About
Founded in 1996, the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) strives to increase representation of Black journalists nationwide. Over the years, the CABJ has sought to comprehensively portray the voices and experiences of Black Canadians. The association believes there is a need to hold the industry accountable as we work to counter systemic racism and diversify newsrooms. The CABJ relaunched in 2018 with a renewed focus to help news outlets diversify, and to inspire a new generation of young Black journalists.
Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC) is a community of Indigenous, Black and racialized journalists working in the media industry across Canada. CJOC offers a supportive environment for journalists of colour to talk about the industry — whether that's working through story ideas, sharing resources, posting job opportunities, offering mentorship or brainstorming solutions to problems facing our industry. Since CJOC’s launch in October 2018, we’ve attracted more than 1,000 members, and have established chapters in cities and postsecondary schools across Canada.
RISE is co-hosted by the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ) and Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC). This conference is where journalists of color will gather to share their experiences and expertise with everyone. What's more racialized journalists, and young journalists can receive advice on advancing their careers and developing skills to prepare for the future of journalism.
Canada prides itself as a cultural mosaic, but that's far from the reality in Canadian newsrooms and media coverage. Journalists of colour still remain underrepresented in many respects, from appearances as columnists, throughout media organizations, and in leadership positions.
RISE is an opportunity for journalists to share their stories and experiences as well as to discuss solutions to the systemic issues that exist in the industry. Furthermore, this is an opportunity to make a difference, and build on the progress made by CABJ and CJOC.
Many experienced racialized and indigenous journalists will join us to share their knowledge of advanced skills in investigative journalism, community-driven journalism, digital platforms, media business models and more.
Why you should attend RISE
If you're excited for change in our industry, then RISE is for you. Conference programming will be geared towards helping racialized journalists in Canada level up their careers, and will focus on skills development to prepare them for the future of journalism.
Both CABJ and CJOC want the media industry to truly represent Canada’s racial diversity, fulfilling our country’s commitment to multiculturalism. But oftentimes, we are “the only one” in predominantly white newsrooms. RISE is an opportunity to address our shared experiences and not feel so alone.
We are also committed to seeing an ongoing, industry-wide conversation about equity and anti-racism. CABJ, CJOC and our partners feel strongly that the need for policies around diversity, equity and inclusion should go beyond committees and band-aid solutions. This is what inspired our joint Canadian Media Diversity: Calls to Action document released in January 2020. We believe this kind of change begins at the top, so we plan to continue leading frank and solutions-focused discussions at the conference.