U of T Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work promotes conference for 2SLGBTQIA+ knowledge and action advancement
Scholars and students gathered for a downtown Toronto conference to celebrate queer and transgender youth.
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On October 2, students and scholars gathered at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto for the Beyond Limits Conference hosted by The International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR). The event was promoted by the U of T Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW).
Participants from around the world presented over 30 research lectures on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. The conference also served as a celebration of community and joy.
The conference started at 9 a.m. and went on until 11:30 p.m. with a roller disco hosted by Nitro Skates, which served snacks and drinks.
Presentations covered mental health in 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, representation of 2SLGBTQIA+ in the Ontario Catholic School system, body image, and other topics. Some of the presentations were delivered in Spanish, and the main conference room offered live English and Spanish translation.
The event also featured 30 research posters, which will be posted on INQYR’s Digital Poster Archive, where attendees and community members can access the works presented at Beyond Limits 2026.
Master of ceremonies Dr. Kaitrin Doll opened the conference with welcome speeches from FIFSW Dean Dr. Charmaine Williams, FIFSW Professor Dr. Shelley Craig, and U of T Associate Vice-President, Research Dr. Barb Fallon.
Dr. Ilan H. Meyer then delivered the keynote address about his research on the minority stress model, which seeks to explain the mental health disparities in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities due to social, psychological, and structural factors.
The Medium asked Dr. Meyer if the new generation of students is interested in leading research projects on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
“I’ve seen a lot of new research moving into different directions, which I think is very helpful and very exciting,” he said.
He added there is more attention to gender diversity now than there was decades ago, when there was less “cultural space” for that debate.
“I don’t think there’s a shortage of ideas to study, you know? Just several posters here that look in all kinds of different directions. Like transgender access to care, access to care in rural areas in Canada. There are many interesting topics there,” he said.
The conference also included house ballroom performances and jokes, and laughter ran throughout the day.
“INQYR was born out of outrage, hope and intense conviction,” Dr. Craig wrote in a welcome letter. She mentions how the community is under threat and that the conference stands as a source of “joyful connection.”
The majority of the queer community faces battles, exclusion, and harmful systems every day. “As the work of INQYR illuminates, 2SLGBTQIA+ lives have never been defined only by what we survive. We also resist, create and build. We dream, connect and laugh,” she wrote.
The conference was also held in honour of Jeremy Goldbach, one of the founding members of the conference, and the Professor at The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Craig wrote that Goldbach’s impact “has been immeasurable and whose presence is dearly missed.”
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