This framework reflects uOttawa’s holistic approach to mental health and wellness, one of creating an environment that promotes care and compassion and supports the mental health and wellness of our entire university community. It outlines ways in which we can care for ourselves and for one another, both individually and collectively.
The framework is anchored in the collaborative approach to wellness set out in the Okanagan Charter, a global health initiative that calls on postsecondary institutions to commit to embedding health across all aspects of campus culture, including administration, operations and academics, and take the lead in compassionate actions that promote well-being, both locally and globally.
The University is proud to be a signatory of the charter and to commit to living by its values and its four charter commitments through this framework.
Our framework is designed to be sustainable, flexible and inclusive of diverse ways of knowing about and experiencing mental health and wellness. An intersectional approach to issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion must be adopted in applying the framework principles.
The resilience of our university community will be strengthened by considering systemic root causes of many mental health and wellness challenges, including poverty, discrimination, racism, the academic culture, and the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns. We must also respond to changing needs and emerging knowledge.
Solutions cannot be found if we work in silos. With an overarching focus on coordination and collaboration, this framework is dynamic and adaptive. It supports cross-sector initiatives, improvement and innovation, while enabling our university community to adapt to individual contexts and needs with care and compassion.
Students, professors, support staff and leaders are responsible for promoting and modelling compassion. All members of our university community should consider the principles outlined here in our actions, practices, decisions and interactions.