Foundation Speaks at the Strong Cities Network Conference in Vancouver

Municipalities across British Columbia came together on September 3–4, 2025, for a two-day conference in Vancouver on countering online harms and protecting social cohesion. Organized under the Strong Cities–North America initiative, the event brought together elected officials, community leaders, academics, and practitioners to examine the growing challenges of hate, disinformation, and digital threats at the local level.

The Foundation for a Path Forward (F4PF) played a central role in shaping the discussion throughout the conference. On the first day, F4PF Co-Founder Tariq Tyab joined researchers and academics to highlight the ways in which online conspiracy narratives and gendered forms of abuse are particularly harmful to marginalized communities in British Columbia. His contribution grounded the conversation in the lived realities of municipalities, emphasizing both the risks and the opportunities for community resilience.

Later that morning, F4PF Co-Founder Yusuf Siraj presented findings from the Centre for Civic Governance’s report, “Inclusive Networking & Support for Public Officials in Rural Environments: Addressing Systemic Racism and Online Harms in Local Governance across BC.” His presentation shed light on how local officials, particularly in smaller and rural municipalities, are uniquely vulnerable to targeted online abuse. By outlining practical recommendations, he provided municipal leaders with tools to better protect themselves and their communities.

The Foundation’s leadership continued as Yusuf Siraj moderated a conversation with municipal leaders from across British Columbia, including representatives from New Westminster, Nelson, and Courtenay. This session gave city officials the chance to candidly share their perspectives on the state of online harms in their communities, illustrating the varying impacts across urban and rural contexts. By guiding the dialogue, F4PF ensured that municipal voices remained central to the conversation and that practical lessons from different regions were elevated.

Across both days of the conference, the contributions of the Foundation for a Path Forward emphasized the importance of equipping municipalities with the knowledge, networks, and confidence to respond to online harms. By presenting research, moderating critical discussions, and framing local challenges in a way that resonated with participants, F4PF reinforced its role as a bridge between community-based expertise and policy-level initiatives. The conference ultimately underscored that tackling online threats to social cohesion requires not only international cooperation but also the leadership and active engagement of organizations rooted in the communities most affected—an approach that the Foundation for a Path Forward exemplified throughout the event.