We're excited to welcome Zahur Ashrafuzzaman (she/he/they), our new summer intern who is already making valuable contributions to a variety of projects across the organization!
Zahur is a Bengali settler raised on q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), SEMYOME (Semiahmoo), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), and qiqéyt (Qayqayt) territory in what is currently known as Surrey, BC. Zahur recently graduated from McGill University with a degree in Cognitive Science and Linguistics and will begin a master’s degree in Linguistics this fall at the University of Toronto. They plan to orient their research towards under-studied Indigenous languages of Turtle Island and support Indigenous-led, community-based initiatives for language revitalization.
During their time at McGill University, Zahur was part of several campaigns organizing for climate justice, food justice, and Indigenous sovereignty, including Divest McGill, Let's Eat McGill, and Divest for Human Rights McGill. She was a Divest Ed Fellow and Reinvestment Coordinator for the College Climate Coalition and has also organized with other climate justice coalitions such as the Divest Canada Coalition and Climate Strike Canada. They are a Trainer/Facilitator and Consultant at the Climate Justice Organizing HUB, where they give workshops and support work on various projects. 4
I deeply admire the CBT team’s work across such a wide variety of areas, from food security and nuučaan̓uł (Nuu-chah-nulth) language revitalization to climate stewardship and diverse community projects. I highly enjoy interdisciplinary work and have strong interests in each of these areas, which is a large part of what attracted me to this internship. I also share the CBT’s recognition that all this work is strongly interconnected, and am inspired by how the nuučaan̓uł principle hišukiš c̓awaak, “everything is one,” seems to resonate across the ecosystem of projects, organizations, and initiatives that the CBT is nestled in. I am so grateful to be able to be part of this team, and excited for the plethora of projects I will have the opportunity to work on during my time here.
Welcome Zahur! We’re thrilled to have you on our team!
