Join the Rotary Club of Abbotsford Sumas and UFV’s Community Health and Social Innovation Hub for conversations around advancing equity in our community.
Entry is by donation, in support of the UFV-SUS Food Bank.
Event speakers and dates are as follows:
- September 30, 2023: Dr. Keith Carlson
- November 2:,2023 Dr. Darryl Plecas
- November 30, 2023: Dr. Carin Bondar
- January 22, 2024: Salome Bukachi
- March 5. 2024: Dr. Michael Batu
- April 25, 2024: Dr. Brett Pardy
- June 4, 2024: Dr. Amir Shabani
September 30: Dr. Keith Carlson
Identifying and Then Transcending Settler Colonialism: Strategies for Building Genuine Reconciliation
6:30 – 8:00 PM
At The Reach Gallery Museum
RSVP
Not all forms of Colonialism look the same – and most colonial systems are designed to be largely invisible to those who benefit from them. Learning to identify the systems that sustain colonial power is the first step on the path to dismantling and then transcending colonialism. In this presentation Prof. Carlson will discuss the system of colonialism that was set up here in British Columbia and that continues to operate today. Using insights from several disciplines and findings from his own research he will provide attendees with information and vocabulary that can assist them in dismantling settler colonialism while they also meaningfully contribute to the twin goals of Indigenous resurgence and the building of genuine reconciliation between Indigenous and settler societies in Canada.
Dr. Keith Thor Carlson holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous and Community-engaged History at the University of the Fraser Valley. He has additionally been appointed Director of the UFV’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre where he has recently launched the new The Xwelitem Siyaya Allyship Building Program which helps provide settlers with the knowledge and skills needed to become authentic allies of Indigenous people and to help promote genuine reconciliation. He has been working with the Stó:lō communities helping to document and interpret history and cultural traditions since 1992. His research is designed and executed collaboratively with Indigenous communities so as to best meet community-identified priorities. Individually or with partners Carlson has authored or edited 12 books and over 50 articles, including A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas (2001), and The Power of Place the Problem of Time: Aboriginal Identity and Historical Consciousness in the Cauldron of Colonialism (2010)
November 2: Dr. Darryl Plecas
What’s Really Going on with Youth Crime in Abbotsford
7:00 – 8:30 PM
At UFV Abbotsford, Room B101
RSVP
If you’ve followed the news in recent times you might have been left with the impression that we have an increasing youth crime problem in Abbotsford and elsewhere across Canada. But a very different picture emerges once you have the opportunity to consider what has been happening in terms of youth crime in Abbotsford over time and in comparison to youth crime elsewhere in the western world. This presentation will give you that opportunity. In doing that, it will also give you the opportunity to learn from our work at CHASI about the likelihood of an Abbotsford youth becoming involved in crime in the first instance, and the likelihood that Abbotsford youths will become repeat offender, prolific offenders, and adult criminals. It’s really a good news story, and one that could become even better with our having more targeted intervention approaches with those youth we should be more concerned about.
Dr. Darryl Plecas, Professor Emeritus, University of the Fraser Valley, has been researching crime and criminal justice issues for more than 40 years – since he first began teaching at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in 1979. Prior to his retirement in 2013, he held the university’s RCMP Senior University Research Chair and the Directorship of the Centre for Public Safety and Criminal Justice Research. He is the author or co-author of more than 200 research reports, international journal articles, and other publications addressing a broad range of public safety issues. As Professor Emeritus he continues to research, write, and speak on current criminal public safety issues. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including UFVs Teaching Excellence Award, the Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology Award for the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning, The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse’s Award of Excellence, the Order of Abbotsford, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Public Safety, and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.
November 30: Dr. Carin Bondar
Living in a Post-Truth Society: Tips and techniques to identify misinformation online
7:00 – 8:30 PM
At UFV Abbotsford, Room B101
A recording of the event can be viewed here
Dr. Carin Bondar is a biologist, author and philosopher. Her work focuses on increasing science literacy and communication in the public. Bondar is a lecturing adjunct professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, teaching in the areas of science communication and environmental science. Recently elected to the Chilliwack School Board, Bondar is an advocate for STEM education and for keeping girls in STEM subjects through high school.
Bondar’s work appears on National Geographic, Discovery Worldwide, TED, Animal Planet, Netflix and The Science Channel. She is an adventurer and explorer, having discovered new species of beetles and snails in the remote jungles of Borneo with her research team from the Netherlands (Leiden) and Italy (Verona). Bondar currently lives in Chilliwack, British Columbia with her four children, her partner, three dogs and one cat.