thrive.

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  • Decolonization Learning Journey Course

    Decolonization Learning Journey Course

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  • 2022 State of the Sector Launch

    2022 State of the Sector Launch

    Share On Facebook Share On X Share On Linkedin Copy URL We’re launching the 2022 State of the Sector Offerings: Survey Report, Data Dashboard, & Sector Network Map!   In January 2022, IONS conducted the 2022 State of the Sector Survey to understand trends across the Community Impact Sector and to learn more about what’s…

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  • Art for Impact: Applying a JEDDI Lens to Design

    Art for Impact: Applying a JEDDI Lens to Design

    Alexandra Theroux Operations Manager Lydia Phillip Communications Manager I’ve called myself an artist for as long as I knew what the word meant, always having been drawn to experimenting with acrylic paint, pencil, and ink. As an avid reader who found inspiration from book illustrations and fantasy novel covers, I wanted to be a children’s…

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  • Take Flight: Embracing a Culture of Failing Forward

    Take Flight: Embracing a Culture of Failing Forward

    Lydia Phillip Communications Manager Emma Beukema Director, Learning & Innovation Remember when, with skinned knees, we were encouraged to get back on our bicycles? The expectation wasn’t perfection when we first peddled, wobbly on two tires. We knew we were bound to fall. But each time we hit a curb, unsteadily ventured further, or earned…

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  • Black girls gather to break down barriers, build successful careers in Nova Scotia

    Black girls gather to break down barriers, build successful careers in Nova Scotia

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