The enhanced citizenship ceremonies co-hosted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are a celebration of new Canadian citizens, offering a unique opportunity to reflect on the meaning of active citizenship. Every ceremony is preceded by lively roundtable discussions hosted by community leaders, followed by an informal reception.

These enhanced citizenship ceremonies take place in iconic spaces across Canada and are open to all. For many attendees, the ceremonies are an eye-opening experience. “It was such an honour to be part of this citizenship ceremony. It not only reminded me of my own citizenship journey, but also taught me to not take my citizenship for granted,” shared ICC Fellow April Alayon after attending the citizenship ceremony held during 6 Degrees Toronto in 2018. “These participants’ journeys to becoming a citizen definitely touched my heart and created a spark in me to continue to actively practice being a Canadian citizen.”

No registration required.

6 Degrees fuels connection, conversation, and action for inclusion. It opens with a 360 focused on you. Bring your voice into the circle. Hear from other participants, speakers, and special guests. Share your motivations and your anxieties. There is power in bringing people together — we invite you to connect and bring your unique perspective to inform the next two days of immersive conversation and action.

Following the opening circle, take part in one of two Exchanges:

Coffeehouse: For centuries, coffeehouses have been meeting spots for lively debates about current events, politics, and culture. Join to interrogate the language we use around inclusion, belonging, and citizenship.

Groundwork: Four hands-on activists from different backgrounds come together to share their work, their tactics, and their perspectives on what it means to be an engaged citizen.

Our world is defined by media and technology, but consuming news and information presents us with challenges: avoiding misinformation while staying informed; advocating for freedom of speech without amplifying hate speech; recognizing when we’re being manipulated online.

How can we engage responsibly with information? How can we sort out what’s fact and what’s fiction? How do we make sense of it all?

Host
Rachel Giese
Journalist and author of Boys: What It Means to Become a Man (Canada)

With
Cory Doctorow
Writer and activist (Canada/U.K./U.S.)

Aude Favre
Journalist and YouTuber (France)

Ryan McMahon
Comedian, writer, and media maker (Anishinaabe Aki)

Nanjala Nyabola
Writer, independent researcher, and political analyst (Kenya)

Join one of four concurrent hands-on Exchanges focused on strategies, tactics, and solutions:

The Social Sorting Experiment, with the Smartphone Orchestra: an interactive performance demonstrating how your data is used in unexpected ways.

Beyond Masculinity: Leading AJ+ journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin leads a workshop exploring the social and personal impact of our entrenched notions of masculinity.

How to Talk to Your Racist Uncle: A unique workshop with strategies and tactics to meaningfully confront racism in your personal network.

Online Discourse and Digital Citizenship: Framed by recent polling data and citizen movements countering online hate and disinformation, this workshop explores actions that individuals can take to build more inclusive online spaces.

“Questions of identity and citizenship are more urgent than ever, and we must explore the tension between our local and global selfhoods,” says celebrated author and orator Adam Gopnik. “What’s shared and what’s specific? What do we owe our neighbours and what do we owe ourselves?”

Gopnik has written for The New Yorker since 1986, won numerous awards and authored many books, including his most recent, A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism.

The evening includes performances by the Hidden River Singers and Nai Children’s Choir, as well as a discussion with John Ralston Saul. Since 2000, the LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture has gathered Canadians to reflect on democracy, citizenship, and the public good. Past speakers include Sue Gardner, Michael Sandel, Naomi Klein, Naheed Nenshi, and Shawn A-in-chut Atleo.

A small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Identifying the problems is only the first step, but building a coalition to make change is necessary. Whether establishing common cause, or having a constructive conversation from opposing viewpoints, we can’t underestimate the power of people talking to people.

How do we find our allies, accomplices, and co-conspirators? How do we build that coalition for change?

Host
Jaafar Abdul-Karim
Journalist and talk show host (Lebanon/Germany)

With
Judith Goldstein
Founder and executive director, Humanity in Action (U.S.A.)

Serpil Midyatli
Chairwoman of the Social Democrats and Member of Parliament in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)

Caroline Orr
Journalist, independent researcher, and research analyst (U.S.)

Ketty Nivyabandi
Poet and activist (Burundi)

Join one of four concurrent hands-on Exchanges focused on strategies, tactics, and solutions:

Everyday Change: Five experts rotate through small groups, presenting simple, direct, everyday ways to effect change. Focus on tactics, learn from experience.

Young Changemakers: Join emerging leaders in a hands-on workshop exploring the power of technology in building tools that fuel social change.

Never Again: An interactive discussion exploring the role of documentary and popular film in addressing human rights crises, the fight against cultural bias, propaganda, and re-learning lessons from the past.

Field Guide to Online Political Conversations with the Samara Centre: Learn strategies for holding constructive, civil, and safe political discussions online during the Canadian federal election and beyond.

A thorough understanding of a cause and a strong coalition are in themselves not enough to make change. Real change comes from many places — from grassroots movements to the halls of power — but in all cases, it requires action.

How do we organize, mobilize, and maximize impact? How do we embrace activism over apathy, and fight for real change?

Host
Rachel Giese
Journalist and author of Boys: What It Means to Become a Man (Canada)

With
Dave Meslin
Author, Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up (Canada)

Nadya Tolokonnikova
Artist and political activist, Co-founder of Pussy Riot (Russia)

Jesse Wente (Canada)
Ojibwe broadcaster, advocate, and pop culture philosopher.

How to Make Change is followed by our final 360, where we leave the circle open and invite everyone in the space to work together to frame what we’ve learned, and decide what’s next.

The Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship is awarded annually to a leader whose life work has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to the ideals of belonging and inclusion. Through words, actions and results, recipients encourage thought, dialogue, approaches, and strategies that strive to remove barriers, change attitudes, and reinforce the principles of tolerance and respect.

The 2019 laureate is Lieutenant-General (ret) The Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire. General Dallaire is best known for serving as Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda prior to and during the 1994 genocide.

The evening will include a special performance by Rufus Wainwright and feature General Dallaire in conversation with the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson and the Wexford Gleeks about vulnerability, darkness, and hope.

Past Adrienne Clarkson Prize Recipients: Margaret Atwood, Ai Weiwei, and His Highness the Aga Khan.