{"id":28724,"date":"2023-05-12T19:09:01","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T19:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/?p=28724"},"modified":"2025-04-08T10:59:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:59:44","slug":"carleton-celebrates-teraanga-commons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/2023\/carleton-celebrates-teraanga-commons\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Celebrates Teraanga Commons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Celebrates Teraanga Commons\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

By: Linda Hartwell<\/h4>\n\n\n\n


Photos by: Brenna MacKay<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

On February 23, Carleton University held an event to celebrate the name Teraanga (pronounced tare-ang-gah) that has been given to the building formerly known as Residence Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The naming initiative<\/a>, launched by President Benoit-Antoine Bacon in February 2021, was shaped by a recognition of the need to better reflect the university\u2019s diversity in its academic mission and campus operations. African, Caribbean and Black communities both on and off campus were engaged in consultations to develop a new name for the building which is a central hub for student life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Celebrating Teraanga: Malikah Rowe, Asha Berbeck, President Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Nduka Otiono, Patrice Smith and Ikram Jama<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The name Teraanga is a Senegalese word from the Wolof language that means sharedness, civility and honour, where generosity of spirit is emphasized and signifies a welcoming, safe space where everyone is accepted.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The event, attended by students, staff, faculty and community members, was emceed by Asha Berbeck, undergraduate student and member of the Advisory Council to Rename Residence Commons, a process that was co-chaired by Patrice Smith, Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs<\/a>, and Ikram Jama, Director, Human Rights and Equity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nduka Otiono, Faculty Advisor, Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion<\/a>, shared the importance of a name and how African names often reflect the worldview of the people and perform socio-cultural functions.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cNaming is often a serious act undertaken in the context of a well-planned occasion\u2014like the one we are having here today; we are unveiling this evening,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Nduka Otiono sharing the importance of a name. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Otiono invoked the African spirit of the name Teraanga and expressed his wish that \u201cthe generous spirit of our ancestors inhabits this space and light up everyone who passes through this edifice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Bacon emphasized Carleton\u2019s commitment to truly embrace the name Teraanga.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAs an institution, we will fully adopt the name Teraanga,\u201d said Bacon. \u2018We will reach beyond the naming of the building to embrace the spirit of the word.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The naming of the building is just one step in Carleton\u2019s ongoing commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion as outlined in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince Carleton, along with more than 40 universities across Canada, formally endorsed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in 2021, we have been working with partner institutions to collectively advance the charter\u2019s principles and actions,\u201d said Bacon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledging that there still work to be done, President Bacon thanked Profs. Nduka Otiono and Audra Dipt\u00e9e, who were appointed in 2022 as Carleton\u2019s inaugural Faculty Advisors on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion, for their continued work in this area in collaboration with the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities and the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President Benoit-Antoine Bacon speaks during the Nideyin\u00e0n naming ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bacon also announced the new Anti-Black Racism Training Program that includes workshops, training and resource development, including educational materials for staff, faculty and students. The program, implemented by the Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities<\/a>, aims to increase awareness of anti-Black racism and build skills and capacity across our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of these activities represent significant steps in our collective ambitions to advance equity, diversity and inclusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on behalf of Carleton\u2019s residence community, Laura Storey, Director, Housing and Residence Life Services<\/a>, shared how Housing and Residence Life Services is commitment to making an annual financial contribution to help make the Teraanga Commons building visually inclusive through art that represents the contributions and talents of Black, African and Caribbean artists, and to allocate dedicated space for students to build community.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThe naming of Teraanga Commons supports our commitment to fostering a sense of belonging for all and creating an inclusive community that celebrates diversity in all its forms.\u201d she said.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Laura Storey speaking on behalf of Carleton’s residence community.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Linda Hartwell Photos by: Brenna MacKay On February 23, Carleton University held an event to celebrate the name Teraanga (pronounced tare-ang-gah) that has been given to the building formerly known as Residence Commons. The naming initiative, launched by President Benoit-Antoine Bacon in February 2021, was shaped by a recognition of the need to better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,85,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-new-names-for-new-times","category-news"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28724"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29941,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28724\/revisions\/29941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/provost\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}