Events

SASI Launches 20th Anniversary Celebrations with a Reflection on Two Decades of Research and Community Engagement

by

On Thursday, October 8, 2026, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) officially launched its 20th anniversary celebrations with the first lecture of its 2026 Fall Lecture Series. The evening featured University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Professor Emeritus and SASI’s Inaugural Director, Dr. Satwinder Bains, presenting a lecture on Research and Engagement at SASI: A … Read more

Chai & Chat brings South Asian folk heritage into conversation

by

On September 25, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) welcomed community members together at the Matsqui Recreation Centre in Abbotsford for Chai & Chat with Dr. Asma Qadri, an afternoon of storytelling, conversation, and shared memories presented in partnership with the City of Abbotsford as part of Culture Days 2026. The gathering created an informal … Read more

Paldi Historical Museum Opening

by

On July 1st, the Paldi Khalsa Diwan Society hosted a grand opening of the Paldi Historical Museum (located in the Paldi gurdwara) as part of the community’s annual Jor Mela. The museum space is in the Paldi gurdwara at 23 Paldi Road. The South Asian Canadian Digital Archive hosts multiple collections on Paldi: the Joan … Read more

Haq and History Travels to Port Moody

by

On Sunday, May 7th, the SASI team attended the opening reception of the Haq and History exhibition at the Port Moody Station Museum. Haq and History is a collaborative exhibition created by the Royal BC Museum and the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley, as part of the South Asian … Read more

Equality Day Observation and Celebration at SASI

by

On April 26th, the SASI was honoured to observe and celebrate Equality Day as part of the 2023 Dr. Ambedkar International Symposium on Emancipation and Equality Day Vancouver. This was the 20th year for the week-long International Dalit Conference held in Vancouver since 2003. In May 2023, people collected at a forum for academics and … Read more

Paldi Heritage Minute – First of its Kind!

by

To celebrate Sikh Heritage Month (2023), Historica Canada released a new Heritage Minute about the historic mill town of Paldi, BC. It is the first Heritage Minute to highlight a South Asian Canadian story as well as the first to be released in Punjabi (in addition to English and French). SASI Director Dr. Satwinder Bains … Read more

Rails, Jails, and Trolleys – film festival acceptance and screening

by

We are excited to announce that Rails, Jails, and Trolleys, a SASI-produced film, has been selected by the Feedback Female Film Festival (FFFF). The FFFF is dedicated to showcasing the best of female talent in the film industry. The film Rails, Jails and Trolleys documents history’s largest farmers’ protest and the Canadian diaspora’s response to … Read more

February 22 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada

by

To bring awareness to the realities of human trafficking, the SASI was invited to partner with Dr. Rita Dhungel of the UFV School of Social Work and Human Services (SWHS), PEARL, Ally Global Foundation, the Race and Antiracism Network (RAN), and the UFV Student Social Work Association (SSWA) to host an event that invited panellists … Read more