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University of Guelph
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About Us

Our Values

The Guelph Sexuality Conference provides opportunities to share information, research, skills, experiences, programming, and strategies that includes an anti-oppression framework that fosters health and wellness and resists shame. The conference, at its core, sprung from the need to support self-determination and liberation in the face of the use of sexuality to control others and the resulting detriments to health and well-being.

The Planning Committee of the Guelph Sexuality Conference has adopted the following values in an ongoing effort to address oppression complexities in the context of sexuality. We recognize that these values are aspirational; they challenge us to continually strive for greater awareness of power, privilege and exclusion, and to take accountable action accordingly.

To achieve these ends the Conference Planning Committee is committed to continuous learning and to putting knowledge and understanding into practice. We are committed to examining and improving upon all conference practices, policies and protocols on an ongoing basis with these values as our guide.

Rigor

We strive to be a forum for the exchange of information, research, and skills which are insightful, relevant, and evidence-based. We recognize various forms of knowledge including our own experiences.

Whole Selfhood

We recognize that histories, communities, values, and lived experiences impact the way we think, feel, contribute to, and experience the conference. We support everyone in engaging their whole selves while respecting that this may not always be possible.

Respect

We respect the diversity of sexualities, genders, experiences, and relationships. We believe in self-determination and support individual choice within all realms of sexuality. Similarly, we strive to recognize our complex responsibilities regarding concepts such as consent, systemic awareness, and nonviolence.

Intersectionality and Diversity

We recognize that individuals are complex and acknowledge the importance of intersectionality of experience. We aim to redress inequities related to sexualities and bodies which are privileged and visible by giving voice to those who are underprivileged and invisible. We strive to address structural barriers to self-determination and accessing knowledge related to sexuality. We strive to create a conference culture of opportunity and belonging.

Empowerment

We aim to foster and develop strategies to overcome these barriers. We strive to recognize that people are vulnerable when they lack information, lack power, are dependent on those who have power over them, or are socially isolated. We seek to co-create and support opportunities to address these vulnerabilities.

Sex-Positivity

We strive to celebrate the potential of sexuality to foster health and wellness through a sex-positive approach, and to address sexuality from holistic and strengths-based perspective that resist and redress shame. We simultaneously acknowledge that not all experiences of sexuality are positive.

Courage and Innovation

We aim to ask challenging questions from multiple social and cultural perspectives with the goal of creating positive social change. We challenge ourselves to give voice to issues that are censored, hidden, painful and taboo.

Guelph Sexuality Conference

The Annual Guelph Sexuality Conference seeks to advance the sexual health and well-being of Canadians and the global community by providing evidence-based information, education and training designed to engage practitioners in diverse fields related to sexual health.

Family Relations & Applied Nutrition

The Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, known around the University of Guelph as FRAN, is an interdisciplinary unit focusing on human health and development in diverse communities. Since it’s inception, the Department has been interdisciplinary in pursuit of its mandate to respond to the evolution of contemporary issues affecting families in their social contexts. The department's research is equally wide-ranging, encompassing both theoretical and applied research. Faculty and graduate student research impacts professional practice, social and health policy, and the design of interventions and preventative strategies.

Open Learning and Educational Support

Open Learning and Educational Support 'Brings the Power of Learning to Life'. As leaders in education, we create innovative and relevant educational opportunities that meet the learning needs of a local and international audience. We are guided by learner-centred principles that are reflected in our diverse programs and rich learning experiences for traditional and lifelong learners. Through research and collaboration, we engage in scholarship to advance the teaching and learning mandate of the University.

For further information, please contact:

Open Learning and Educational Support,
Johnston Hall, Room 160, University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1
Email: info@OpenEd.uoguelph.ca 

OpenEd Learning Opportunities (External Site)

Graduate Study at the University of Guelph

There are many exciting projects and opportunities within FRAN, including the Bachelor of Applied Science for undergraduate students, with majors in Adult Development, Applied Human Nutrition, and Child, Youth & Family. At the graduate level, we offer MSc and PhD programs in both Applied Human Nutrition, and Family Relations & Human Development, as well as the only MSc Couple and Family Therapy program in Canada accredited by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

For further information, please contact:

Graduate Coordinator, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences,
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 2W1
Email: frangs@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Program Information (External Site)