Last week, Vancouver’s Tacofino revealed the first two of its four-part industry outreach series, designed to bring the local hospitality community together to create meaningful dialogue and exchange ideas to improve the quality of life for those working within the industry. Similarly to Edmonton chef Steve Brochu’s weekly online mental health seminars, Tacofino’s Speakers for Change series offers a platform for community leaders and industry professionals to provide restaurant workers with insight into prevalent issues within the hospitality industry, such as race, gender, mental health, and substance dependency.
“We established Shift Change last year to encourage meaningful dialogue on issues that are endemic in our industry, such as mental health, substance dependency, inclusion and diversity,” says Gino Di Domenico, managing partner of Tacofino. “In the age of COVID-19 and in light of the sweeping social change we’ve seen this year, we realize that it’s more important than ever to listen more and learn from each other’s experiences and we encourage people...to join us for these very important conversations.”
The first session, led by The Hogan’s Alley Society’s June Francis and Kristina Henriksson, will tackle topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion for racialized groups within the industry. The second, led by QMUNITY’s Rana Nu, aims to provide participants with a deeper understanding of diversity and how to institute policies to make organizations more welcoming for queer, trans, and two-spirited employees and customers.
The two workshops are set to take place on November 17 and December 8, respectively.
Tacofino plans to donate $1,250 per session to the keynote speaker’s charity or cause of choice for a total contribution of $5,000. Complimentary tickets for Speakers for Change can be reserved online.
