Natacha Monestel Mora is a Ph.D. candidate in Human Development, Learning, and Culture, and a lecturer at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice (GRSJ) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is a Latin American mestiza who immigrated to Canada to expand her knowledge in psychology, human rights, and community artivism.
Her doctoral research focuses on learning with BIPOC refugee youth about their immigration journeys, challenges, and opportunities through documentary filmmaking techniques. For this work, Natacha engaged in a youth participatory action research (YPAR) program that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, organized by a non-profit based in Vancouver, invited 11 newcomer youth to hold dialogues and create documentaries that reflected their stories. These documentaries were later analyzed by the participants, revealing that linguistic racism and inadequate institutional support are the primary challenges they face as newcomers to Canada. As a result, the youth speculated on ways to organize and create a collective voice to advocate for future young people arriving in Canada; this work is ongoing.
Based on insights from her research, Natacha’s continuing inquiry and pedagogy centers around working with young people from BIPOC communities and exploring how they imagine socially just futures through participatory methods in informal learning contexts. As a guest on the stolen lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations, Natacha is particularly interested in facilitating dialogues with young BIPOC newcomers and exploring their experiences of “settling,” alongside their relationships with these lands and their homelands.