 Welcome everyone to our third and final day of our 20th anniversary gathering. It is, it has been incredible. And I'm looking forward to the discourse today and so thank you all for taking the time to be here. I will begin with our territorial. Today we meet on the traditional territories of the indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. I come here in humility as a learner with deep gratitude for the opportunity to live, work and gather on this land, the territory of the here and when that the baton, Seneca, and most recently the Mississaucas of the credit first nation. The territory is covered by the dish with one spoon, one pen belt covenant and agreement between the Huda National and the Ojibwe and the live nations to peaceably share and care for the lands and resources around the Great Lakes. I recognize that some of us here are participating from different territories, and I invite you to silently in the chat at where those territories are, and to make acknowledgement in the same introspective and respectful spirit. I would like to now welcome Reverend Mary Fontaine to the stage. Reverend Fontaine is Cree from Mr. Miss to Wessus and is ordained in the Presbyterian Church of Canada. She is the founder and executive director of hummingbird ministries and indigenous led healing and reconciling ministry of the presbytery of Westminster and British Columbia. Good morning, or good afternoon, Mary. Welcome. Good afternoon. Hi, hi. I'm going to start with a smudge prayer, a smudge in gratitude. I bring the smoke up to my eyes that I can see the true beauty of the world. I can see beauty in others and in myself. I bring the smoke up over my nose so that I can smell the freshness of Mother Earth and pray that all those who walk upon her do so in sacred manner. I bring the smoke up to my mouth so that I can speak with kindness and love. I bring the smoke up over my ears so that I can hear with compassion. I bring the smoke up over the top of my head so that my thoughts are not self defeating, but instead honor my spirit and others spirits as well. I bring the smoke up over my hair so that I am connected to my inner strength and resiliency so that I can walk with confidence knowing that I am loved by creator. I bring the smoke up over my arms so that I can use them to convey love. I bring the smoke up all over the front of my body and down my back to purify my energy so that I am open to the teachings that are meant to enhance my journey. I bring the smoke down towards my feet so that I can walk humbly and that my footsteps are guided in making a positive difference to the next generations. I bring smoke up to my heart four times to represent the four sacred directions in honor of my ancestors. I smudge in gratitude all my relations. I bring the four directions prayer as a blessing. And if you're able to look in the direction that I'm praying about, you may do so, or at least think about it. Creator, it is I. Thank you for today's sunrise, for the breath and life within me, and for all of your creations. Creator, hear my prayer and honor my prayer. Everyone facing east and imagine the pipe being raised to the east. Today begins with the rising sun I ask Spirit Keeper of the East, Brother Eagle, be with me, fly high as you carry my prayers to the Creator. May I have eyes as sharp as yours so I am able to see truth and hope on the path I have chosen. Guide my step and give me strength to walk in the circle of my life with honesty and integrity. The rising south and the pipe is raised to the south. Spirit Keeper of the south, Wolf, be with me, help me to remember to love and feel compassion for all mankind. Help me to walk my path with joy and love for myself, for others, for the four legged, the winged ones, the plants and all creation upon Mother Earth. It is right for me to make decisions with my heart, even if at times my heart becomes hurt. Help me to grow and nurture myself worth in all ways. Everyone facing west with the pipe raised to the west. Spirit Keeper of the west, Brown Bear, be with me, bring healing to the people I love and to myself. Bring into balance the physical, mental and spiritual so I am able to know my place in this earth, in life and in death. Heal my body, heal my mind and bring light, joy and awareness to my spirit. Everyone facing north with the pipe raised to the north. Spirit Keeper of the north, White Buffalo, be with me, as each day passes, help me to surrender with grace, the things of my youth. Help me to listen to the quiet and find serenity and comfort in the silences as they become longer. Give me wisdom so I am able to make wise choices in all things which are put in front of me. And when time for my change of worlds has come, let me go peacefully without regrets for the things I've neglected to do as I walked along my path. And everyone facing back to the original. Mother Earth, thank you for your beauty and for all you have given me. Remind me never to take from you more than I need and remind me to always give back more than I take all my relations. I'm going to say that Navajo prayer and then close with a little song. Great spirit whose voice I hear in the winds whose breath gives life to all the earth. Hear me. I'm a human being standing before you. One of your children. I am small, and I am weak. I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made my eyes sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught my people. The lesson you have hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength, not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So that the life fades as a fading sun when life fades as a fading sunset. My spirit may come to you without shame. Amen. So this song is an honor song. And it's giving thanks for life for prayer and for for grace. In an ascomptent anke se mando kohtawinau. Be matzo en kamikoya. Be matzo en kamikoya. Hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-ya, hey-yo. In an ascomptent anke se mando kohtawinau. I may win kamikoya. I may win kamikoya. Hey-ya, hey-ya. In an ascomptent anke se mando kohtawinau. Be matzo en kamikoya. Be matzo en kamikoya. This was for healing. I think of the healing of the nations, the harmony of all the nations, and the vision that our people have for that to happen, that we will all gather around this great tree of life. Very similar to the vision and revelation. Thank you and bless you, Kairos, for the work you've been doing for the past 20 years and that you plan to do for the next 20. God bless you. Creator be with you. Our relations be with you as you walk, let us walk together. Hey-ya, thank you. Welcome to the rest of the plenary this afternoon. First I want to mention that our artist, Adriana Contreras, is not available with us in person today. However, she will be still doing the graphic recording for us from the video that we are recording. So let me jump into the introduction of our moderator for this afternoon's panel. My name is Jessen, has been the ecumenical and interfaith officer for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina since 2017, after a similar role in the diocese of Saskatoon for many years. Originally from Winnipeg, Nick studied philosophy and religious studies at the University of Manitoba and theology at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto. He taught religious studies at St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan for eight years. Nick is a former executive director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism and has been a member of the Roman Catholic United Church of Canada dialogue since 2012. Nick has been editor of the website Ecumenism in Canada since 1995, ecumenism.net. In 2010, he was asked by the Vatican and the Anglican Communion to develop the official digital archive of Anglican Roman Catholic dialogue. More recently, he has developed the Margaret Ogara collection of Canadian ecumenical dialogues for the Canadian Council of Churches. Nick is on the leadership team of Kairos Regina. Good morning Nick and welcome. Over to you I hand it. Thank you Aisha. That's, as a first step, I'd like to acknowledge that I'm coming to you from Regina, which is located on Treaty 4 territory. That's the traditional lands of them, the Heowok, Nakaui and Nakoda, and it's the homeland of the Dakota, Lakota and the Métis peoples. Today is our third panel in this series. The first two panels looked at the where Kairos came from and where Kairos is at. Today we look forward. Where are we heading? I think we're all familiar with a famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr. It is long, but it bends towards justice. What we are asking our panelists today is to reflect on 20 years from now where we might be as a society, as the world, and particularly as people working in justice, and looking back upon this 20 year period from 2041 back to today. We asked them to imagine what type of world would you like to say you were living in in 2041 and what role did Kairos have in making this happen? We also asked, said we are at a critical moment. Where do we go from here? What are our next steps? What is the role of our global partners, indigenous partners, the churches, migrants, the Canadian networks and more? So two questions for the panel. We have four panelists today, and I will introduce them now, one at a time as they come, they are going to speak. Let me find my note to make sure I've got them in order. We also have two respondents that will follow after that. So we have about 70 minutes assigned for this panel. Our first panelist is Natalia Atsunuk. She is a Maya Kachiko woman and a victim and survivor of the Guatemalan armed conflict. She's been a part of social movements in Guatemala for over 30 years. Her areas of expertise are human rights, indigenous peoples rights, food sovereignty, land and environmental defense, economic justice, climate justice and free trade agreements. She was also an honorary witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. So Natalia, I invite you to respond to our questions. Thank you so much. Good morning. Good morning to everyone. First of all, I would like to congratulate Gaito on this 20th anniversary, 20 years of work all around the world, 20 years of fighting to protect life, 20 years of fighting. 20 years of bringing different communities together and different lives together. 20 years of protecting life, not only the lives of human beings, but also nature. I would like to congratulate everyone who has made Gaito's work possible. Thank you for protecting Mother Earth. So now to the questions. How do I imagine the world? How do I imagine society and the role that Gaito's will play in the next 20 years? We want all communities to have access to well-being. We want to protect biodiversity so that all living beings have a dignified life. We want life of equality. We want there to be access to health and to food for all communities and healthy food especially. We want women to participate at all levels. Women have been very limited in their participation in society and in community. Those limits have been imposed on them and the youth have also had limited access. They have not had as many opportunities as others. So that's what we dream of. That's what I dream of. A life free of violence for all women and for all communities. We need to continue defending land, territory and indigenous rights. They are the ones that have been on the front line. There are a lot of threats in terms of extractive industries, mining companies, metal extraction. They are invading our land and indigenous communities. This is having an effect on peace. And when those companies invade indigenous territory, that creates a lot of conflict for our communities. Therefore we need to continue defending land and territory. We need to continue defending life. We need to continue fighting. We need to fight for food sovereignty. We need to protect life. When I talk about food sovereignty, I'm also implicitly talking about conserving the soil. How to strengthen and regenerate forests and nature and create a healthy environment for our communities. So we're also fighting for climate justice. The communities that are defending land and territory are also the ones who are most affected by climate change. We need to look at the cause and effect of climate change. We also have to identify those who are polluting Mother Earth. There are different levels of responsibility. One level of responsibility is when people don't manage waste accordingly. Or when transnational companies don't manage waste accordingly. Large industries also have responsibility. For example, industries that produce plastic products. We need to create awareness and we need to identify the responsibility of each actor and the impact that they have on climate change. It's also important to strengthen community organization. There's so many risks that we face as the result of climate change. We need to raise awareness in our communities about these issues. Not only just to raise awareness, but also to contribute. That way we can put a stop to climate change. I think that the role that Kairos can play and will play is very important. All of this work that needs to be done in terms of defending life. And here I refer to all life, not just human beings, but also nature, biodiversity and all living beings. That's why I think Kairos's work in defending life is so important during the next 20 years. And I hope that everything Kairos does in the next 20 years will be strengthened. It's important to consider all these issues. These issues all pertain to life. It's an important mission. It's an important mission for Kairos to continue strengthening the rights of indigenous communities. They are the forgotten ones. And the most affected in the context of capitalism, exploitation. Transnational companies are interested in exploiting Mother Earth. In countries such as Canada, and in countries such as Guatemala, there's an important role to be played. Everyone has an important role to play. There's a lot of work to be done, not only in Canada, but in other countries as well. There's a lot of work to be done in the north, in countries in the northern hemisphere. You can raise awareness and mobilize, and there's a lot of work that we can do in our own country, in Guatemala, where Canadian companies are present. There are also structural impacts that are a result of capitalism. There's a lot of work that we can do in Guatemala. We can raise awareness. We can participate. We can organize. We can defend human rights. We can promote human rights, women's rights, youth's rights, and community rights. And there's a lot of work to be done in Canada as well. That's where our fight, our struggle comes together. And the work that we do complements each other. And if we work together, then we can achieve our goals. We want a dignified life. We want there to be equality and justice. And we also want to be free from oppression at all levels. I think those are important points that Kairos should have in mind for its mission, its vision, and for its goals for the next 20 years. I hope that Kairos will have enough energy and strength. We pray that it will to continue fighting during the next 20 years. Thank you so much. Thank you, Natalia. A lot for us to think about. Our next speaker. He is from the native community of Mashpee located on Cape Cod, south of Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of five commissioners on the Maine Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He taught for 10 years at the University of Maine's Orono campus as an adjunct instructor and lecturer in the Native American Studies and the Peace and Reconciliation programs. Presently, it's a member of the Kairos Indigenous Rights Circle, Kairos initiated climate change program for the love of creation and a faculty member of the Up Standards Academy. He resides with his family at Eskenu Potee on the Birch Church Reserve in Occupied by New Brunswick, Canada. Thank you. Please go ahead. Thank you, Nick. Thank you for your bravery of speaking a little bit of our language. Thank you. It is a great privilege to be here and to be able to share some thoughts and a great deal of heart. And I'm so privileged to find myself here sharing thoughts because I'm always wondering how I get here and it must be saying something right and doing something right. And I want to acknowledge this wondrous family called Kairos. It's been such a privilege to be part of the Indigenous Rights Circle and tend to meet other Indigenous representatives. And I think about Lee and I think about Ginger and so many others that have come to learn who have been also Indigenous participants of Kairos. I'm not all, I'm not working from any script, but I thought I had to take a little time to share some thoughts and I wrote them down and I provided to Kairos these written thoughts. So hopefully they'll be available to anyone who wishes to review them. Two things that I want you to remember from what I can contribute on. And I'm so grateful that to hear from Natalie and from Mary because they have said it all, you know, and I'm just providing maybe footnotes to what's already been said and I've been so honored to listen into the presentations throughout this week. And it occurs to me, so what came here principally from Europe to the Americas is still being played out, you know, the doctrine of discovery and how that came to be and formulated. It's still being played out in the world today as we saw in previous presentations, you know, particularly today in the struggles in Madagascar and the DNR, you know, this is the doctrine of discovery being played out before our eyes. And so when we begin to, you know, process our faiths, you know, I think in terms of responsibility that we're all responsible. And when I think about the future ahead, you know, what does it look like 40 years from now? I'm left with two basic truisms. One, we are more than what we've become. We are far, we are far more than what we and where we are now. In fact, I think as human beings, we have yet to realize our full human capacities and potential. And when we align ourselves to creation, and to that divineness that's all around us and within us, you know, we manifest what needs to be done and where we should be. The other axiom I want you to remember is that despite all the struggles and challenges that brought Kairos to this space, to this place in history, Kairos for me represents the Canada that we need to be. It exemplifies the embracement of Indigenous voice. The reality is that we are living in somebody else's homeland. When we bravely acknowledge the territories of where we lived on, all these territories are unseated territories. We didn't give any lands away. We don't have the right privilege to do that. And our treaties provided a space for what's now Canada. When we honor the treaties, we honor the space where we live in. And we all have responsibilities to the land. And I keep hearing the current strata of struggles that we're all talking about and that we're all providing. 40 years from now, we've made an effort to de-escalate the meanness that's around us, that corporations are finally becoming responsible for what they're doing. And frankly, the resources that we're extracting from the earth, I don't think we really need those resources. We're fueling a kind of economy that is, let's say capitalist economy is probably the most destructive form of economy that's ever existed among human beings. And there are other forms of economy that are more responsible. The ideology of money has translated our living to a level of indignity to all life. And I think that we can find different ways of responsible economy that nurtures life. And as was said earlier, both Mary and Natalia mentioned earlier that there's a responsibility that comes with, we take what we need. And in that taking, we have ceremony. We just don't go out and take. We have a responsibility to understand that we're taking life. And that life is out there to help us. The earth is out there to help us. So how do we get there? Kyros has embraced a methodology, a human methodology of creating a pathway that we all work together to consciousness. And it's a beacon for other organizations that Kyros has aligned itself with. And it's applying our faith to practice, not just what we pray for, but how we live our lives. And I'm so thankful to be here and to share those, because when we speak, when we align ourselves to creation, I'm an owl. I live in the house of otters and turtles. It's impossible for my culture, for myself, for my nation and confederacies to exist without that express connection to the earth. And that is a deep, profound, a deep love for all the life that's around us. And it's my work and the work of Kyros. You keep hanging with us, keep hanging with Indian country. You know, we'll all get to where we need. You know, as the doctor discovery still being played out, it forms the national values that we have in the false narratives that we believe were true but are not. Indian country. We are sovereigns, as well as every, every living thing on this earth, every living being. And it eventually, Canada remains. And follows the lead of Kyros and the other two million organizations out there were doing wondrous things with economic and environmental justice and hanging with indigenous peoples. And the foundation of indigenous peoples I come from a matriarchal culture. No, it is the women who lead the women who are closest to the relational of the sacred of the earth, you know, women are the daughters of the earth. And we follow, as men, we follow their direction and their wisdom. And I feel that this is where Canada needs to become a matriarchal society, as well as the United States and all, and as well as all these so-called democracies that are around us, we need to take that feminine perspective, the divine-ness of life around us. So I want to conclude with a piece of non-evidence. I can't prove this, but it runs through my veins and I see it all around us. I see what creation is talking to us about, always trying to get our attention. There's something on the horizon that's coming to us. It's coming to us with a purpose, an intention that despite all the meanness and all the degradation that goes around us, the divine is coming to us. And it's coming to us in deep patterns of love and connection. And I see that in the 40 years that I'm able to project, that we are coming very close to that divine love. And this is the way that we have to live our lives. And this is the way that our nation-states have to evolve into this great circle of families, family to each other, family to Earth, family to creation. And so with that, thank you for this privilege. Thank you very much. It's a ton of mook and very encouraging words. And we'll have a chance to reflect on those a little bit with the responders later as well. We're going to take a break here now. It's in the middle of our panel where this is to give our translators a bit of a pause. And we're going to receive the gift of another song from the Nietzsche singers of Toronto Urban Native Ministry, who graced us yesterday. The song is Eagle Song. Shannon, are you ready? Hi, good morning. My name is Charlene. My spirit name is Red Bear. We're the Nietzsche Circle singers. The next song we are going to be singing is the Eagle Song. And it comes from South America and it's to bring all indigenous people together. That was beautiful. Thank you. I don't know if our translators will be back yet, but we're going to begin again. Our next presenter is next panelist is Stacy Gomez. Who is a migrant justice organizer with no one is illegal from Halifax, Kajipoktuk's migrant workers program. The program engages in outreach, accompaniment, public education and advocacy in solidarity with migrant workers in Nova Scotia. No one is illegal Halifax is also a community partner with Kyros Canada's empowering temporary foreign workers during COVID-19 project. Stacy has been engaged in advocacy and solidarity with human rights defenders in Guatemala and throughout the Americas. And she is a member of Kyros ecological justice circle. Welcome Stacy. Thanks a lot. It's great to be part of this important conversation. And I always welcome the opportunity to think about what our future collective future together can look like, I think oftentimes, and maybe myself and others maybe sometimes are very focused on what we're doing currently. It's good to think more broadly into the future in this case in 20 years. And so I appreciate the opportunity for reflection. So I would like to see that we are living in a vibrant world where migrants are recognized as full members of our community and communities across, across these territories, and being treated fairly. The larger issue that is faced by people in our communities is inequality based on immigration status, which is rooted ultimately in racism. Because for example, we know that for some people from from certain countries, certain demographics have a easier time being able to to cross borders. And for people who are racialized including migrant workers here in Nova Scotia and MC to make my territory, we have migrant workers predominantly from Mexico and Jamaica. And so, through these work programs, the seasonal agricultural worker program workers come work here are here for the majority of the year. And so I've been coming for as many as up to 30 years, and yet they're still considered temporary residents, and they do not have opportunities to stay as permanent residents. So this is a major challenge. And so, for example, so when they come to work in Canada, they're separated from their families in their home communities. And I also want to say, you know, and talking to workers, we know that people have multiple homes. So here is a home for migrant workers. Also, in their countries of origin that's also a home for migrant workers, but some say I'm here the majority of the year this is my home, but yet they're not able to stay due to our immigration policies. And also, they pay benefits like employment insurance, but when the season is over, and they return home to their home country, they cannot access regular employment insurance benefits. So these are some of the issues that migrant workers raise when we when we talk to when we talk to them. And I'm sure that Connie also talked about this in her presentation as well. And when the rights of migrant workers are violated, or if they're being abused, they have to make a difficult choice, whether to speak out, or, or not. And this is a difficult decision because if they speak out, they risk being fired, return to their country of origin, and potentially not being able to come back on the program. And so many workers come here to provide not only for themselves, but also their families. And so that is a very difficult decision to make. And in this situation, a lot of the power is in the hands of the employers. And so, yes, this is a difficult situation for for workers. As well as other migrant communities throughout the throughout these territories have been calling for full and permanent immigration status for decades now. And it's because of migrant organizing that we have seen some changes. For example, this year, the government announced the temporary resident to permanent resident program, which was kind of historic. It was really a first opportunity that many migrant workers had to be able to apply for permanent residents. But unfortunately, there were too few spots open and too many barriers. For example, people had to do language tests that were very difficult to find spaces open, and also just in general, very stringent. And so, also in the past few years, the government announced the there is a program called the vulnerable worker open work permit. Where migrant workers experiencing abuse can apply for the possibility of being able to work somewhere else, somewhere safer. But they have to submit a lot of evidence and they can still be denied. And so this is not a solution either. Unfortunately. And as I say, like, you know, no one goes to work. I mean, people often do not go to work thinking I'm going to be abused. Let me document this. It's it's challenging to have evidence when you're being abused. And so, yes, so we echo the calls of migrant workers for full and permanent immigration status. This is an issue that comes up again and again in our conversations with migrant workers. And so as a result, migrant workers are vulnerable members of our communities. And one key issue that we see is food insecurity. Despite the fact that migrants feed the world. We're seeing migrants going hungry in our communities. And so one part of the work that we have been able to do, thanks to funding through the empowering temporary foreign workers during COVID-19 partnership with Kairos is to be able to provide food boxes. In addition, we also had a seedling project where we invited members of the community to grow seedlings of plants that people would would find back home, Mexico and Jamaica. And we had a really great response from the community. Lots of community members participated. We were really happy to see the results of it. And so, in general, I would like to see. I would like to live in a community where migrant workers are not going hungry, where they do not have to make the decision between eating well themselves, or sending money home for their families to eat well, where they're not separated from their families. And I would like to see more more communities with more community dinners and migrant worker gardens and just vibrance, more vibrance. And another another aspect that we do see also, and in my work in supporting migrants, one thing that we've one thing that I've been engaged with, and our group has been engaged with is anti deportation campaigns. So we see families being torn apart by deportations. And so, I would like to live in a world where, where this is not the case, where families can again be together. And I would ultimately like to see a community, a world where people and communities are not divided by borders, which is what we're seeing now, and we know that that borders have not always existed, that borders are colonial. And, and, you know, we see that there are often spaces where violence is enacted to enforce borders. And I would say, I think Kairos has a very important role to play. So we've seen, for example, through the empowering temporary foreign workers during COVID-19 partnership that Kairos has been able to partner with some smaller organizations, some grassroots organizations that are directly doing this work on the ground that are in relationships with migrant workers and community members across, in our case across province. And I think this is a really important contribution, because I can't. I don't have a tally of all of the work that we've done this year but as was mentioned we've reached over 1300 people. We regularly are contacted by workers experiencing abuse, and we talked to them about the different options that exist. And it's, you know, it's this work has really been able to grow through the support that we've received through this partnership. So we definitely do value the important work that's taking place. And we see that this work is also taking place in different territories as well. I think with similar stories. And I also think in terms of Kairos's role is also continuing to push for these bigger changes that need to happen. And so I would say in terms of what's what's next, I would say that we just keep building and keep pushing and keep fostering friendship and mutual aid with our neighbors, regardless of their racial background regardless of their immigration. Thank you. Thank you, Stacy. Our next panelist is Jessica steel, who is a climate justice activist, ocean conservationists and youth engagement, striving to tread lightly and with intention on the unceded traditional ancestral lands of the coast Salish people. She has a BSC in biologies with a specialization in marine biology from University of Victoria. She is an international youth internship placement in Senegal. She is now the senior referrals analysts with a slave attouth nation where she upholds indigenous rights through consultation on environmental assessment projects. She also sits on the Primates World Relief and Development Fund National Youth Council and has been the PWRDF representative to the Cairo's ecological justice circle since 2018. And that's not enough. She also attended COP 24 on behalf of Cairo's. Welcome Jessica. Thank you so much. Thank you Cairo's for having me on this panel. I really appreciate it and I am really honored to be able to sit here and listen to all of the other panelists and Mary Fontaine and be able to learn from them as well. As I'm thinking about maybe what I can bring to this panel, thinking of the idea of footnotes, as Git Satana Mook said. I think the perspective and from my experiences, I'm going to try to bring a bit of a perspective of you, even though I'm slowly reaching the point of aging out of the youth category, and then a perspective on climate change, because that's been a lot of my work. So, when thinking about climate change, we're at a breaking point. We either need to decide to take drastic action for a sustainable world, or we're going to continue to suffer the consequences. And we, unequally of course, but suffer the consequences of a two degree or three degree world. And so, when I was asked to reflect on the future. It's actually quite scary to think of a future when you think of the climate crisis scary to think of where we could be in 2041. Like many people, I think feel a lot of overwhelm, a lot of exhaustion, a lot of climate anxiety, compassion fatigue, and just worry for what future generations are going to look like. And because we're at this critical moment, I think some of the biggest challenges that we're going to face over the next couple years is to try to remain hopeful. And to try to take care of ourselves and to take care of others so that we don't burn out in this work, and to really keep fighting for really ambitious climate action. I was on Twitter this morning just looking at a few tweets, and I saw you after this who wrote, it is evident that some politicians think that acting to save my generation is too difficult to even attempt. It was a bit of a reflection on some of the new climate policy and new initiatives that are coming out. And I thought that was really poignant because when people's lives are at stake when nature is at stake, Laura and Fauna are at stake like wouldn't we want to do everything that we can, even if it seems unachievable wouldn't we want to do everything that we can. We can just give up now and just accept that we'll be definitely living in a two degree world or a three degree world when the IPCC has shown us the significance and importance of making sure that we stay below 1.5 degrees. And I think it's important that we think of climate delay and the privilege that comes with responses around climate delay. It's a pretty privileged response to think that it's okay for us to wait and that maybe we can go to a two or three degree world. I think that one of the best ways to stay hopeful and like to keep advocating for climate justice. From my perspective is really to make safe for you and youth voices. We need to meet the ambitious expectations of young people, instead of discrediting them and saying oh we can't do it we need to meet those ambitious expectations, because those youth just want to live in a planet which is going to be safe for them and for their grandchildren. So I was and I think one of the ways that I was reflecting on this is, as Nick said, I was really lucky and privileged to be a representative for Kairos at COP 24, which is the UN climate change conference. And that happened in Krakow and in Poland in 2018. And while I was at COP, I found the difference in energy and oh for sure, I think I'm speaking a bit too quickly. I found the difference in energy and idealism and urgency in youth climate activists and youth climate leaders that were present at the COP. And compared to some of the state leaders that were dragging their feet that were finding excuses as to why they couldn't make ambitious climate pledges that were finding excuses as to why they couldn't contribute to loss and damage. And that we're saying things like we can't do a fast transition. We can't change that quickly. That we need oil, we need gas, we need coal over the next 30 years. And that was really striking in the climate negotiations. Well, then you saw in the side events, which were often led by youth and often led by indigenous youth and led by youth in the global south, like the South Island developing states. They just kept saying that there's such an urgency in the climate discussions and the climate crisis, reminding us that there's so much information and tools out there for us to be able to just we transition to renewable energy economy that we can change. We just have to make the decision to change and that the world has always changed. We live in a world that evolves. And so we just need to evolve and we need to do it quickly because we've delayed it for so long. And I think the other striking thing about that conference in particular was that it's the world leaders, the ones that are dragging their feet that are in the negotiating rooms, and they're the ones creating policy. They're the ones making the climate pledges. It's not these vital youth voices. And so I think we're reflecting on the future. We really need to follow the voices of youth so that in 2041 we're in a world that is radically transformed, a world that's going to look really different than the world that we live in now. But that's what we need. And that's what we need by 2041 ensuring that no one is left behind. It's a huge hurdle. I see it as these huge barriers in front of us. But deep down I have to believe that we can do it. We've overcome significant challenges in the past, whether it's wars, whether it's economic downturns, whether it's the feat of developing a vaccine for a global pandemic. And it's been far from perfect and it's been far from equal. But I think that's what we need to strive for is the idea of how can we create this world in the future which has a just energy transition and that really is leaving no one behind. And so I don't really have the answers of how to do that or how do we go from here. But I think one of those things is community. And that's when I think of Kairos as an organization that brings together lots of churches to come together and think about a faithful climate response. And I think that's really important that we can work together in community. I think we need to make space for you. I think we need to make space for youth voices and not in a tokenistic way in the way where we're, we're just giving them a platform but unaware where they actually have decision making power and they actually have influence over the direction that that organizations and the direction that policy is taking. I think that we need to listen to indigenous land defenders who've been on the front lines for for very, very long time and who have the solutions for us to be able to get out of this climate crisis. And then I, I think the term is a bit of a buzzword now this term intersectionality but it's really important to consider that the, the climate crisis we need to be thinking of those who are most vulnerable those whose voices have been silenced when we're trying to make decisions and as we're moving forward with all of our next steps, because of course the climate crisis is just this, this large amplifier of every other social justice issue. So, I know that that feels like a lot and I think I often get very overwhelmed by all of this when I think about what we need to do today and what we need to do over the next 20 years and how do we get to to a place in 2041. It's safe and everyone is able to live in a safe world in a safe environment. And when everything gets a little bit too, I think existential for me or a bit too big for me, I try to come back to the ideas that come out of Adrian Marie Brown's work around emergent strategy. And this work was shared to me by a dear friend who passed away in 2019 Danielle Moore, and Adrian Marie Brown says that how we are at the small scale is how we are at the large scale. So essentially the approach is that small actions and connections that we create here in our local communities. Those create complex patterns that become ecosystems and become societies and become our world. And I think it's this really beautiful idea of fractals, which is the idea that yeah what we're doing here in our communities, our churches, our families, local partnerships with Cairo's partners that reverberates to large scale and large change. And Adrian says this and then goes on to give examples in nature saying that the fingerprints on our fingers are the same spirals in the same circles as what we see in galaxies. The veins in our bodies are the same branching veins as what we see in river tributaries, or even what we see in lightning. And I think it's a beautiful imagery when we get really overwhelmed by these existential crises that things at the small scale matter, because they do amplify up to the largest scales. Well, the future is scary. I think it's also exciting. I think there's lots of opportunity for for peace and for collaboration and for justice and for innovation. And I saw this again on I think a social media recently, which was like, I hope that I can sit down and tell my kids and my grandkids of a time when we use coal and oil and extractive industries, and they won't believe me. They'll see a totally different world. And that I think would be my dream to be able to to make it seem like, no, that didn't happen in a way that we're able to totally flip flip our world just for the better. So I think I'll just say thank you. Yeah, so much to Kairos once again. I think we're all so important in taking these next steps over the next 20 years and all the members of Kairos are also very important. Whether it's local front frontline action or whether it's pushing for policy changes, capacity building in your communities, having conversations with your neighbors. And I just hope that in all of that work that we're really able to keep the voices and the thoughts and the concerns of young people in our hearts and minds as we make decisions over the next 20 years. So thank you so much. Thank you very much, Jessica. And, you know, as you were talking at the beginning about how you get this, you know, youth want action, but we have a sense that the politicians and others are not are not acting. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the opening of the Saskatchewan legislature and heard the throne speech and there was a perfect example of politicians not listening and acting. I shouldn't say anything more about that right now. Instead, we're going to move to the respondents, people who have a challenging task of responding to what they just heard. And so our first respondent is Emily Blair. Emily has coordinated the Canadian network on corporate accountability since 2012. This is a coalition of 38 environmental and human rights NGOs faith based organizations, labor unions solidarity groups that advocate for Canadian law and policy reform to require companies to provide human rights and environmental damage throughout their global operations, and to ensure that those harmed by Canadian business operations can access remedy in Canada. Welcome Emily. Thank you very much, Nick, and thank you to all the panelists so far it is not an easier undaunting job to be to be responding to that I just, I have to share all the panelists expressions of gratitude. I'm gross for for bringing everyone together but also for for the words that that you you've shared that really resonated. I'll try and pick up just some of the pieces of that I I found most impactful in in what we heard already today. At the beginning, just the kind of smudge prayer and other prayers, I found really moving moving. And I think that the resonated in particular, because the struggle that we are engaged in to stand up to corporate power is one that is often thankless and seems to be going nowhere. I, those of you who are on our mailing lists get have have received the calls to kind of one more time, just call your MP now we'll see a change. And I think our movement is still and still reeling from having made some steps forward and really thought we had gotten something and realizing that that impact hasn't been as significant as as we are there so I think kind of our movement needs both that those those healing prayers and the and the strength offered by them. And I think that also when Jessica was speaking about the importance of overwhelm and exhaustion in the in the climate context I think that that that resonates in other areas to. And part of what we need to be doing is finding spaces to to come together like this to celebrate the small victories that we're having the small steps we're making. We have, I think, been making a really significant impact in in the work that that we're doing and the spaces that we have right now to come together. And I think also lifting up what Jessica was saying around, wouldn't we all wouldn't we want to be do everything we can when people's lives and the environment are at risk and I think that that's something that we should be bringing to to all of our meetings and all of our statements because it is a time for us all to be quite, quite ambitious. Good kids a ton of milk. I share your gratitude for the for the wonderful space that this thing this space, this community that is Kairos, and I'm always impressed with the extent of community around that that's been created here. I think one of the things that that was making me think about is is a hope in the future for there to be greater even greater connections between the corporate accountability movements in Canada and around the world. And gratitude again to Kairos for for what we're doing there. I wanted to pick up on on what he was saying around, do we really need to be taking all these resources out of the ground that we are. And also going back to what Jessica was talking about around climate action that when we're looking at corporate accountability. There's really huge implications for this moment that we're in for a transition to a green sustainable just framework. And at the same time, people are talking about a shift to electric cars. And there are lots of questions that we need to be asking there about whether the battery components for those cars. Are they coming from recycled materials, or are they coming from components that have been extracted without regard for for rights and the and the environment are we trying to solve one climate problem. So I think that those are all things that I'm hoping we will have have have resolved as as we move forward and and moving back to some of Nadia's comments around who bears the responsibility for this. And focus on consumers buying fair trade and ethically produced goods which is all. It is something that we need to and it take on our individual responsibility but ultimately, we need a systemic transformation where those companies who are involved in human rights and environmental harms have to prevent those problems and where the Canadian government isn't isn't complicit in supporting and financing those those corporations so I think deep appreciation for for this for this space and this and this time. So I look forward to working with all of you over the next 20 years so that we're seeing greater respect for human rights and the environment by corporations. Thank you Emily. Our second responder, our last speaker for the day is Janet Gray. Janet has been involved in ecumenical justice work since the 10 days for global justice times. And she finds her home in the justice and relationship building focus of Kairos and this is, and this is what her faith means to her. Like one in territory of the skin nation also known as Victoria, I'm sorry about that, and is passionate about my presentation, and she's passionate about doing what she can to leave this beautiful diverse mother Earth in better shape for healthy future generations of all beings. Welcome Janet. Thank you very much. And I am honored to be here as a responder today, and I am grateful for the Kairos network, where I have found a home. I am grateful to all the speakers. He's a 10 and move to marry to Natty to Emily to Jessica and to Stacy. Thank you to all of those of you that are listening here today. I am speaking from the Lekwungen speaking people's territory of the Sianu First Nation on the West Coast. I want to thank Mary for her beautiful words of and blessings for us to start in a good way. In my time, I want to share a few words of gratitude as well. For this is what I have learned as part of my time as a volunteer in Kairos over these many years. I share my gratitude for the big leaf maple. I share my gratitude for the Gary Oak. And I share my gratitude for the Douglas fir. I light a candle to remind me now of the words of Jesus and his teachings who have inspired and guided me in my life. And is at the center of the faith groups that come together as Kairos. We are living in critical times. I have heard the importance of the aha moments right now from our speakers. The importance of understanding the gravity, but also the light and opportunity. As we celebrate 20 years of Kairos we have heard these words. We have heard these words over and over again. That all life is connected. For the next two weeks I will take part in the for love of creation ecumenical decim delegation witnessing and taking part at COP 26 in Glasgow, Scotland, like Jessica did a few years back. This gathering of global leaders, politicians, business and civil society is perhaps our last chance to really make the commitments we need to see to bring our climate within what we hope will make for a livable future. These are indeed critical times and moments and we have heard Kairos speak of this over and over again today from our speakers. From indigenous leaders and knowledge keepers like Geese, Geese, Natty and Mary, we have we have heard that we have a responsibility to protect and defend life for all for the youth. For the youth like Jessica and many others that are not yet born. We have that responsibility. I have deep respect for all the land defenders, forest protectors and water guardians that we have heard from, and that I have come to meet over the years who stand up against the machinery of the status quo and say enough is enough. When it comes to injustice for the people on this earth. I am grateful that Kairos made the effort and saw the importance of the global connection to have Natty made one of the honorary witnesses to the Vancouver TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2013. What a gift her words were to all who heard her then and again today. I have learned how courageous she is to speak out at all, yet she and other global partners do again and again. As she said today, we all have a role to play in defending life for all of creation. We in the churches, we in coalitions, we individuals, we as Kairos have the freedom to speak out about injustices and the right to peaceful descent. Yet we see these rights being sorely tested on the front lines in old growth logging and fossil fuel pipeline expansions to name a few. Kairos must stand for the rights to witness and peaceful descent for to witness and for peaceful descent here and globally with our partners. I want to lift up the speakers today again and to the friends of Kairos here at home in BC to name just a few who stand up like Chief Roland Wilson of West Moberly First Nation. Helen Knot from Prophet River and those others standing against the sightseed dam to those fighting the expansion of fracked gas to elder Bill Jones of the Pachadak Nation and all the youth and older people who continue to stand with the ancient trees that are being logged right here at Fairy Creek. To Ruth, Jeanette and all those standing against the TMX pipeline expansion to Hannah House manual and all the tiny house warriors on Shwetmak territory defending their land and water. Kairos is a way of amplifying and giving support to their voices. Yes, these are critical times and it is easy to be scared or frightened. I too am scared Jessica. I am grateful for your honest words about where you are and what you feel. We must not hide from the truths that are difficult to hear or pretend we are not part of the solutions and road ahead. We are called to seek justice to love kindness and to walk humbly. These are indeed Kairos moments and we are all being called forward into these next decades to share widely what we have learned from our past. The Kairos Blanket exercise has been a wonderful example of the transformational changes that any settler who has participated can attest to. Change that has occurred not just in their minds but in their hearts. The KBE did not start off by sweeping across the country. It started slowly. New growth comes from our willingness to take risks and to be bold and courageous with our voices and actions. It is not a smooth path or easy. We must make radical changes to everything we are part of and listen to and act on what the youth of today are calling us to do and be. The relationships made in Kairos, the resilience and strength I have learned from partners both locally, nationally and globally have shown me hope and given me the strength to persevere. Kairos is called to stand up with a stand up with and for others and all of creation and to work for a reconciling world where we become true again, as Paul mentioned yesterday. Or as Gisa Tanamuk says, to live into divine love and the powers that we have as small players, where together we are powerful and can make the differences we want to see in 2041 come true. Thank you. Thank you, Janet. And thank you, Emily and Janet, both effusively thanked our panelists already, but I just want to make those thanks my own as well. The panelists' reflections and our two respondents have made a very thoughtful from any of you. That's, that's quite important. And I can't underestimate the importance of your contributions. I'd also like to thank the interpreters, both the, the audio interpreters and those on the chat that are interpreting for us. That has been really good to and a very important part of this communication. We wrap it up. We turn now to Aisha Francis, who is going to offer us a reflection on where we are going from here. Thank you, Aisha. Thank you so much, Nick. Those responses and the panelists were incredibly powerful. And certainly speak to our responsibility for the construct and condition of this world. So thank you all for, for participating today as we talk about where we're headed to. So, unfettered. This was the first word that came to my mind as I thought about where we are headed to unfettered, not controlled or restricted, free, restrained, unbridled. I thought, interesting. When you think of Kairos, 20 years from now, what are you seeing, hearing, and feeling? On this call, we have a beautiful cross section of people. Unfortunately, we are not in person. But for those on camera, it is wonderful to see all of you. So I have a question. And I'm hoping we can give 20 to 30 seconds for responses to flow into the chat. My question is, in 2041, we are gathered again. What are we celebrating and speaking about as Kairos' legacy of accomplishment? As you think about that and respond to that, there are so many ways that we can think about that. We heard all of our panelists today speak about their visions for Kairos 20 years from now. It's exhilarating. I ask you to think as you envision for yourself what you think it will look like. How do you feel? Are you inspired? Do you feel ready? Are you exhausted? Because we know that with this work, there's always a lot of work. Are you expectant or excited, motivated, contemplative, provoked to action? Maybe it's all of the above. And how are you feeling? Are you smiling? Are you celebrating? Are you happy when you see us sitting together 20 years from now? I'm feeling all of those things as well. And I thank you if you're putting things in the chat. Now, as we look at all that you are saying that you are seeing, I want you for a moment to think about who? Who are the leaders of that work? Who are the people in those organizations? Who are the ones informing the way that we are thinking about our world in academia or the leaders of our country? Whose voice do you hear? And whose wisdom and principles and practices are we following 20 years from now? In your mind's eye, is our world different? Or do we still need to do that work to shift our gazes and our postures? I have six children, three boys and three girls, they're aged 18 to 30. In my opinion, my estimation, they're brilliant world changers, truly. I raised them to see themselves wherever they wanted to be. And while they are going for it, achieving incredible things way before I ever did, pursuing their dreams and fulfilling the prayers and hopes of our ancestors, it is still a hard and encumbering journey. And that hurts. I've had to have the talk with my children, specifically my sons. They're really good children. My children have to have that talk. They're actually exceptional in every way. And yet, the talk, the talks, why are my children fighting through barriers for the very life and purpose that has been breathed into them? Why are my children still fighting through rhetoric to have the opportunity to bring the solutions and contributions and impact for and to this world are to be birthed through them? Why? Is it not because all of us here, it is not, sorry, it is not because all of us here do not believe it should be so. It should be easier, not easy, but easier. But what should cannot be without changing more than our mindsets. In tandem, we must also confront the systems and every player in those systems. Are we even ready for our children? Our today means that we begin with land acknowledgments, sometimes by rote, not always in posture. Land acknowledgments are good, but only one step. I say this not just to provoke us or challenge us to go deeper in our personal journeys towards transformation, but as a guttural cry to confront, change, and in some cases, dismantle differently. The very things that our systems are built upon and embedded with that affront, human dignity, justice, and more importantly, the premise of love. This is hard work, because it will challenge us to move beyond our deeply entrenched comforts, and it asks us to envision a world that we have frankly never seen. It will demand that we move ahead to the side, to the back, or out of the way, and it will cost us, cost us perhaps what in this moment feels like everything. Yesterday I presented in another forum sharing a similar message. Those sessions have also been happening all week concurrent to our 20th anniversary, and the end tomorrow. Again by saying that I felt great responsibility to bring a message that touches on all the ales and controversies of our current day. COVID-19, the pandemic that has touched the world, where we are experiencing separation from loved ones communities are past lives and ways of living. This is a situation that has deepened concerns of mental health and well being and incidences of suicide. Exacerbation of social injustices and violence that we know are not new concerns, but simply prevailing issues highlighted differently and more desperately. In household churches and communities about vaccines, what is your status has become a question of choice versus responsibility, weighing heavily on our minds, challenging morals, demanding equity and dominating many discourses in media board rooms, classrooms and circle and circles. The recovery of indigenous children. Grave atrocities known yet hidden, recovered, and now what? What are the right words for us to use for our commitment and action? Accountability, reconciliation, apology, reparations, land back, racism, the other vitriol global pandemic. I cannot breathe. The George Floydian effect. Civil rights resurrected with new strategy and strength. As we wage war against racism in all its forms, anti indigenous, anti black, anti Asian, anti Semitic, and so on. And in that group, that perhaps the message should be about connecting us through the work of Kairos. As an organization, Kairos through partnership is on the world map, affecting change, addressing concerns of ecological justice and human rights through our work in areas of indigenous rights with the Kairos blanket exercise, and responding to the truth and reconciliation commission calls to action through migrant justice are empowering temporary foreign workers during COVID. Through women peace and security, where we're supporting women towards gender equity rights and empowerment, as they stand as land defenders. But still, I had the question. What is our mission in such a time as this. Is it to look at COVID. Is it indigenous rights, anti racism, anti oppression and decolonizing work. Kairos's work. This is the same question. I'm posing to all of you. Like I did yesterday. I submit to you today, that these are valiant causes. But not the mission. Worthy programs and initiatives, yet not the mission. Appropriate and necessary condition considerations for the allocation of our time, effort and resources. And still, not the mission. Because all this work is for what. So we can see a different world. Not only a world where poverty is eradicated. And there is truth and integrity in our systems that stop instances of mass incarceration of indigenous and black bodies for example, I asked. In your world, your future world. Do you easily envision a smudge that begins every meeting, like we saw today. Can you see a black prime minister of Canada, who is also a woman. Can you envision meetings that do not end with a list of next steps, but regularly end instead in ceremony. With respect for the need for further contemplation with acknowledgement of community and all the voices there in and deep discernment in anticipation of when we gather again. Do you see a world where people in the streets are gathering for celebration or commemoration. And where protests are not needed, because protesting is no longer necessary to advance ecological civil climate and human rights. If that's not what you saw 20 years from now. Your gaze may be off. Elder Emma said in yesterday's plenary. Where are we now that equality demands assimilation, and I'm paraphrasing that, and I hope I got it right. But she said equality demands assimilation. And that is harmful. That is violence in a recent workshop for Cairo staff. The writer showed a powerful image. It was an image of a black man with his body divided into three errors. The first was the 1800s enslavement, and that portion of his body was shown shackled in chains. In the middle section, it was 1900s depicting the Jim Crow era, and there was a rope around his neck for lynching. And the final image, it was a present day representation of the mass incarceration of black men and he was handcuffed and shackled in that way. This picture, this picture showed us that where, while there have been the actualization of some liberties and human right victories for black men and people. We are still subject to the effect, the same oppressive, the same oppression, situating us by status within colonial establishments systems and institutions with intent and violence and strategy. But herein lies the problem. The generalization of a black man for most will not cause many of us to naturally see him in positions of leadership or success or accomplishment. We cannot together, right here, right now, envision Kyros' 40th anniversary, showcasing a different set of characters in the roles with a very different script. We have a problem. And our gaze is off. Now if we're asked, can social justice have life within structural and systemic racism? I add oppression and continued emphasis and upheld practice of colonialism. Again, another question I pose here. This is where we need our visioning to take us so we can arrive at a place where all, not just some, have liberty, and we are actually different in the way that we think, in the way that we learn, in the way that we hear, in the way that we feel, in the way that we behave, in the way that we do, in our very being. So where are we headed from here? Focused programming? Absolutely. Partners, petitions, and policy work? Yes. Advocacy and activism? Of course. 360 degree leadership and zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, and violence in any form? Yes. I am five months into my role, and I don't have all the details yet to finalize our strategic plan, to decolonize our workplace, or to fully embed equity through anti-racism and anti-oppression frameworks at Kairos. We continue to meet the needs we have set out to meet around Indigenous rights, migrant justice work, women, peace and security, ecological and climate justice, and all the other things that we do. And we will fulfill our current obligations, for sure. The most important work we are doing, however, is shifting our gaze to become unfettered. Not to move full force ahead, status quo, but to instrumentally make small impressions and pivots to not only the way that we do the work, but the way we think about what the work is we need to do. We have made our how and our why, our solutions and our purpose interchangeable, and they're not. They're integrated, perhaps, informing one another, sure, but necessarily distinct. The moment we collapse them indistinguishably, together we forfeit our gaze, and we throw our gaze off to unfortunate long-term consequence. So where are we headed? We are at the realm of the unfettered. We are examining our intention versus our impact. We are getting very clear on what our intentions are to make sure that our intentions actually match the impact at every level of the Kairos organization and community. The what and how are easy when we accurately define the why. 20 years of spirited action for justice. Yes, but can we be more granular because we do not necessarily have a shared definition for justice across the world. Does justice mean everyone has food sovereignty? Does it mean that our migrant justice workers get permanent residency? What else does justice mean? I'll end with this. The vision emission, the current vision emission for Kairos Canada. The vision, Kairos, Canada will be a diverse, vibrant, collaborative and spiritually rooted movement for ecological justice, human rights and social transformation. I offer you today to look at this vision and think about it in this way. When I see the words will be a diverse, vibrant, collaborative and spiritually rooted movement, I actually think who? That's who Kairos is. That's who we are. When I see for ecological justice, human rights and social transformation, I think what? That's what we do. The mission. Kairos Canada works to build an inclusive movement for solidarity and advocacy that engages in shared action for ecological justice and human rights, strengthens communities and connects people globally across differences in nations. Again, when I read that statement, I break it down again. Kairos Canada works to build an exclusive inclusive movement for solidarity and advocacy. How? How does it work? That engages in the shared action for ecological justice and human rights, strengthens communities and connects peoples globally across differences in nations. What we do? Where is our why? Where is the motivation? Where is the vision? And I'm not saying that this is not the right vision, but what I'm challenging us to think about is this. And this is why I'm breaking it down this way. I want the vision and mission in this manner to compel further thought about whether we believe this articulation of our mission and vision are still accurate. Do they carry the same weight and purpose for the work we are leaning into or need to be leaning into for the next 20 years? Have we achieved these? And now need to revisit amend and even mature our vision and mission. Five, 10, 15 or 20 years ago, this was the work that was ahead of us. I see that we have made our way here, noting all of our staff, the circles, the community partners, the networks, our friends and supporters who do this work with Kairos. And this meeting. A diverse, vibrant, collaborative and spiritually rooted movement doing the work we said we do around ecological justice, human rights and social transformation. So, as we look ahead, I ask us all to envision differently. What would we actually see if all of our work is successful? What would we actually see if all our work is successful? This needs to be our vision clear and plainly. Our mission then follows suit to give us more detail on how we move towards our vision. So I challenge us all today to think about as we lean into where we are headed, how we are envisioning Kairos when we gather in 2041. What does it look like? Who are the players? Who are the people? What does our earth look like? And I know it's hard to dream that way. We live it today. We're living in this world where every day seems sometimes insurmountable, where we are exhausted to press forward one more day. As I believe Emily said to ask someone to contact their MP one more time. And those are the actions that are necessary because that is what's going to lead us to a world that looks differently. We can't expect simply to do all of this work without the world and the people looking differently. And so as you vision, as you leave from here today, I'm asking you to really close your eyes and to really see. And if there are elements that we know are challenging us today, capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, you know, injustice around gender rights, women, you know, not embracing as, as was said earlier, women, the nurturing spirit and the femininity of women and that that divineness that is necessary. If you didn't see that 20 years from now, as we gathered. I'm asking you why. And I'm asking you to go again. And start to work through why you didn't see it that way. Because it is necessary in order for you to envision that kind of world. It is hard, because we've never seen it before. And until we do see it, it will be impossible. Such powerful words Aisha, I'm wondering if we should move up the song and give ourselves time to sit with it. Give me a moment we'll have the Nietzsche singers. So the next song we're going to dedicate is a traveling song. A traveling song is dedicated for people who have traveled on to the spirit world. And as well, giving good vibes all across Canada for traveling. And the people in South America are all over the world. We travel with you in spirit and Nietzsche. So I just wanted to firstly thank all of the panelists today for your amazing contribution to this final session of our plenary. I also have to give great acknowledgement to the Cairo staff. They have been absolutely incredible. I'm always amazed when we jump on meetings like this where there is, you know, translation happening and all of that. You know, all of the pieces that led up to this moment the meetings and the time spent and the coordinating of everyone's schedules and, you know, all of the support that Cairo staff are, and what they bring to the work that we all get to be a part of is absolutely incredible and such an honor to work with such an amazing group of people. And so I want to thank them out loud in front of everybody. And then we'll thank them as well after the fact. So thank you all for taking the time to join today. As you know, we, over the last two days have been talking about the work that we do with Cairo and how important it is for us to continue to do this work that you know we are a collective, including with you to do this work on our own. And so inviting you to stay a part of the work that we are doing. And we have different ways that you can contribute to the work of Cairo's we have an opportunity for everyone to become monthly donors. And so we will share information with everybody who is registered and we ask you to please consider partnering with Cairo's. And I know that you do, but please consider and contemplate what that looks like even more so now as we move into this vision for our next 20 years. So once again, I thank you so so very much. I know I didn't get an opportunity to meet everyone because we are attending the gatherings this year, virtually, but it has been such an honor to hear the voices and to see all of those who have partnered and worked with Cairo's over the last 20 years. And let us be encouraged as we walk into 20 more of spirited action for justice.