Belonging Matters Conversations

In this series of customized, facilitated conversations, participants come together in a collaborative, problem-solving approach to build belonging and, together, address their priority challenges.

Belonging Matters Conversations - Workbook

Belonging Matters Conversations

Through guided dialogues that nurture their own meaning of belonging, participants share stories and apply reflective learning strategies.

The co-creation of visual legacies amplify participants’ voices, internalize key insights, and become the catalyst for participant-led solutions for lasting community change.

What One Organization Accomplished Through Belonging Matters Conversations

~  with Carol Sheridan, 

Oliver Parks and Recreation Manager

Vince Bulteel on the Importance of Belonging Matters Conversations and Participants with Lived Experience

Vince Bulteel taught me the tenacity it takes to persevere when so many systems, attitudes and behaviours can work against you, enduring stigmatization and so much more.

I have learned about the humility and courage it takes to reach out for help, regardless of where our journey takes us, particularly when we have made mistakes and have been beaten down by the systems that are supposed to support us. In having him as a guest speaker on several occasions, I have learned the power of true authenticity and that compassion creates an optimal learning environment for everyone.

Finally, I am learning that the best way to deal with grief is to find a place to put it. For me, this means being true to Vince’s voice, vision and leadership and continuing his legacy by sharing his stories and ramping up our efforts to build dignity from the inside out (with both people and the systems that serve them in mind).

~ Jessie Sutherland

Vince Bulteel: 

1968 - 2020

What Leaders & Participants Say About Belonging Matters Conversations

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Amanda Brown RSW, Director, ReAct Adult Protection Program, West Vancouver Community Health Centre

As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters provides.

As a society, we need to shift from a reactive mode to a prevention mode like what Belonging Matters Conversations provides. The more that we hear the voices of people impacted the most, the more respectful the process and the better the outcomes.

We need to support grassroots and community empowerment processes to achieve prevention and real change.

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Bette Rumble Belonging Matters Conversations Participant

...help us find and grow a sense of home...

The Belonging Matters Conversations help us find and grow a sense of home within ourselves and in our own lives. We then bring that sense of home out into the community.

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Melissa Lyon Belonging Matters Project Teammate, Inclusion Advocate

Belonging Matters Conversations gave me more confidence in myself and my strengths.

The Belonging Matters Conversations gave me more confidence in myself and my strengths. As well, the dialogue process helped me to accept my cerebral palsy and made me feel more comfortable talking about my disability. Importantly, the experience made me aware of what’s possible on both personal and community levels.

I am so grateful for Jessie's guidance in helping to address a long-overdue need for more connection, resources, and awareness in the community. I also appreciate the connections that I have made through these conversations and I look forward to continuing with this group.

Additional Options for Belonging Matters Conversations

Belonging Matters Conversations For Leaders

Belonging Matters Conversations For Leaders

In this series of customized, facilitated conversations, leaders come together in a collaborative, problem-solving approach to address their priority challenges.


Belonging Matters Conversations For Workplaces - Workbook

Belonging Matters Conversations For Workplaces

In this series of customized, facilitated conversations, teams and organizations come together in a collaborative, problem-solving approach to address their priority challenges in the workplace.


Belonging Matters Conversations For Communities - workbook

Belonging Matters Conversations For Communities

In this series of customized, facilitated conversations, community members come together in a collaborative, problem-solving approach to address their priority challenges.

About Jessie Sutherland,
Director

An international speaker, trainer, and consultant, Jessie Sutherland works with organizations and communities to engage diversity, build belonging and ignite intercultural collaboration.


Recipient of BC Community Achievement Award (2023), her approach creates sustainable community change that effectively addresses complex social problems.

Jessie Sutherland - TEDx Speaker
Jessie Sutherland - 2023 Community Award - BC Achievement Foundation - seal
Jessie Sutherland - Director of Intercultural Strategies

Jessie’s work has been delivered in over eight languages and has taken her across Canada and around the world to support communities in their efforts to address challenging issues including workplace inclusion, poverty, homelessness, the overdose crisis, elder abuse, reconciliation, youth engagement and more. Many of her clients go on to win awards for their work in engaging diversity and fostering collaboration for sustainable and lasting change.

As founder of the organization Intercultural Strategies, Jessie helps leaders and groups build cultures of belonging to create change in an inclusive and positive way. She is the innovator of the award-winning Belonging Matters framework and community change model designed to change mindsets, deepen interconnections, impart greater social capital and build stronger communities.

Jessie holds a M.A in Dispute Resolution, is a TEDx speaker and author of the book, Worldview Skills: Transforming Conflict from the Inside Out.

the benefits of

Belonging Matters Conversations

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Val MacDonald Director, Seniors Services Society of BC

...open the inner voice to better understand what promotes quality of life.

What Belonging Matters Conversations do so remarkably is to open the inner voice to better understand what promotes quality of life.

I was touched by how simple, yet how profound responses were to topics such as isolation and safety.

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Morgan Meloche Registered Social Worker and Outreach Worker

...conversations that go deeper than simply brainstorming ideas and coming up with projects.

Belonging Matters helps to get straight to the heart of what is being discussed, no matter what the topic. It opens space to have truly client-led (or led by those most impacted by specific social issues) conversations that go deeper than simply brainstorming ideas and coming up with projects.

Through the process, breaking down hierarchical barriers between service providers and service users builds trust, community, and relationships that live on and create ripples of change in many directions. Belonging Matters Conversations empowers people to tell their own stories and create their own actions to address social (in)justice.

Belonging Matters invites us all to reflect on what true belonging means and to experience a sense of belonging within the conversations that emerge, amongst all participants. It’s a transformative experience for facilitators and participants alike that create bonds of belonging.

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Bingo Aboriginal Front Door, Belonging Matters Conversations Participant

I’ve begun to respect myself...

I’ve been homeless for 4 months. Through participating in Belonging Matters Conversations, I’ve begun to respect myself and gain a lot of confidence.

Learn more about Belonging Matters Conversations...

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