One in seven Canadian teens, and 40% of 11 and 12 year olds are teased about their appearance, making body-based bullying the most common form of bullying in today’s schools. This is why NEDIC has created accessible, creative, and interactive workshops that help children and youth appreciate diversity and build their resilience against pressures to change their appearance. These workshops serve as an introduction to the ways in which culture and media can contribute to perceived physical ideals and the effect this can have on our well-being.
Navigating society's pressures around food, exercise, and health
Our friendly and knowledgeable presenters use activities, discussion, and audio-visual tools to:
Beyond Body Binaries: An introduction to body image, health, and identity
This interactive workshop helps students understand how our social identities, oppressions, and privileges are deeply connected to our experiences of health and how our bodies are judged, perceived, and treated. Through this workshop, students will:
Our workshops for elementary and middle school students are:
We believe that money should never be a barrier to providing crucial education to communities in need and have the ability to offer a majority of our school-based programming for free. If the school has an existing fund to bring in guest speakers, we provide workshop fees on a sliding scale to directly cover costs related to preparation of tailored content, staffing, and travel for each presentation. We are more than happy to work with you to determine a fee that makes our programming accessible to your context.
Have More Questions?
Contact Ary Maharaj, Outreach and Education Coordinator
Phone: 416-340-4800 ext. 2660
Email: aryel.maharaj@uhn.ca
We offer two customizable workshop options for teachers and school support staff so that you and your colleagues can learn the skills and tools you need. One focuses on supporting students in need, while the other engages educators and administrators in a conversation about taking a whole-school approach to eating disorder prevention, including policies and curriculum.
Our interactive workshops for elementary and middle school students are appropriate for students in Grades 4 through 8. We’ll explore ways students can appreciate all that their body does, reflect on all the values food brings into our lives, shed light on pervasive media messaging, and converse about communicating care to themselves and the people around them.
Our workshops for students in Grades 9 through 12 dive deep into spotting (and then rejecting!) diet culture. We’ll reveal the sticky truth of many social media posts, engage in critical discussions about conversations centred around "health", share information about the importance of food, and share resources for students to help their peers if they notice a concern.
Our parent panels are designed for your local community, creating a safe space for caregivers to share their concerns while empowering them with resources to support the well-being of their children. We organize these in collaboration with partner organizations, such as school parent councils, local school boards, community organizations, and interested groups of parents. Panelists include youth with lived experience, fellow parents, and mental health practitioners arranged by our team to reflect the needs of the local community.
In line with national post-secondary mental health strategies and frameworks, our team has created two educational workshops and a social media campaign that have been delivered to post-secondary communities across eight provinces and territories over the last two years. Whether you are a group of student wellness ambassadors looking to relay information in an eating disorder-sensitive way, a team of campus counsellors looking for best practices, or coordinating a wellness summit on campus, our facilitators can tailor our virtual programming to meet your needs.
Our workshops aim to help people recognize disordered eating, reflect on their internalized weight stigma, respond compassionately with someone experiencing disordered eating, and navigate to different pathways to care. For mental health providers, we share latest practices on assessment and time-limited strategies to support your work. We can deliver in-person presentations to clinics, teams, or organizations based in the Greater Toronto Area, and virtual presentations via Zoom to anyone across the country.