Episode 131
The Exciting Work of Imagining a New World with Justine Abigail Yu: Part 2
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Stories for communities in between
Justine Abigail Yu is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but who has roots elsewhere.
She is an award-winning facilitator whose work with Living Hyphen has been featured on national and local media outlets including the Globe & Mail, CTV National News, and the CBC. She was also named a “Changemaker” by the Toronto Star in October 2021.
Justine Abigail is a fierce advocate for equity and anti-oppression. Her mission is to stir the conscience and spur social change.
Listen to the Episode
What you’ll learn in this episode:
Seeing nature as a deity, rather than a resource
How Indigenous languages shape our worldview
Learning Chuvash language
What radical imagination looks like to Justine
Growing up in the Filipino diaspora in Canada
Filipino identity versus Phillippines as a place
How we process our identity and look for belonging
Weaving complexity
“I look at the world right now and the decisions that our politicians make and it is so boring. It's so unimaginative. We do the same things over and over again expecting a different result. And we are so scared to try something radically different. Our world is so expansive. There are so many ways that we can choose to live. And I want more of that curiosity and that creativity in our lives. How do we build new worlds? Not just destroy the ones that are destroying us, but what comes after that? How do we rebuild? And that requires so much imagination.”
— Justine Abigail Yu
The Practice of Radical Imagination
Check out our full interview on YouTube →
Living Hyphen
Justine is the founder of Living Hyphen, a community and multimedia platform that explores what it means to live in between cultures as a hyphenated Canadian – that is, an individual who calls Canada home but who has roots elsewhere.
The work of Living Hyphen touches on different aspects of a multi-hyphenated diaspora through events, workshops, a podcast called Living Hyphen, and a print magazine.
The print magazine features artists and writers from all across Canada hailing from over 30 ethnicities, religions, and Indigenous nations who explore various themes of this multi-hyphenated identity in a collection of poetry, prose, photography, and visual art.
Get 20% off of any issue of the Living Hyphen magazine with code GOINGPLACES at the Living Hyphen online store.
Featured on the Show
Follow Justine on Instagram: @justineabigail
Follow Living Hyphen on Instagram: @livinghyphen
Learn more about Justine on her website
Follow the work of Living Hyphen
Check out Living Hyphen podcast
Read Justine's 3DR newsletter
Check out Dismantling The Master's Tools by Mathura Mahendren
Read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Justine Abigail Yu
“While I claim my Filipino-ness very proudly, I don't know if the Philippines as the country, as an actual place, if I ever felt like I belonged there or that I'm from there.”
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