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Strong finish for two York University teams in case competition

executive team FEATURED
ESA executive team

Students from York University’s Schulich School of Business and the Department of Economics earned the first-place and third-place prizes in a case competition on Feb. 22.

The Economics Student Association (ESA) at York University teamed up with the Royal Bank of Canada to put on the ESA x RBC Case Competition at the Second Student Centre on the Keele Campus.

Twenty student teams from Wilfred Laurier, York University, Ryerson and the University of Toronto presented their ideas and competed for cash prizes including $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $100 for third place.

First place team the RBC(uties) from the Schulich School of Business: Mehak Shah, Aashna Appa, Amira Ahmad, Hibah Rehman

The student-organized event offered hands-on experience by asking teams to clone a business domain where they solve a case study, emulate industry practices, apply their technical and classroom knowledge, and ultimately make recommendations to a mock board of directors.

The topic for the event, the second annual ASA x RBC Case Competition, was open banking. Open banking makes it easier for customers to switch banks and products, but it also requires many banks to have access to customer data, which raises important privacy concerns.

Teams were tasked with evaluating the effect of open banking among Canadian banks and customers. In the final round of presentations, student teams presented before a panel of six judges and audience members. Four of the judges were senior members of the Digital Products department at the Royal Bank of Canada, who had very generously volunteered their time: Benoit Germain, Tia Lo, Buket Holzemann, and Sunayna Ali. The remaining judges were two professors from the Department of Economics: Robert McKeown and Tsvetanka Karagyozova.

Maliha Farhad, ESA’s vice-president of marketing, noted “we had a great deal of interest from students this year. Registration was full before the deadline.”

The event included a lunch, and a presentation delivered by Lior Grimberg, assistant branch manager at RBC on York University’s Keele Campus, on how best to manage money.

This year’s winning teams were:

  • First place – The RBC(uties) from the Schulich School of Business: Mehak Shah, Aashna Appa, Amira Ahmad and Hibah Rehman
  • Second place – The Three Supremos from the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto, St. George Campus: Wajahat Naqvi and Aaranya Barman
  • Third place – Team Lightning from York University’s Department of Economics in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies: Dilomi Cooray and Alia Tareq Rashed
The ESA executive team: Ella Demchuk, Aneri Patel, Maliha Farhad, Jack Hughson, Varshikha Bhardwaj and Insha Ranjwani

The ESA executive team members are Maliha Farhad (vice-president marketing), Ella Demchuk (vice-president finance), Insha Ranjwani (vice-president competitions) (LP), Varshikha Bhardwaj (vice-president externals), Jack Hughson (vice-president internals) and Aneri Patel (president).

Seminar looks at the influences of human activities on mercury in aquatic ecosystems

ARG March 11 FEATURED

The final event in the 2019-20 Aquatic Research Group (ARG) Seminar Series features McMaster University Professor Karen Kidd presenting a talk titled “Local through global influences of human activities on mercury in aquatic ecosystems.” It takes place on Wednesday, March 11 at 12:30 p.m. in room 111, McLaughlin College Building at the Keele Campus. The seminar will be followed by a free lunch at 1:30 p.m. All members of the York community are welcome to attend.

The pan-Faculty ARG Seminar Series, organized by biology Professor Sapna Sharma in York University’s Faculty of Science, has brought top ecologists from across the province to York to talk about their research in aquatic ecology and what’s causing stress in our waterways.

Karen Kidd
Karen Kidd

Kidd received her BSc in environmental toxicology from the University of Guelph (1991) and her PhD in biology from the University of Alberta (1996). As an ecotoxicologist, she studies how the health of aquatic organisms and food webs are affected by human activities and the fate of pollutants in freshwater ecosystems.

Kidd joined McMaster in 2017 as the Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health and has a joint appointment in the Department of Biology and the School of Geography & Earth Sciences. Before that, she worked in the Biology Department and the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, where she was a professor of biology and held a Canada Research Chair in Chemical Contamination of Food Webs (Tier II 2004-14; Tier I 2015-17).

Most of her lab’s research is multidisciplinary in nature – a combination of ecology, biogeochemistry, chemistry and toxicology – and is on lakes, rivers, wetlands and coastal zones spanning tropical through Arctic climates.

The ARG includes researchers who focus on aquatic science from the Faculties of Science, Engineering, Environmental Studies, and Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. The seminar series is designed to engage this multidisciplinary scientific community at all levels, including graduate and undergraduate students, both at York University and in the wider aquatic science community.

Neurological Imaginaries series wraps up with medical anthropologist Janelle Taylor

Image of the brain

The fourth and final event in the 2019-20 Neurological Imaginaries Seminar Series will feature medical anthropologist Jenelle Taylor on March 6.

Taylor’s research over the past 20 years has addressed aspects of biomedicine in North America (including fetal ultrasound imaging, cultural competency training in medical education, and end-of-life decision making, as well as dementia and caregiving). She joined the University of Toronto’s Department of Anthropology in 2019, and before that was on faculty at the University of Washington for 20 years.

Her paper titled “Finding Traces of Dementia Caregiving Relations in Medical Research and Medical Records Data” will be the topic of her discussion. In her remarks, Taylor will discuss her recent NIH-funded research, in which she turns an ethnographic gaze on existing medical records and other data from a medical research study, to trace evidence of caregiving arrangements and challenges in the lives of older adults with dementia.

The event takes place March 6 from 12 to 2 p.m. in York Lanes 305. The paper presentation will be followed by a live interview and a Q-and-A period. Light refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Jordan Hodgins at hodginsj@yorku.ca. All are welcome.

The Neurological Imaginaries seminar series works to bring neuroscientists, anthropologists and artists together in an interdisciplinary conversation to discuss epistemological tensions within traumatic brain injury care. These conversations will explore how sensorial and arts-based methodologies might open up possibilities for understanding often imperceptible inner transformations that escape both biomedical technologies and language.

Reflecting on the past, looking toward the future of Black Canadian Studies

In September of 2018, York University launched its Black Canadian Studies Certificate program, a move that reinforced the University’s dedication to Black studies in Canada and provided students with a more diverse curriculum.

Now in its second academic year, the certificate has welcomed 36 students as well as renowned Black diaspora academics, including current faculty member Professor Christina Sharpe and 2018-19 visiting scholar, Daniel McNeil.

Offered through the Department of Humanities in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, the certificate brings together undergraduate students from various disciplines to broaden their thinking and understanding of Blackness.

Andrea Davis
Andrea Davis

Black Studies located within the humanities “gives students a wider map to think about black people; black people’s lives; experiences that are the most comprehensive,” said Professor Andrea Davis, chair of the Department of Humanities and coordinator of the Black Canadian Studies Certificate. “It gives them that interdisciplinary lens.”

For students like Arshad Desai, a third-year honours History major, the certificate program has exposed him and his peers to new and refreshing concepts. Desai said the program has introduced them to “the important work of Black academics they would likely not encounter in other courses.”

Arshad also credits the certificate’s unique learning opportunities for encouraging him to become a more engaged student. Last February, together with the certificate program and York University’s Harriet Tubman Institute, he coordinated the first-ever “Writing and Researching Blackness in the Academy” symposium,  a one-day event featuring a blend of art, literature and panel discussions on the academic work of undergraduate researchers.

This year, Arshad and another student in the certificate program, Aysha Campbell, have been invited to present their work in the certificate at the peer-reviewed international Humanities and Education Research Conference in Chicago, Ill.

 

Andrea Davis poses with students enrolled in the Black Canadian Studies Certificate

Presenting students with ways to actualize their knowledge through hands-on learning is a goal of the certificate program. For instance, the course Griots to Emcees: Examining Culture, Performance and Spoken Word, is taught by spoken word artist Wendy “Motion” Brathwaite. It gives students a chance to produce rap, poetry, and spoken word pieces as tools of resistance. This past fall, the course culminated with its annual year-end showcase in which students performed their lyrical creations to an enthused crowd of poetry fans.

Eager to advance avenues for students, there are plans for a community placement program to be woven into the certificate. “This is an opportunity to help students take what they’re learning in those humanities courses and then apply them in practical ways outside the classroom so they can see their humanities training in action,” said Davis. The experiential education opportunity, which is currently under development, will have students placed in the office of elected officials to learn how they interface with Black communities.

The program is being piloted this Winter term with one of its first students undertaking a placement within the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). The student will work alongside York University Professor and TDSB Trustee for Scarborough Rouge-Park, Anu Sriskandarajah to learn policymaking and governance. “This is a unique opportunity for the student,” said Sriskandarajah. “The placement allows [Black Canadian Studies Certificate] students to see first-hand how decisions are made that directly impact thousands of [TDSB] students.”

The placement student will be exposed to the inner workings of TDSB, attend Board and committee meetings, and, ultimately, witness theoretical learnings unfold in a real-world context. Sriskandarajah hopes that this placement experience will have a long-lasting impact on the student: “One of the goals of the placement is to inspire students to one day to pursue publicly elected positions or other positions of leadership.”

With aspirations of the certificate one day becoming a minor or major, Davis hopes that the certificate program will strengthen York University’s standing as a leader in the field of Black studies. “We need to establish ourselves as a primary producer of knowledge and students in Black Canadian Studies.”

Visiting Sexuality Studies Scholar Annual Lecture explores queer and trans masculinities

Naveen Minai is a visiting scholar in sexuality studies at York University. She will deliver the Visiting Sexuality Studies Scholar Annual Lecture titled,“The Desi Butch Archive: Refusals, Reworking, Reimagining.” The event takes place March 12, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Harry Crowe Room, 109 Atkinson at the Keele Campus.

Naveen Minai

Minai’s project examines queer and trans South Asian and South Asian American and Canadian masculinities as sites and forms of intimacy, collectivity, genealogy, desire and kinship that point to the ways in which space, sexuality and gender are co-constitutive, especially transnational logics of land, home and diaspora.

Her work on desi butch intervenes in this gap in debates about sexuality, nation and land in South Asia by examining desi, butch and desi butch as potential analytics, including the points, spaces and forms in which settler colonial, postcolonial and neocolonial forms of power intersect.

Minai has a PhD in gender and sexuality studies from UCLA and her work focuses on queer and trans masculinities of colour, transnational sexuality studies, diaspora studies, global literary and visual cultures and digital humanities.

To RSVP email cfr@yorku.ca.

The event is held in an accessible space and everyone welcome. It is co-sponsored by Sexuality Studies and the Centre for Feminist Research.

Canadian Writers in Person presents poet E. Martin Nolan, March 3

Photo by Nick Hillier on Unsplash

Still Point coverAs part of York University’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series, poet E. Martin Nolan will read from his latest poetry collection, Still Point, on March 3.

The series features 11 authors who will present their work, answer questions and sign books. Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students. It is also a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings in 206 Accolade West Building, Keele Campus.

A poet, essayist and editor, Nolan works at The Puritan and teaches at the University of Toronto (U of T). Born and raised in Detroit, he attended Loyola University New Orleans and U of T. His writing has appeared in Arc, CNQ and CV2, among others. He lives in Toronto.

Nolan’s latest collection of poems, Still Point, examines North America as unified whole and disrupted centre. The poems contrast the calm and tumult of Hurricane Katrina, the deconstruction of Detroit, the financial crisis of 2008 and the BP Gulf oil spill, weaving lyrical sequences and individual pieces into a coherent whole focused on humanity’s relationship to itself and to nature. Still Point tells a story of beauty and horror, and how normalcy stubbornly persists amid history’s arc.

Other presentations scheduled in this series are:

March 17: David Bezmozgis, Immigrant City, HarperCollins

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered out of the Culture & Expression program in the Department of Humanities in York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. For more information on the series, visit yorku.ca/laps/canwrite, call 416-736-5158, or email Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca or Professor Leslie Sanders at leslie@yorku.ca.

Mississauga mayor tells McLaughlin College students ‘never stop learning’

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie provided McLaughlin College students with “gems of wisdom” when she visited the Keele Campus on Jan. 22, during the college’s First Year Student Dinner.

The event, which launched last year, recognizes first-year students as they make their full transition to university studies.

Other speakers at the dinner were:

  • York University Chancellor Greg Sorbara, who chaired the formal program for the evening;
  •  Rhonda Lenton, York University president and vice-chancellor; and
  • J.J. McMurtry, the newly appointed dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

Crombie, who is a York University alum and holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, spoke to students during a 40-minute address. She was introduced by Howard Brown, president of Brown & Cohen Communications & Public Affairs.

Bonnie Crombie

She began her keynote address by acknowledging those in attendance, saying, “This is a room full of power and potential,” and stating the students at McLaughlin College would undoubtedly “change the world throughout their lives.”

Crombie shared what she learned over her 40-year career in both business and politics, and pointed out that her own background and life experience is instructive.

“I am a first generation Canadian, born to Polish and Ukrainian parents in the 1960s in Etobicoke. My grandfather was a janitor at The Globe and Mail and my grandmother ran a rooming house,” she said, adding that her upbringing did not include “fancy vacations or dinners out,” but, it “made me the person I am today.”

She then went on to outline what she called her “10-point plan to succeed in your career,” which included:

  • Number 10, always invest in yourself. Be a life-long learner and never stop learning.
  • Number 9, listen. Be an active listener. It will allow you to connect with others, build trust and gain knowledge.
  • Number 8, be humble and truthful. Those who are, ultimately, succeed.
  • Number 7, be a life-long volunteer. Volunteer experience can be some of the most rewarding and satisfying things that one can do.
  • Number 6, work hard. Crombie made the point of stating, “There is no substitute for hard work,” and noted that her mother told her when she was growing up that “if it is meant to be, it is up to me.”
  • Number 5, do your homework. “If you know your stuff, you will get ahead,” she said. She noted this applies especially for women who must meet a “different bar” that necessitates that they must always be “over-prepared to get ahead.”
  • Number 4, do not confuse being liked with being respected. Being respected, she noted, “requires hard work, doing your homework, and being principled and genuine.”
  • Number 3, be kind. She made the emphatic point that, “Kindness sustains our humanity.”
  • Number 2, failure is okay. Do not be afraid to take “calculated risks in your career.” You should not fear failure because it provides tangible lessons from which we can learn. “Be smart and thoughtful about the risks you take, but don’t hold back because you might fail,” she said.
  • Number 1, do good. “If you’re not guided by a passion to do good – if selflessness and the common good are not your reason for public service – then please pick another profession,” she said. Doing good is essential to success in life.

Crombie concluded her address by stating she was happy to share her 10 points with the first-year students.

Those in attendance agreed it was a memorable First Year Student Dinner.

Bonnie Crombie with some of the attendees at the event

“It also left the students with ‘gems of wisdom’ that they could apply throughout their studies, careers and life,” said Milena Basciano, junior ambassador of the McLaughlin College Public Policy and Administration student association, who sat at the head table with the dignitaries.

“It was truly a remarkable evening,” said Matthew Ko, another McLaughlin College student ambassador, who was also seated at the head table.

McMurtry thanked Crombie, and said she provided a shining example and model for students who wish to aspire to important leadership positions within their communities. The City of Mississauga is one of the most dynamic multicultural urban communities in Canada, McMurtry observed.

He said Crombie is “demonstrating how engaged and inspirational leadership can make a significant difference realizing the goal of building a progressive community that unites and cares for all its members.”

All the program’s dignitaries were Fellows of McLaughlin College, which added to the cachet of the evening, and reinforced for all those in attendance, particularly, the students, the relevance and importance of their college affiliation.

The event also included a performance by the newly formed McLaughlin College Community Choir, led by Choir Director Sebastian Moreno.

From left: J.J. McMurtry, Bonnie Crombie, Greg Sorbara, Howard Brown, Rhonda L. Lenton and James Simeon

McLaughlin College Head James Simeon recognized all the students’ work and efforts during their challenging first year of university studies. The first year “transition” to a new learning environment requires different skill sets, he noted, including a variety of assessment methods, expectations and demands from professors that can often be strenuous, but ultimately, entirely “transformative.”

Simeon also introduced Sorbara, and noted that all those who took the subway to the dinner, have Sorbara to thank, as he played a vital role in the subway being extended to the Keele Campus and beyond.

Sorbara said it was a 35-year campaign to realize the subway extension that began when he was the Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities. At that time, he came to the view that Toronto’s two great universities, University of Toronto and York University, should be connected by the TTC subway system.

Lenton also addressed students, and encouraged them to continue working on mastering their new skill sets as they progress through their programs of study. She further made the point that universities play an integral role in the social, cultural and economic life of their communities.

LA&PS student athletes impacting the community – one tiny stride at a time

For children and adolescents across Canada, organized sports provide an avenue to build lasting connections, develop social skills, lead healthy lives, and realize potential at an early age. However, due to financial barriers, these opportunities can be difficult for some families to afford. With today’s cost of living on the rise, disposable income required for extra-curricular activities has become tougher to come by. As a result of these challenges, sport participation among youth is on the decline.

From the standpoint of Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) student athletes Jacob Janke, Rossini Sandjong, Gaetano Minto and Daniel Loggale, something needs to be done to counter this trend. Taking the field together with the 2019-20 York Lions football team, this group is unified behind a singular cause – one that aims to overcome these economic obstacles.

From left: Daniel Loggale, Gaetano Minto, Rossini Sandjong, and Jacob Janke. Photo by Nicole Glassman
From left: Daniel Loggale, Gaetano Minto, Rossini Sandjong, and Jacob Janke. Photo by Nicole Glassman

These friends, who’ve all relocated from their home provinces to pursue a university education at York, acknowledge the common factor that brought them together. It isn’t difficult to imagine how things could have gone differently if not for organized sports being introduced to them many years ago.

“We were all sitting around, and the conversation was about how four people from different parts of the country became best friends,” Janke said. “It was football. The common theme was that someone gave each of us a shot along the way. We all came from situations where we wouldn’t have been able to play organized sports if someone – whether it was a role model or mentor – didn’t provide support and guide us along that path.”

Now enrolled in the final year of their studies at York University, this group is dedicated to facilitating similar opportunities for others who may need assistance. This pledge to give back to the community is what led to the creation of their non-profit organization, Tiny Strides.

Tiny Strides came together after countless discussions on the subject, as the group worked together to brainstorm fundraising methods to support participation in sports among underprivileged youth. As the name implies, the group agreed that a small-scale approach would lead to notable results. Even if their efforts would only impact one individual, it would have been worth it. After submitting paperwork to become a registered non-profit last year, this initiative became official.

The goal was closely aligned to their upbringing as minorities with additional barriers to overcome. In the past, being empowered through sport wasn’t always a reality for these LA&PS students. Today, football has become a regular aspect of everyday life. Now, the group aspires to encourage sport participation and exemplify the ways in which these activities can serve as catalysts for positive outcomes on and off the field.

“One really great thing about sport is that it brings out family,” Minto said “With Tiny Strides, we can play a part in creating those families, those spaces for individuals. It’s more than a game if you use it the right way.”

Through pub nights, event appearances, and 50-50 charity raffles, the group has been able to raise thousands of dollars to cover the costs of equipment and sport registration fees. However, the mentorship aspect of the initiative cannot be overstated. In just one year, they’ve built meaningful connections with minor league football programs, as well as nearby community shelters.

“One really great thing about sport is that it brings out family. With Tiny Strides, we can play a part in creating those families, those spaces for individuals. It’s more than a game if you use it the right way.” – Gaetano Minto

“Last July, we were approach by a refugee shelter not too far from campus,” Sandjong said. “There were kids from different parts of the world who had been living there for a couple months. We had the chance to introduce sports to their lives. There were three days of programming. On the first day, we introduced them to football. On the second day, we played soccer. Then, on the third day, we brought them to Canada’s Wonderland.”

The strong bonds formed by Tiny Strides have played a significant role in some of these children continuing to play football, several months after the shelter visit. Each of the non-profit’s founders are extremely proud of how their efforts have resonated thus far.

This year, the group hopes to continue taking small steps in establishing similar ties with local youth and sport organizations while still raising funds for those in need. The eventual goal is for these relationships to be facilitated with an integrated mentorship program more closely linked to York University Lions football.

“As members of the black community, we’re often seen as the people trying to tear each other down. It feels great to break that stereotype,” Loggale said. “We’re not just conforming to what people think we should be doing. We’re stepping out of that box that they put us in. We want to uplift.”

“If you look at where York is positioned geographically, sometimes it seems that we shy away from the Jane & Finch community,” Janke added. “The university can be that uplifting force. I think that’s something we should start to embrace.”

Eco-Arts and Media Festival an opportunity for ‘pollination’ of knowledge and ideas

Non profit to help declining bee population
Non profit to help declining bee population

York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) is inviting students, alumni, faculty, staff and members of the community to the 26th annual Eco-Arts & Media Festival taking place from March 2 to 5.

This year’s festival takes up an expansive theme of “Pollination,” including the biocultural importance of pollinators to the ecosystem and recognizing pollination in terms of the exchange of knowledge and ideas. This theme invites facilitated conversations across disciplines, to create writing, performances, workshops and artworks that consider pedagogical, environmental and artistic approaches to the concepts of exchange, care, trade and sharing. The artists, scientists, students and academics participating in the festival will expand on how speaking across disciplines and exchanging ideas creates new ways to consider issues of colonialism, land rights, environmental degradation and the ongoing effects of climate change.

The festival kicks off on March 2 with a Lunch-time-Launch beginning at 11 a.m. in the Health Nursing and Environmental Studies building (HNES) lounge at the Keele Campus. The launch, co-hosted by FES and the Bachelor of Environmental Studies Student Association, will feature snacks, music, performances and opportunities to learn about different forms of cross-pollination happening around campus. At 12:30 p.m. attendees will have the chance to participate in a collaborative drawing activity.

The first day of the festival will also mark the beginning of an ongoing multimedia installation, titled Son, created by Juanita Stephen, a child and youth worker, mother to a 16-year-old son, and York PhD student in Gender, Feminist and Women’s studies. Son explores all that Black parents navigate as they care for Black sons, highlighting the dynamic interplay of Black love, fear, joy, rage and hope by setting the words of other Black parents alongside a note to Stephen’s own son. The installation will appear in the Crossroads Gallery (HNES Room 263).

The festival’s second day will commence at 10 a.m. in HNES Room 201 with a community arts activity that reflects on recent climate crisis events and invites personal and poetic responses. The day will also include a lunch performance by Zoe Parco at 11:30 a.m. in HNES Room 201, followed by a dance and theatre performance by Arpita Bajpeyi, a PhD student in Dance Studies at and a graduate research associate at the York Centre for Asian Research. Titled Paar Chaana De (Across the Chenab River), Bajpeyi’s performance weaves together tales of (non-)belonging and migrations, telling a story of three women who find themselves perpetually caught in crossings, unable to reach their destinations, and faced with a choice. The performance starts at 2:30 p.m. in HNES Room 140.

The third day of the festival will begin with a community art activity at 11:30 a.m. in HNES Room 140 featuring Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia, a collective of Indigenous women from Saskatoon who will join the FES “Community Arts for Social Change” class to develop an activity centered in the creation of ribbon skirt/pants. That evening, an Eco-Arts Cabaret will be held at 7 p.m. at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto).

The final day is sure to leave festival attendees buzzing, starting with a panel discussing a range of bee pollinators through the lens of ecology, art and culture. The “Pollinating Wisdom” panel, beginning at 1 p.m. in HNES Room 140, will feature Sheila Colla, principal investigator at the Native Pollinator Research Lab at York, Charmaine Lurch, a Toronto-based painter, sculptor and installation artist known for her work surrounding Black histories and environmental issues, and Sabrina Malach, a pollinator protector, beekeeper and director of engagement at Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs.

The day will continue with “Sonic Corridors,” an experiential and participatory sound tour that invites attendees to walk to various audio installations in the HNES building, starting in Room 201 at 3:30 p.m., and a participatory laboratory performance by Sarah Magni in the Wild Garden Media Centre (HNES Room 268) also at 3:30 p.m. and again at 4:30 p.m. Magni’s work, which invites audience participation, was produced in the FES course “Cultural Production: Performance.” The festival will conclude with Build a Bee Workshop presented by Charmaine Lurch at 5:30 p.m. in HNES room 102.

Additional details on specific days and events, and information on registration, can be found on the festival’s website. A calendar of events hosted by FES can be found on the faculty’s website.

York professor invited to participate in UN panel on Indigenous communities and environment

Indigenous feathers

Sometimes the most meaningful experiences arrive in the most unexpected ways.

That was the experience for York University political science Professor Gabrielle Slowey. Late last December, Slowey, who is also the director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University, received a direct message on Twitter from the Alvin Fiddler, who is the Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) asking her to call him.

Gabrielle Slowey
Gabrielle Slowey

So, she did. During their conversation, Fiddler told Slowey that his team plans to participate in meetings at the United Nations that will be held in April 2020 and he wanted Slowey to be a part of his delegation and speak as part of his panel. The title of the proposed session is: “Climate Emergency and Impacts on Treaty and Inherent Rights” and the overall theme of the UNPFII 19th session is “peace, justice and strong institutions: The role of Indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development.”

Slowey immediately agreed. “This is an amazing opportunity and I am honored and humbled to be invited to join Chief Fiddler and his delegation in New York in April,” said Slowey.

Fiddler told Slowey that he was aware of her work with First Nations’ communities and the environment. Slowey, a settler (her parents immigrated from Ireland), has been working in, and with. First Nations communities since the late 1990s. Since that time, she has travelled to, or worked with the Mi’kmaq and Malisset communities of New Brunswick, the Mikisew Cree First Nation of Alberta, the James Bay Cree of Northern Quebec, the Ngai Tahu and Tainui of New Zealand, the Vuntut Gwitchin of Old Crow Yukon, the Inuvialuit of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories and the Delaware of Southwestern Ontario. Her research concentrates on the political economy of resource extraction, environmental/ecological governance, the duty to consult, treaties, land claims and self-government. Slowey’s approach is very much community-based and draws upon broader theoretical concerns of colonialism, reconciliation, staples and democracy.

In early March Slowey will be attending the National Climate Change meetings taking place in Whitehorse, Yukon. She will also be presenting on her recent work on climate change and how northern First Nations are addressing it in their communities at the North American Indigenous Studies Conference taking place in Toronto in May.