Open Praxis Forum
About
OpenPraxisForum (OPF) is a platform created by and for students and early career researchers hosted on the Humanities Commons network; an open access and open source network made for building interdisciplinary connections and increasing the impact of one’s work.
The platform was founded in November 2018 at OpenCon. In line with these technical values, OPF is headed by a team of early career researchers and knowledge creators. This team prioritizes decolonial, reflexive, consensual, diverse, and caring knowledge creation practices.
OPF was created out of a necessity to showcase early career-researchers’ work, and more importantly, to mobilize and amplify their work. Often, knowledge creators can feel isolated within academia and beyond due to publishing barriers, lack of encouragement, inability to access resources, or because they present their knowledge in different ways.
We are a group of University of Toronto students who, through our own research experiences, wondered what we can do to modify the seemingly exclusionary landscape of academia. We decided to create this space that is constructed by and for early-career researchers. For us, researchers include: students, social justice activists, artists, or anyone seeking to interrogate inequities and contribute to shaping a safe space for critical dialogue.
OPF Highlights
EVENTSCultivating Change: Pathways to Food Justice & Food Sovereignty
The Open Praxis Forum In collaboration with HLTD21 (Food Systems, Food Security, & Health) students at the University of Toronto Scarborough hosted a symposium on August 10th, 2021 to showcase students’ digital projects, featuring actions for building healthy, just, and culturally relevant food systems. Initiatives such as urban rooftop agriculture, and school food programs were highlighted, exploring the key question: How might we reimagine and reshape our food systems?
UTSC’s Global & International Health Week
In partnership with the Knowledge Equity Lab’s OpenPraxisForum, students from the IDSC11 Global & International Health Issues class at the University of Toronto Scarborough presented their multimedia exhibits from March 8 to March 11, 2021, each focused on critically analyzing how particular players and issues have addressed the COVID-19 pandemic.
Visit the links below to view the digital projects, live presentation videos, and written summaries and reflections!
OPF Discusses: Reflexivity & Positionality as Students, Researchers, and Practitioners of International Development
The Knowledge Equity Lab (KEL) and Open Praxis Forum (OPF) hosted the Centre for Critical Development Studies (CCDS) 2020 Thesis Award Winners Sana Najafi and Alyssa Esparaz to discuss reflexivity and positionality in their role as students and practitioners of International Development.
