Get to know our new(-ish) Executive Director, Francis Boakye
Here at ActionDignity, we were pleased to welcome Francis Boakye to the organization as our permanent Executive Director, on November 8th, 2021. Francis has a wealth of experience supporting ethnocultural communities and building bridges toward the goal of a diverse, united community in Calgary.
Get to know our ED with this Q&A!
What inspires you to do this work?
For me personally, to be inspired about something is to be motivated to act and to do so wisely. What truly inspires me in this work is the transformative potential of our society that results from harnessing the strengths and assets of every community member. Throughout my life, I have been inspired and impressed by the effective use of collective power to advance and enhance social-well being and economic prosperity.
Why is it critical that we use an anti-racism lens when doing the work we do?
When we are proactive in addressing issues of racism and doing so by accessing how policies, decisions, practices, and procedures affect racialized people differently, we are using an anti-racism lens. Some of this may be unintended nonetheless the impact can be very severe. Using this lens helps us to position race as a critical determinant of equity and helps with how we design equitable implementation structures in our programs and work. This lens also allows the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes from that perspective and useful for informing policies and decisions.
What are you most looking forward to in this new role?
In this new role, I am looking forward to strengthening Action Dignity’s commitment to the building of a healthy society where immigration, place, race, and several layers of intersections cease to become predictors of people’s overall well-being. This will require that attention is paid to unaddressed upstream issues (root causes of disparity) that result in downstream impacts for the most vulnerable in our communities.
What is your vision for the future of ActionDignity?
My vision for the future of Action Dignity is simple and that is to ensure this unique organization remains relevant and viable. Action Dignity plays a crucial role in addressing macro-level issues (structural, systemic) that affect the day-to-day lives of individuals in our community. To this effect, I would love to strengthen and deepen relationships with existing partners (community members, business leaders, funders, donors etc.), and build new relationships as well. This is guided by the ubuntu philosophy of life that states that ‘I am because you are’ and my mother’s favourite proverb that only one strand of a broom cannot sweep the floor.
What does an equitable Calgary look like to you?
For me, an equitable Calgary is a place where determinants of equity are paid attention to in policies and decisions. Equitable access to interventions needed by the most marginalized in our communities should result in equitable outcomes. And for Calgary to truly realize equity, institutions, government, communities, and people must think of the concept and its practice in structural and systemic terms. In other words, there is a need to understand both structural and systemic components that are hindering the achievement of equitable outcomes in our community.
When you’re not championing the voices of ethno-cultural communities, what do you like to do?
Outside of my work, I am normally home with my family and supporting some segments of our population who need help including seniors and youth.
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