Join the conversation at Concordia’s University of the Streets Café
Since 2003, Concordia’s University of the Streets Café has hosted more than 500 events across Montreal for the public to connect, share ideas and imagine change together. A flagship program of the Office of Community Engagement, this year’s series centres Indigenous and Black voices in vital conversations about activism, education and the arts.
Free and open to all, University of the Streets emphasizes community engagement and lifelong learning in cafés and community spaces. Participants are invited to share perspectives and ideas while tackling some of society’s pressing questions.
From the margins to the centre
Geneviève Sioui, series co-organizer and coordinator of Indigenous community engagement, says this year’s programming is meant to open doors and centre people who have not always felt welcome in public forums.
“We have a desire to make space for Indigenous and Black voices in our longest running program after realizing that it is not a space that our communities are familiar with,” she says.
Sioui explains that the series’ focus is also rooted in Concordia’s broader commitments and strategic plans: the Indigenous Directions Action Plan and the recommendations of the President's Taskforce on Anti-Black Racism.
Explore this year’s events
The events begin on October 30, 2025, with Indigenous and Black activism: What are the legacies of Black and Red Power? at the Écomusée du fier monde in Centre-Sud.
The conversation will explore the echoes of the Red and Black Power movements in Quebec during the 1970s and their lasting impact on self-determination, identity and community organizing. Ghislain Picard, former Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador and Indigenous Governance Expert-in-residence at Concordia will bring his insight to the event. He will be joined by author and historian David Austin.
On November 12, 2025, the spotlight turns to education. Indigenous and Black-led education models: How are they challenging Western institutions? will take place at Native Montreal in Saint-Henri. The event features Saviluk Thomassie, a First Peoples Studies student, in conversation with other guests. Their discussion will highlight innovative, community-driven educational models and ask whether systemic change can happen within existing institutions — or if Indigenous- and Black-led institutions provide a more powerful path forward.
The series concludes on December 11, 2025, with Engaged theatre: Is Black and Indigenous theatre inherently an act of activism? at daphne, an Indigenous artist-run centre in Mile End. This final conversation focusses on the stage as a site of resistance and imagination, considering how Black and Indigenous theatre can spark dialogue and address urgent social issues.
Remembering our histories
Kristen Young, co-organizer and coordinator of Black community engagement, says she finds it energizing and powerful to know our histories and remember those who came before us.
“There has historically been solidarity between these Black and Indigenous communities, including in Montreal and at Concordia in the 1970s — hence our starting point with the Red and Black Power movements.”
The 2025 University of the Streets Café event series seeks to build on that legacy by inviting the public to engage, question and imagine new futures together.
Learn more about Concordia's University of the Streets Café.
