1. Building Alliances Between Fractured Communities and the Academy: Challenges and perspectives Prepared by: Dr. G. Lafreniere Faculty of Social Work Wilfrid Laurier University

2.  The literature is quite clear as to how Aboriginal people, members of developing countries have suffered through colonization;  This reality informs our praxis as partners and as allies whenever we work with and\or within Native - African communities;

3.  Just as we feel it crucial that resistant politics and strategies are informed by such critical knowledge, so too are we pointed in our belief that any such strategies must be engaged within a philosophy of hope;  Very little is written on allies\allied institutions working with Aboriginal\African communities.

4.  2002 Four Directions Aboriginal Restorative Justice Project  2002 Healing of the Seven Generations  2003 Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Services Waterloo Region (KD CHC)  2005 Survivors of war, torture, organized violence – Hamilton (Hamilton CHC)  Exodus of francophone Africans - Quebec, Ontario (CLSC CDN – Montreal)

5.  Mullaly (2001) argues that progressive social work praxis must engage an anti- oppressive framework;  Gramsci (1988) and Valtonen (2001) argue that the marginalized can and should be instruments and initiators of their own interventions;

6. Importance of University\Community Collaboration:  Gronski and Pigg (2000) argue that such collaborations are fundamentally important to efforts aimed at supporting marginalized people in self-reflexive explorations of oppression and resistance;  Marullo and Edwards (2000) – CBR not especially valued in the academy  Boyer (1999) – scholarship of engagement

7.  Lafreniere and Diallo (2004) – universities are inevitably reshaped as they enter partnerships in the community – we call this “academic repositioning”.

8. Determining factors influencing university\community collaboration:  With regards to the Healing of the Seven Generations Project: 1) Our initial collaboration grew out of a common denominator of social justice and solidarity and as such a resulting friendship emerged.

9. 2) Individuals came together, not institutions; 3) Strong common denominator between African and Aboriginal leaders 4) Strong leadership\Donna – partners were clear about expectations 5) Academic partners have “supportive” work environments 6) Rewards and challenges

10. Relationship to social entrepreneurship: Co-operative model of development  “reluctant adept” of the co-operative model  Healing of the Seven Generations – Best Start – daycare (daycare co-op) Community Health Centre (CHC – co-op)

11.  Finally, with respect to the SSHRC project, the Social Innovation Research Group will attempt to: - Understand impact of co-operative model on assimilation – relative to minority Francophones in Ontario - Survivors of war and torture project: carry over research to include\integrate an exploration of the co-op model – integrative tool for minority Francophones immigrating to Southern Ontario via country of origin or Quebec (Hamilton, Brampton, Toronto)