Message from the Past President

I am humbled to share with all UBC students, faculty, staff and partners the 2020 UBC Indigenous Strategic Plan (ISP). The purpose of the Plan is to guide UBC towards our goal of becoming a leading voice in the implementation of Indigenous peoples’ human rights, as articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other international human rights law.

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The UN Declaration is part of a global societal agenda for the 21st Century and an essential component of reconciliation in Canada. Through this Plan, we at UBC will play a leading role in its implementation as a part of our academic mission.

The advancement of Indigenous peoples’ human rights is of the utmost importance to the university. We are uniquely positioned to generate and mobilize knowledge that can produce systemic change. We are a place to develop and implement innovative and path-breaking research, teaching, and engagement with Indigenous communities.

The Province of British Columbia is the first government in Canada and the Common Law world to pass legislation implementing the UN Declaration. With this Plan, we are responding to this mandate and want to set a positive example for other universities across Canada, and the world, on how to continue to uphold our responsibilities to Indigenous peoples.

Through the Plan, we also hope to demonstrate the success that can be achieved for all members of society when we work together toward a better and more just future.

We know that implementing this Plan will take hard work and the resolve of all members of the UBC community at every level, especially those at the highest level. Through this Plan, we commit ourselves to taking meaningful collective action for a more just and equitable future for all.