EDI Conference in Kamloops (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

EDI CONFERENCE

‘We want to value who you are’; Kamloops and Tk’emlúps hosting conference focused on inclusion

Oct 29, 2025 | 4:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops and Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc are hosting a conference this week all about being an inclusive community.

The next two days will include keynote speeches, presentations, panels and working groups with an eye to improving equity, diversity and inclusion throughout Kamloops.

Back in 2023, the city adopted an accessibility plan, reaffirming council’s commitment to the issues.

“For me personally, it’s making new connections, it’s having a few more tools in my tool kit,” said Deputy Mayor Nancy Bepple. “It’s giving me confidence that when the City of Kamloops said two years ago that we want to be a UNESCO inclusive community, that the community backs us on that, that they also want that.”

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Equity, diversity and inclusion has a negative stigma around it, especially in the world of politics right now. The question of how to break through those barriers and bringing people along the journey was raised early on Wednesday (Oct 29).

“More broadly, our city is growing. There are so many different types of people in our city and they all have to feel that there is a place for them,” said Bepple. “We have to know that Kamloops has a place for people who have just arrived, and also people who are Indigenous and everybody in between. This is a city where we want to value who you are.”

The conference wraps up on Thursday.