Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 11am
Location: UBC Golf Club, 5185 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC (Free Parking)
Speaker: Pnina Granirer, Artist & Writer
Topic: Art and Poetry. A Garden of Words
Bio: Pnina Granirer was born in Romania and immigrated to Israel in 1950. She studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem and came to Canada in 1965.
A mixed media artist, Granirer’s work includes themes of family and childhood, the duality of good and evil, landscape and lyrical abstraction and the exploration of the human figure. Her works are found in private and public gallery collections in Canada, Chile, Europe and Israel. An extensive documentation of her work and life is located in the collection of the BC Artist’s Archive, at the University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
Since childhood, Granirer has written poetry. Her book “A Garden of Words”, contains some of her poems with strong connections to her visual art.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022, 11am
Location: UBC Golf Club, 5185 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC (Free Parking)
___________
Professor Douglas Harris, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC
Topic: Condominium Government: Age bylaws, rental restrictions, and the changing character of local government in the city.
Bio: After completing his B.A. (UBC History) and LL.B. (Toronto), Dr. Douglas Harris articled in Vancouver and was called to the BC bar in 1994. He returned to school to complete his LL.M. (UBC) and PhD (Osgoode Hall, York University) in legal history.
Dr Harris joined the Allard School of Law in 2001, serving as Associate Dean Graduate Studies and Research in the Law School, 2008-2013. He is currently Chair of the UBC Press Publications Board.
He teaches in the areas of property law and legal history, and his research focuses on the history of the regulation of the Aboriginal fisheries in Canada and on the nature of property ownership within condominium.
___________
Tuesday, February 7, 2023, 11am
UBC Cecil Green Park House (unless otherwise posted)
Speaker: Dr. Robert Shadwick, Emeriti, Department of Zoology, UBC
Topic: A Deep Dive into the Biological Mysteries of Whales
Bio: After earning his PhD in Zoology (UBC) in 1983, Dr. Robert Shadwick joined the University of Calgary in 1985, followed by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, in 1989. In 2005 he returned to the Department of Zoology,UBC as professor and Canada Research Chair in Integrative Animal Physiology. In 2010 he became the UBC representative on the Management Council of the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre and served as Department Head from 2013-2018.
His research program includes the study of the biomechanics of locomotor systems in fishes, as well as the biomechanical basis of swimming, feeding, breathing and diving, in whales.
___________
Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 1:30pm
via Zoom. Register for link by emailing Mary Thompson.
Speaker: Dr. Eleanor Boyle
Topic: Dr. Eleanor Boyle will present her research on WWII food programs in Britain. Learn the powerful lessons that the historical case study offers us for developing fair and healthy food systems and fighting the climate crisis. Discussion to follow.
___________
Speaker March 1, 2022
The Honourable Beverley McLachlin
Bio:
Truly one of Canada’s most extraordinary women, Beverley McLachlin served as Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She was the first woman to hold the position, as well as the longest serving Chief Justice in Canadian history. In her time on the bench, Ms. McLachlin was instrumental in shaping the Canadian social and moral fabric, championing such important issues as the individual’s right to access to justice, the advancement of Indigenous rights and powers, same-sex marriage and medically assisted dying. In 2018 she became a Companion of The Order of Canada, the highest honour within The Order.
After retiring, following 28 years on the Supreme Court, including 17 as Chief Justice, Ms. McLachlin began a new career as a writer. Her memoir, “Truth Be Told: My Journey Through Life and The Law”, was an instant bestseller, winning the prestigious Writer’s Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize and the Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction. Her debut novel “Full Disclosure” (2018), which introduced readers to Vancouver defence lawyer, Jilly Truitt, was a national #1 bestseller and shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Best First Crime Novel Award. Jilly Truitt appears again in “Denial”, published in 2021.
She works as an arbitrator and mediator in Canada and internationally and sits as a Justice of Singapore’s International Commercial Court and the Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal.
Ms. McLachlin attended the University of Alberta, receiving a B.A. (Honours) in Philosophy in 1965 and a M.A. in Philosophy and LL.B in 1968. She was called to the Alberta Bar in 1969 and the British Columbia Bar in 1971. She practised law in Alberta and British Columbia. In 1974, she joined the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia, teaching for seven years, as an Associate Professor.
Ms. McLachlin has received over 35 honorary degrees from universities in Canada and abroad, and numerous other honours and awards. She is an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of Grey’s Inn, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn and The Middle Temple; Vice -President of The Law Society, University College, Dublin; and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, The American College of Construction Lawyers and the International Academy of Construction Lawyers.
Speaker February 1, 2022
Moshe Denburg, a Founder and Program Director of the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra
Bio:
Moshe Denburg grew up in Montreal, Canada, in a religious Jewish family. His musical career has spanned over three decades and his accomplishments encompass a wide range of musical activities, including Composition, Performance, Jewish Music Education, and Piano Tuning. He has travelled worldwide, living and studying music in New York, Israel, Montreal, Toronto, India, and Japan. From 1986-90 he studied composition with John Celona at the University of Victoria. A mainstay of his musical career has been to found and lead the Vancouver Jewish music ensemble, Tzimmes.
Abstract: Jewish Music as an Intercultural Bridge
Jewish music has made major contributions to Western culture. It has many streams reflecting its origins in Europe and the Middle East. We are pleased to have a speaker who has devoted his career to this subject.
Moshe Denburg will present an overview of Jewish music which will segue into a discussion of how Jewish music lends itself well to the inter-culturalism which abounds today. Illustrations will include Jewish repertoire as well as his intercultural work with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra. His essay on Jewish Music can be found here: https://www.tzimmes.net/jewish-music/overview
Speaker November 2, 2021
Susan Gregson, Senior Fellow, China Institute, University of Alberta
Bio:
Susan Gregson served in the Canadian public service for 35 years with distinction, occupying several senior executive positions. Between 2013 and 2016, she was Assistant Deputy Minister for Asia Pacific at Global Affairs Canada. Prior to her last assignment, she served as Assistant Deputy Minister for Human Resources; Director General of Assignments and Executive Management; Director General, Regional Strategies, World Markets Branch and Director, Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs and International Women’s Equality Division, all in the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Susan has also represented Canada abroad. Her most noteworthy assignments were as Deputy High Commissioner in London; Consul General of of Canada in Shanghai and Minister-Counsellor at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing.
She is currently a Distinguished Fellow, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; a Senior Fellow, The China Institute; an Honourary Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa and Co-director, School on Public Management and Policy, University of Ottawa.
She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia and was Canada-China Scholar at Nankai University and at Fudan University.
Abstract: MY ENCOUNTERS WITH CHINA 1976-2021
The Chinese Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 with the death of Mao Zedong. The revolution brought two major achievements: the redistribution of land to the peasants, erasing the basic injustice in Chinese society and the restoration of Chinese independence and sovereignty after the foreign colonial authorities, whose presence caused immense national division and humiliation, were eventually removed.
With the extraordinary energy and enterprise of the Chinese people, China emerged in the twenty first century, as a major world economic force and superpower.
Susan Gregson will show her personal slides and tell the story of the China she first encountered, and how it has changed, including as it relates, to Canada-China relations.
Speaker October 5, 2021
Dean and Professor Rickey Yada, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC
Bio:
In 2014, Professor Rickey Yada was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia. Prior to UBC, Dr. Yada was at the University of Guelph where he held numerous leadership roles, including Chair, Department of Food Science, Assistant Vice President Research, Canada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure, and Scientific Director of the Advanced Foods and Materials Network (Networks of Centres of Excellence). He is, currently, one of the co- editors in chief of Trends in Food Science and Technology as well as serving on the editorial board of several journals. Dr. Yada serves on several research and industry organizations, some of which include Board of Bioenterprise Inc.; Board of Trustees of the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition; External Advisory Committee Member – Arrell Food Institute; Member of the Scientific Advisory Panels – Riddet Institute (New Zealand) and AgResearch (New Zealand). Presently, he serves as the President of the Deans Council of the Faculties of Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Medicine in Canada; is also a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology and the International Academy of the International Union of Food Science and Technology, as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists. Dr. Yada has an honorary DSc from the University of Guelph, was the 2019 Harraways 1867 Visiting Professor, University of Otago, New Zealand and was recently (2021), the recipient of the Advancement of Application of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Award by the American Chemical Society, Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division.
Abstract:
By 2050 the world population will surpass 9 billion people, resulting in higher demand for food, water, arable land and increased environmental impact. Alternatives to traditional sources of food protein, such as insect flours and “beyond meat” products, are presented as examples of dietary changes required to maintain food security and sustainability. Dean Yada will talk about the developments, challenges and possible solutions to feed the world, offered by Food Science and Technology innovation.
Speaker February 1, 2021
Professor Bonny Norton, Professor Department of Language and Literacy Education, UBC
Bio:
Dr Norton (Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada) is a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at UBC. She is committed to the use of open technology for language and literacy education, locally and globally. She has been awarded the 2020 Academic of the Year prize by the Confederation of
University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA BC) for her work on the Global Storybooks project (globalstorybooks.net). More information on the project can be found here.
Abstract:
Global Storybooks: From Arabic to Zulu, free digital tales in 50+ languages
Dr Bonny Norton will discuss the development and use of the freely available digital platform, Global Storybooks. This platform is designed to promote literacy and multilingualism for children and families worldwide.
Speaker March 3, 2020
Associate Professor Dana Claxton
Abstract:
Claxton will present diverse historical and contemporary portrayals of Indigenous winyan(women in the Lakota language) in art. These include modes of being ranging from positions of great vulnerability to great manna (power). The intent of her talk is to see how the Indigenous winyan body has been represented and the meanings that have been ascribed to it, and to illustrate that this representation exists in many different forms.
Dana Claxton is an interdisciplinary artist working in film, video, video installation, photography and performance. Her work investigates Indigenous beauty, the socio-political and the spiritual. She is an associate Professor and Head in the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory at the University
of British Columbia. Her family reserve is Wood Mountain located Yorkton in Saskatchewan.
A recognized academic, media producer, director and writer, Dana challenges stereotypes of Indigenous people within her image making. In 2018, the Vancouver Art Gallery profiled her career to date in Dana Claxton:
Fringing the Cube, and she has a forthcoming book on her Lakota Sioux research with the Mackenzie ArtGallery. Claxton co-founded the Indigenous Media Arts Group in 1998, which organized the first Aboriginal Film Festival in Vancouver, and as Director of the artist-run centre, the Helen Pitt Gallery, in
the early 1990s, Dana curated exhibitions that featured only Indigenous women artists. Dana was awarded a fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and was the Ruth Wynn Woodward Research Chair in Women’s Studies at SFU.
Speaker February 4, 2020
Bio-sketch of H. K. Chang
H.K. Chang received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from National Taiwan University, Stanford University and Northwestern University, respectively.
He has taught at the State University of New York at Buffalo, McGill University and the University of Southern University; was Dean of Engineering at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (1990-94) and the University of Pittsburgh and President (1994-96) of City University of Hong Kong (1996-2007).
In recent years, Professor Chang has taught general education courses at Tsinghua University, Peking University, Shandong University and Jiaotong University in Shanghai, China-Europe International Business School and Bogazici University in Istanbul.
Professor Chang is a Foreign Member of Royal Academy of Engineering of the United Kingdom and a Member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences.
He was named by the Government of France to be Chévalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur in 2000, decorated as Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 2009, and was awarded a Gold Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2002.
Presentation title: Silk Road: Yesterday and Tomorrow
“With expeditions of Alexander the Great and westward expansion of China’s Han Dynasty, the trade routes between Europe and Asia, named Silk Road by a 19th century German geographer, were formally opened. Subsequently, merchants, soldiers and monks of various ethnic and linguistic groups traveled on the Silk Road, exchanging not only merchandise but also religious beliefs, arts and writing systems. The most influential group were the Mongols who, in the 13th-14th centuries, ruled over the largest empire the world has ever known. However, Silk Road declined sharply in the 16th century when naval forces from Western Europe arrived in the Indian Ocean. Today, with land, sea, air, space and Internet connections, the ancient Silk Road is poised to enter a new era of Eurasian communication. ”
Speaker November 2019
Dr. Love- Ese Chile:
Dr. Love-Ese Chile is a sustainable plastic researcher and consultant at her company Grey to Green Sustainable Solutions. She is one of the growing scientists, passionate about learning and communicating on green technologies, and the new innovations, that propel us towards a sustainable future. Love-Ese has worked with all levels of government, non-profits and businesses to bring greater understanding about sustainable plastics. Her research focusses on developing new technology for plastic biodegradation. Love-Ese is an advocate for sustainable science and science communication, she has delivered several public lectures to engage with her community on a variety of important issues
Sustainability, Science and the Ways Technology Can Impact the World
Abstract
Sustainable science is concerned with creating technologies that will help our communities grow and thrive; science that can inform and empower us to take a “bottom-up” view of climate change to build sustainable innovative cities.
In this presentation, Dr Love-Ese Chile will speak about her pathway to becoming one of a growing group of Sustainable Scientists advocating for the use of green technologies within our communities. An important aspect of sustainable science is to explore the social and cultural practices at the core of sustainability issues; how did we arrive here and, what will support us getting to where we want to be? Using plastic, 3D printing and 5G technology as case studies, Dr. Chile will speak about how these innovations could help propel us towards a sustainable future.
Speaker October 2019
Ms. Diana Ellis:
Past chair, Suzuki Elder Council, in association with the David Suzuki Foundation.
A long time feminist/ environmentalist that spans a rich career of 40 years to date, involved in a wide range of social justice issues and movements, as author, leader, consultant, planner and organiser, in partnership with governments, in private sector, and non profit community organizations across British Columbia.
For the past decade the Suzuki Elders have worked with young people on a range of issues including plastic pollution, storytelling, fast fashion, and understanding what climate change means for their future. We support their activism and organizing, we participate at their conferences and marches, and when asked, we provide mentorship. In turn, young people have shared with us their experiences, worries, hopes, and ideas. Elders bring to this work our own years of work and especially our experience as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
As we see how a 16 year old Greta Thunberg has inspired the youth around the world to engage in climate action, it seems very timely for the older generation to ponder some more on how we can join in and do our part!
~~
Speaker April 2, 2019 Parmida Esmaeilpour, a Masters Student and Research
Assistant in the Department of Political Science at UBC
The title of her talk is “‘Quiet Encroachment’: Everyday life in the Islamic
Republic of Iran”. She will describe the profound changes in the lives of
the Iranian people, particularly women, following the Iranian Revolution in
January 1979 and the subsequent establishment mere months later of the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
2019-04 Parmida Esmaeilpour (April AGM speaker)
Speaker March 5 2019 and November 4, 2018: Herbert Rosengarten, UBC Professor Emeritus
“UBC Past and Present: An Overview”. Professor Rosengarten is
co-author of the book “UBC: the First 100 Years”. On March 5, 2019 he will speak about Changing Times, Changing Values, Changing Expectations: How well is UBC adapting to the 21st century?
On November 4 he spoke about changes at UBC over the years, including some comments
about the part played by women at the University.
Professor Herbert Rosengarten
Speaker February 5, 2019: Artist and Author
Topic: Her Art and Her Memoir “From Paint to Words”: Internationally acclaimed artist Pnina Granirer puts down her brush and picks up the pen.
Her memoir traces her life journey as a painter in three acts, unfolding from her home
on the Danube River in Romania during the war and the Communist takeover, to
the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem, to her time in North America, arriving
in Vancouver in 1965.
2017 Pnina Granirer in her studio
2017 Pnina Granirer in her studio
2018 Pnina’s memoir
Speaker October 2, 2018: Maria Howard, CEO Alzheimer Society of BC
Maria Howard, Alzeimers CEO
Speaker February 6, 2018 : Professor Tony Sinclair: UBC zoologist, ecologist, and adventurer
Anthony Sinclair with Buffalo in Nyasirori
Talk Title: Fifty years in Serengeti
Summary: the science and the adventures — this is an account of what it is like to live and work in the most famous National Park in the world for 50 years, and what Tony Sinclair and his wife Anne were doing there (and still are).
Latest book: “Serengeti Story”: life and science in the world’s greatest wildlife region
Alison MacLean – Speaker November 7th 2017
Burkas2Bullets: The Rise of Afghan Women in Security
2017-11 Alison MacLean, speaker
Alison MacLean has been working in Afghanistan for six years as a combat photographer. She is releasing her documentary, “Burkas2Bullets”, internationally in the fall of 2017. The film features the rise of Afghan Police and Military Women, with the help of their Coalition supporters. Alison started her career as a Camera Person for The Sports Network. Her company, Tomboy Digital Productions, specializes in women in combat, on the frontlines. The mother of 2, Alison is also an advocate in the Family Court System in B.C. for vulnerable Canadian women and children.
FWC Speakers over the Years: Nov. 1980 – April 2019