Looking back at Everybody Belongs 2025

We were so excited this year to partner with Aspire Richmond and Inclusion Canada to celebrate our 70^th anniversary with a national event.

With over 500 delegates (including 38 scholarship recipients), 115 speakers, 12 exhibitors, and 20 volunteers, this year’s Everybody Belongs Conference was a huge success.

Keynote Sessions

Day 1

Everybody Belongs 2025 started strong with the return of 2024’s audience favourite, Reconciliation Theatre. They performed an excerpt from their play “The Boy in the Treehouse.” Which explored the complexities of growing up Indigenous in a multicultural world. We also heard from longtime inclusion advocates Barb Goode, Harold Barnes, and Dulcie McCallum, who talked about their experiences at the forefront of the disability rights movement and Dulcie’s powerful book “The Audacity of Inclusion.”

Day 2

Our Day 2 Keynote Panel featured moving presentations by Sandra Pronteau, Charlene Barney and Tamara Kulusic, who each shared their personal experiences growing up as indigenous women during the 60’s Scoop and being disconnected from their cultures and communities. Their successes in navigating and challenging oppressive systems and becoming accomplished advocates for inclusion were an inspiration to all of us. This session also featured the premiere of Sandra’s film.

Listening to Sandra’s story, I learned not to give up on myself when things are hard and just keep going because better days are to come. I will keep on going and be a part of my community, and also share my story with others.

– Conference Delegate

Day 3

Despite a late night at the Dinner and Dance for many on Friday, the atmosphere on Day 3 was joyful. This session featured our conference partners, Inclusion Canada, who looked into the past, present and future of the disability movement. They challenged everyone present to take action to drive social change and advance the disability movement to build a Canada where everybody belongs.

“This is one of the most inspiring conferences I’ve ever attended, and I have been working in the field for many years. I can’t think of anything you could have done to make it better. It was polished to perfection and enjoyed by all, from my lens. The amazing individuals with lived experience were the drivers behind every topic, and I love how each person was honoured and celebrated for their contribution. Thank you to all of you for an incredible, enriching experience.”

-Conference Delegate

Event Highlights

Lived Experiences

Inclusion BC works hard to centre the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who we work for and with. This means a big priority for workshops and sessions was highlighting people with lived experience and their stories.

Hearing success stories and the positive impact that self advocates have had on advocating for inclusion is not only an inspiration to people who want to be more involved but also provides real examples of how to be more inclusive in our everyday lives.

Workshops led by self advocates were some of the most popular sessions and included:

Advancing the Rights of Parents with Disabilities with Michelle Goos & Lizzy Walsh
Navigating the Road from Poverty to Income Security with Chelsea Rinquinha, Lisa Petrunia, and Inclusion Canada
Self-Advocacy 101: Standing Up for Your Rights with BC People First
Expanding our Horizons with the Successful Advocacy Research Group
The Power of Full Immersion Inclusive Post Secondary Education with Joshua Hall and the Team Joshua Foundation

“The most valuable part of the conference for me was being surrounded by so many people with lived experience. Their wisdom and ideas have been and continue to be a loud voice in the conversations around inclusion. It was inspiring to see the level of passion they have for being part of the movement for change.”

– Conference Delegate

Accessibility

To help enable all people to engage fully and meaningfully participate, Inclusion BC works hard to make accommodations and support delegates and speakers as needed. We take measures to anticipate barriers to inclusion and let participants take the lead in letting us know what works for them.

Some of our accessibility measures included:

Free registration for support staff.
Support and materials for speakers to provide breakout presentations that are accessible.
ASL and closed captioning for keynote presentations and as needed in breakout sessions.
Staff dedicated to providing support for anyone feeling overwhelmed or needing to talk.
A Low Sensory Space during the Dinner and Dance for those who needed a break from the noise to participate in quiet activities.
A detailed accessibility plan for the venue was distributed to all delegates.
Extra volunteers for wayfinding and detailed signage.

Scholarships

Inclusion BC’s Scholarship Program supports learning opportunities and ensures that people, their families, and those supporting them can access high-quality educational and networking events. The program helps to remove obstacles that might prevent people from attending events and workshops. We help with travel costs, planning for support people to attend, providing ASL interpreters, and registration fees. This way, everyone gets a fair chance to learn and grow together.

With support from sponsors, we were able to provide funding for 38 people from across the province to attend Everybody Belongs. To help ensure that more people have opportunities to participate, this year we focused on supporting people who haven’t previously received a scholarship.

I learned speaking up for myself is important.
I learned I have more power than I thought.
I learned how people with disabilities used to live in institutions.
– Rebecca, Scholarship recipient

The Dance

The hottest ticket in town was, as usual, the Everybody Belongs Dinner and Dance. 320 guests attended this sold-out event. We were delighted to have Queer as Funk performing this year and they had no problem filling the dance floor. The absolute joy on everyone’s faces as they let loose and sang along to the music was infectious. Old and new friends met to share a meal and have a great time.

What people had to say about the event:

“I cannot imagine what it takes to pull this off so seamlessly with all of the moving parts. Hats off to the whole team. There are always things to be learned for next year, but my goodness, do NOT let it take away from your hard work! My deepest thanks and gratitude to all for making this happen so that I have the opportunity to attend and learn.”

“It was a positive experience for my first time attending the conference. I would like the opportunity to share and experience it again and hopefully have more to share and learn.”

“As someone of Indigenous background, it was great to have Presenters and folks of similar heritage represented on a stage as prestigious as Inclusion BC. May we continue building upon our shared connections and relationships.”

I believe the event was respectful and honouring of all cultures. The conference organizers and presenters did a beautiful job of ensuring all were welcomed and celebrated for who they are.

“I liked having the opportunity to speak, hearing from policy makers and service providers, and seeing people from across Canada and being able to network to partner.”

“I love the whole thing, there was lots of information and meeting all of you wonderful people. Also, you didn’t feel left out because there were people who could relate to you.”

“Thank you for doing such an amazing job of bringing people together! I really enjoyed myself and I learned some very valuable things this year that I will carry with me and forward. I am grateful for Inclusion BC.”

“I learned that I can present in front of strangers and feel confident.”

“I learned that there are resources for people with [disabilities] within the LGBT community. I learned that there are many people like me and that people like me can take leadership roles. I like the idea of other people out there like me. I live in a rural community, so I’m going to research where I can meet people like me. It’s not as easy in a small town. With my workers and my mom, I will reach out to see if I can talk to anyone in the LGBT community.”

Thank you!

None of these activities would have been possible without your support. Thank you for helping us to advocate for the rights and opportunities of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

For 2026, we will be focusing our efforts on smaller, regional events throughout the province. We look forward to seeing you again the following year for Everybody Belongs 2027!