The Robert Quartermain Centre for SOGI-Inclusive Excellence in Education hosted the Safeguarding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Summit on February 10th – 11th, 2026. The summit brought together 20 SOGI Leads from across Canada (New Brunswick, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Alberta), 20 SOGI Leads in British Columbia, graduate students in the Faculty of Education, and Teacher Candidates in the BEd program in the Faculty of Education at UBC. Participants gathered in person at UBC to share resources and strategies, build connections and community, and strengthen our approaches to SOGI inclusive education.
The Summit sought to address the urgent need for system-wide solutions that respond to the ways that LGBTQ rights and education are under attack in Canada. Through equity driven leadership and collaboration, educators can feel supported in their response and engagement with SOGI issues in schools. Conversations at the summit addressed both curricular, structural and interactional change in approaches to SOGI-inclusive education.
The Global Speaker Series
The Summit kicked off with a keynote presentation from Tiq Milan, a writer, storyteller, and cultural strategist whose work illuminates the intersections of gender, justice, and personal transformation. His story of familial acceptance, love, and community reminded us of the crucial need for safer, inclusive, learning spaces for young people to thrive outside the heteronormative stereotypes that harm everyone.
Watch Milan’s full talk followed by a Q&A facilitated by our Director, Julia Sinclair-Palm:
Summit Day
Sessions and panelists from the day included:
We are grateful to ARC Foundation for their programming support.
You can read more about Summit Day here:
https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/02/19/SOGI-Under-Attack-Educators
As a part of the Summit, we hosted a community fair where local organizations were able to share more about their incredible and important work and connect with our participants.
We are grateful to our community partners for their support. Be sure to check them out below:
A huge thank you to our sponsors! We could not have done it without the generous support of:
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