This text is part of the special Feminine Leadership notebook
Appointed by the board of directorsministry of the University of Quebec to Montreal (UQAM), Priscilla Ananian wishes alLier research and practice for relaunch the Latin Quarter by favoring an approach bypartnership between the University, users and the various stakeholders in the neighborhood.
Director of the graduate program in urban studies at the School of Management Sciences (ESG) of UQAM at the time of her appointment, December 14, 2023, and director of the Observatory of Urban Living Environments, Priscilla Ananian affirms from the outset that his new mandate signifies a significant life change. “I am no longer simply an observer, I become an actor of change. It’s another posture! »
Indeed, his experience and his research will have, in this new context, palpable repercussions. “Being in the field and setting up concrete projects is motivating for me,” adds the full professor in the Department of Urban and Tourism Studies.
The vice-rector does not hide the hope that this appointment will allow her to carry out certain projects, currently at the research stage. And she has several projects for the Latin Quarter. Greening and planting of potted trees, pedestrianization of certain spaces and opening of psychosocial assistance clinics, for example. She also wants the UQAM warm-up center to remain open to people in vulnerable situations. At the consultation stage, the Métamorphose project wants to transform the central library of UQAM and “evaluates the possibility of making it a place even more integrated into its local environment”, underlines Mme Ananian.
A necessary female influence
First vice-rector for the revival of a district in Quebec, Priscilla Ananian occupies new positions. If universities have always played a role in the development of their neighborhood, this is the first time that one of them has appointed a person to occupy such a position, a woman, moreover. “It’s not trivial. I take on this role, aware of the impact it can have on women,” says Mme Ananian. Born in Belgium and raised in Brazil, the vice-rector notably worked on the revival of Bauru, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. At 24, she had her first job in a men’s field, in a rather macho environment. “I have worked hard and I want to illustrate that women have their place, but that they must continue to demonstrate their credibility and legitimacy,” she explains.
Being a woman also makes her more sensitive to the safety of women in the Latin Quarter. How, as a woman, asks the vice-rector, “can we position ourselves in the public space while being safe in a friendly space? » Whether it is a question of improving the security of UQAM parking lots, of increasing the lighting in certain sectors, of rethinking the location of checkpoints, it is ultimately a question, according to her, of thinking about the arrangements from a gender perspective.
Rallying stakeholders in the community
Priscilla Ananian approaches her five-year mandate well aware of the problems facing the Latin Quarter. “Already, it must be said, the neighborhood is not dead. I therefore prefer the term “relaunch” to that of “revitalization”. » By giving students back the desire to be there, for example, while for several years, many have only come for their courses without taking advantage of the environment, “the Latin Quarter will regain its vitality and the merchants, their customers”, she mentions. Structural issues, such as construction sites, must also be addressed.
“These are necessary physical obstacles, but which harm the aesthetic appearance of the neighborhood and which prevent the holding of certain events which would enliven the neighborhood.” Located between the Village and Place des Arts, the Latin Quarter must also clarify its identity, thinks the vice-rector. “Relaunching this neighborhood means thinking about UQAM in its environment and thinking about the Latin Quarter in its environment. »
As a university and as one of the largest real estate owners in the Latin Quarter, UQAM plays an essential role in the neighborhood’s revival. The establishment must first be a responsible real estate player, that is to say “develop its real estate assets in integration with the development of the district”, explains Mme Ananian. In addition, the University’s Community Service puts its expertise at the service of the community. “It identifies, for example, a professor who might be able to help a community group not usually served by universities.” UQAM is also a facilitator between the different communities in the neighborhood which, a priori, do not always collaborate.
The vice-rector also sees her mandate in this sense. “My work consists of intervening in the urban, social, economic and environmental spheres, by promoting networking between merchants, users, promoters and community groups who are not used to cooperating to achieve a common objective,” he explains. -She. To do this, Mme Ananian focuses on authenticity. “This is what must come first so that people adhere to our vision. Authenticity,” she concludes.
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