Creating a Universal Language of Allyship – Shreya Diwan and Savindya Mudadeniya

Savindya shared about how their project created opportunities to critical reflection and active allyship:

“Our project centered around equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) education through visual storytelling, using a previously created comic “Le Voyage d’Alex” as a foundation. The goal was to foster allyship and deepen understanding of marginalized experiences by engaging participants in a series of interactive workshops.

The comic, which served as the project’s starting point, depicted real-world scenarios of exclusion, microaggressions, and systemic barriers faced by underrepresented groups. Through storytelling and improv workshops with our community partner; Griottes Polyglottes, it aimed to make these complex issues more accessible and emotionally resonant for a broad audience.

Building on this narrative, the workshops were designed to encourage critical reflection and active allyship. They included guided discussions, group activities, and scenario-based exercises where students explored bystander intervention strategies, inclusive language, and tangible ways to advocate for equity in their communities. The workshops also emphasized the importance of intersectionality, ensuring that allyship efforts recognized the diverse and layered identities of those affected.”

Shreya described the meaningful community partnership they cultivated with Grottes Polyglottes:

“Our community partner was Ingrid Broussillon from Griottes Polyglottes. When Ingrid first arrived in Canada from Guadeloupe, she was looking for ways to practice her conversational skills in English through theatre. At the time she was surprised to find that the options available to her were quite limited which eventually served as her inspiration for founding Griottes Polyglottes. Through Griottes Polyglottes, Ingrid organizes interactive language learning workshops in French and English. She skillfully employs improv and engaging aspects to these workshops for all age levels. With her passion for advocacy and fostering inclusive spaces, she has also facilitated and developed several workshops related to anti-racism and debunking prejudices.

Our experience working with Ingrid during this project has been extremely positive and rewarding. Having attended the workshops facilitated by Ingrid, I was able to witness first-hand the amount of thought and care she had invested into the curation and facilitation of the workshops. I could not have found a better person to bring our comic book, Le Voyage D’Alex to life. From Ingrid, I learned how to capture the attention of the audience, involve and include every single participant in the learning process and how to take an idea and execute it for a different audience. I also learned how important it is to involve young adults in conversations about social justice as they are in the process of navigating their own identities.

Developing a connection with Ingrid has been highly valuable for me as I am graduating this year and am looking for different ways to find community beyond university. Ingrid and I are also exploring working on projects in the future which is something I am very excited about!”

To find out more about Grottes Polyglottes, we invite you to explore the following links:

Website: https://www.griottespolyglottes.com/contact
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/griottespolyglottes/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4F8RAy4OhFNklY5fBXOl5Q

Savindya shared the key lessons they learned throughout their project:

“Completing our grant project provided several key lessons about EDI education, engagement strategies, and the power of storytelling in fostering allyship:

Sustained Impact Needs Follow-Up – While the project created meaningful dialogue, I learned that one-time workshops are not enough. Building ongoing mentorship, discussion groups, or resource-sharing networks is essential for ensuring that the lessons learned translate into long-term action.

Storytelling is a Powerful Educational Tool – The comic-based approach was highly effective in making abstract EDI concepts tangible. Visual narratives helped participants emotionally connect with the experiences of marginalized individuals, making them more receptive to learning and change.

Interactive Learning Drives Engagement – Workshops that included scenario-based discussions, role-playing, and collaborative activities encouraged deeper reflection and participation. Simply presenting information was not enough—creating safe spaces for dialogue and experiential learning made the sessions more impactful.

Allyship Requires Ongoing Work – Many participants initially believed allyship was a passive stance rather than an active commitment. The workshops demonstrated that allyship involves continuous self-education, advocacy, and willingness to be uncomfortable in challenging bias.

Intersectionality Must Be Central – One key takeaway was that EDI conversations cannot be one-size-fits-all. Participants often brought different lived experiences, and recognizing the intersectionality of race, gender, ability, and class was crucial in fostering a more nuanced discussion.”

For students considering applying for a CCEL Grant, Shreya offers some valuable advice:

“My biggest piece of advice would be to use all the resources that are available to you! Everyone at CCEL is so incredibly supportive and helpful – reach out and ask all your questions. It is really rewarding to see your ideas get transferred from ideas to an application to a project that has positive consequences for other members of the community. Sometimes the process of actualizing and implementing a well-thought-out idea can be daunting and it can be helpful to create a well-mapped timeline with everything broken down into smaller goals.”