Environmental design student finds inspiration abroad with Global Skills Opportunity funding
For Dae Williams, Global Skills Opportunity (GSO) funding was the catalyst for a whirlwind tour around Europe, learning about landscapes and discovering design inspiration. As a member of the Swampy Cree First Nation, Williams was eligible to apply for GSO funds through the Indigenous student category. The GSO federal funding initiative is aimed at students who are typically underrepresented in global mobility experiences, including Indigenous students, as well as students who are disabled, come from low-income backgrounds, identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, or who are visible minorities or belong to minority faiths.
Williams is in her fourth year at UM, studying environmental design in the Faculty of Architecture. She describes how she has always “felt very strongly about advocating for the land itself,” so the landscape stream was the natural choice as she progressed through the program. Fourth-year students in the “Landscape of Urbanism” course are encouraged to participate in a mobility experience across several countries in Europe, exploring how other nations and cultures have approached landscape design. Through this trek, Williams found new inspiration to incorporate into her vision for land advocacy back home in Winnipeg.
This experience took Williams and her peers on a tour that included Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. From late August to early September 2024, they explored a variety of public spaces that demonstrate unique landscape design elements, from housing complexes to parks and playgrounds. These sights were as beautiful as they were academically enriching for Williams, since she was exposed to ideas that she could not have seen by staying at home in Canada. “We don’t really have access to these really formal or experimental parks that have been around in Europe for however many years; they just have a very different mindset about what’s important,” she describes – adding that while she loves our landscape features in Winnipeg, it is important to see other examples!
More than any other site, Williams took inspiration from Fuglsangpark in Denmark, a community built around the idea of social housing. She describes the beauty of the site and the way it seamlessly transitions from public to private spaces, incorporating gardens, playgrounds, residences, and school buildings. The design itself facilitates a community of people who care for the space and for each other, which inspires Williams to reimagine how spaces in Canada, such as reserve communities, could be better designed. Considering this example, she says:
“…All of the questions that are asked of me as an Indigenous designer focus on land use and this idea of not walking into a room and not acting like I know what’s best for someone. Instead, it’s changing the approach and sitting down with the community or client and being able to talk to them and say, ‘What do you need? What are you like? What is important to you?’…And then taking that and really including them by making these spaces for them to speak.”
Though the days spent hopping from one location to the next could be exhausting, Williams and her class maintained their perseverance. “There’s a lot of people who surprise themselves on that trip,” she explains, reflecting on the endurance they developed while travelling. Despite the demands of their packed schedule, Williams was “still be able to come out on the end being so happy and excited for all the things that [she’s] seen.”
Even in the planning stages of this experience, Williams recalls feeling both supported and encouraged thanks to the amazing staff and resources at the International Centre (IC). Hesitant at first to apply for GSO funding, the IC’s mobility team provided much-needed reassurance for Williams. She recalls worrying that she might not be as deserving of these funds as other students, but thanks Naomi Fujiwara at the IC for convincing her that she should ignore the doubts and apply anyway. Williams wants to assure prospective applicants that the staff will not “look down on you” for requesting financial aid: “They want to see people have these experiences, and they want to see our university communities thrive because of it.”
Students seeking inspiring experiences such as Williams’ can email GSO[at]umanitoba[dot]ca for an application form. You can also begin exploring other global mobility possibilities, such as student exchanges or full year international experiences through the McCall MacBain International Fellowship, at UM’s International Centre homepage or reach out to international[at]umanitoba[dot]ca.