The forum was held in February of this year. It was a hybrid event, both virtual and in person, with over 250 individuals participating.
Some of the key themes that we heard were that we need to strengthen the inclusive and intersectional GBA+ mindset within Veterans Affairs and CAF-DND, include marginalized and underserved voices with lived experience in the design, development and evaluation of programs, policies and services as well as commemorations, and continue to lead on concrete actions towards more equitable futures for all veterans.
We also heard a bit about the office of women and 2SLGBTQI+ veterans, for which I'm the ADM responsible presently, to have an expanded focus that's inclusive of all marginalized veterans groups, in particular recognizing the cultural needs of two-spirit veterans as well as first nation, Inuit, Métis, Black and racialized veterans when addressing the needs of marginalized veterans.
The panellists and other individuals there called for the department to diversify, enhance the ways we engage and include veterans in our program policy development, addressing gender biases and providing individually focused, trauma-informed research care and support for women and 2SLGBTQI+ veterans.
The forum in February was inclusive of both women and 2SLGBTQI+ veterans. We are actively working on the next upcoming forum, which we expect to take place in the new year.