Q4 2026 - QT Connect Meetup Lethbridge

Please Register on this Link in order to attend the event: https://queertech.org/en/events/271448

🌈 Join us for the very first QT Connect Meetup in Lethbridge (hosted by the Lethbridge Polytechnic). This event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, share experiences, and build meaningful relationships within the community.
Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2026
Time: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (MST)
Location: Lethbridge Polytechnic, 3000 College Dr S, Lethbridge, AB T1K 1L6, Canada

Technology is moving quickly, and many people are still trying to understand how AI is already shaping work, opportunity, creativity, well-being, and everyday life.
In Lethbridge—where platform technology, gaming, creative industries, startups, and digital work are deeply connected to everyday life—questions around fairness, visibility, accountability, and trust are becoming increasingly personal.
This QT Connect meetup creates space for community conversation, reflection, and collective sense-making.
As part of QueerTech’s 2026 national theme, Who Gets to Trust AI?, this community conversation explores where bias, exclusion, and harm enter AI systems—and what protections communities need before those harms scale further.
Together, we’ll explore:

• How AI is already influencing everyday experiences and opportunities
• What feels exciting, uncertain, or difficult about these changes
• Where safeguards and accountability feel missing
• How people are navigating trust, transparency, and agency
• What communities need in order to feel protected, included, and heard

Rather than a traditional panel or technical discussion, this QT Connect gathering is designed as a guided community conversation grounded in lived experience, reflection, and participation.
You do not need to work in AI or tech to join this conversation.
This space is for technologists, creatives, founders, community advocates, students, digital workers, and anyone trying to make sense of how these systems are shaping our collective future.

### What to Expect

• A welcoming and community-centered environment
• Guided dialogue and reflection
• Accessible conversation grounded in lived experience
• Opportunities to connect with others navigating similar questions
• Space to think critically, collectively, and honestly about technology and trust

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### Event Agenda

### 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

| Time | Agenda | Description |
| ---- | ------ | ----------- |
| 5:00 PM | Arrival, Networking & Community Welcome | Arrive, connect, and meet others from Lethbridge’s queer tech, creative, startup, and community ecosystems. |
| 5:40 PM | Opening Remarks & Grounding Activity | A short welcome and grounding exercise to create space for reflection, connection, and participation. |
| 5:50 PM | QueerTech 2026 Theme Introduction: Who Gets to Trust AI? | An introduction to QueerTech’s 2026 national theme and the focus of Chapter 2: Governance & Accountability. |
| 6:00 PM | Guided Community Conversation: Governance & Accountability — Who Is Responsible When AI Goes Wrong | A facilitated community dialogue exploring the accountability gap, focusing on ownership, escalation, ethical refusal, and enforceable governance across institutions. |
| 6:45 PM | Community Reflection & Shared Takeaways | A collective reflection on key themes, insights, and questions that emerged during the conversation. |
| 6:55 PM | QT Ask & Offer | Share something you’re seeking support around and something you can offer back to the community. |
| 7:15 PM | Informal Networking & Continued Conversation | Continue conversations and build new connections in a relaxed and welcoming environment. |

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### Volunteering & Scholarship Tickets

We don't want cost to be a barrier to participating in this conversation. We have scholarship and volunteer tickets available. To sign up, fill out this form.

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### About QueerTech’s 2026 National Theme

## Who Gets to Trust AI?: Power, Participation, and Accountability

QueerTech is convening a national conversation on how trust in AI is earned, broken, and rebuilt—and what it takes to create systems that are transparent, accountable, and worthy of public trust.
Because trust is not automatic.
And communities deserve a voice in the systems shaping their lives.

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## THANK YOU TO OUR HOST!


Lethbridge Polytechnic is a forward-thinking post-secondary institution in southern Alberta dedicated to hands-on learning, innovation, and community impact. With a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, the Polytechnic fosters a welcoming and affirming environment for 2SLGBTQIA+ students, staff, and community members. Through inclusive policies, student supports, and campus initiatives, Lethbridge Polytechnic prioritizes belonging and creates spaces where everyone can thrive authentically.

The institution offers a wide range of technology-driven and innovation-focused programs, including computer information technology, engineering technologies, digital communications and media, and applied research initiatives. These programs emphasize collaboration, real-world problem solving, and diverse perspectives as essential components of innovation. By embedding inclusive practices into tech education and workforce development, Lethbridge Polytechnic is helping to build a more equitable and representative future across industries.
By registering for this event, participants agree to QueerTech's Event Terms & Conditions.