Ancient routes and new directions: The 21st century Silk Road

Professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair in Political Economy of Global Communications at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Yuezhi Zhao will speak at the next SFU Presidential Lecture Series on January 31. Her talk, entitled China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’: A Critical Communication Perspective, examines the project’s challenges and possibilities.…

Women leading new global thinking and change

The BC Women’s Economic Forum will take place in Surrey under the title Women Leading New Global Thinking & Change Nov. 16–17. Based in New Delhi, India, WEF organizes conferences around the world, often gathering women from more than 50 different nations. In this context, The Source met two B.C. women who will attend WEF as guest…

Day of the Dead party in support of Project Amigo

The Rotary Club of Vancouver Sunrise will be hosting a Day of the Dead party to fundraise for their international project of the year, Project Amigo, which provides educational assistance to impoverished students in Colima, Mexico. According to Carlos Obregon, former president and current member of the Rotary Club, the club’s mission is to partake…

A Scotsman in China

On Sept. 28, at Simon Fraser University, Professor Marilyn Bowman will share the story of James Legge, a 19th century Scotsman who set off to China as a missionary and not only ended up living there for nearly thirty years, but also translated the Chinese classics into English, allowing millions more people to learn and…

The Japanese-Canadian Internment – 75 Years After

Hosted by the Vancouver Historical Society, The Japanese-Canadian Internment – 75 Years After will take place on Sept. 28 at the Museum of Vancouver. The talk will feature Japanese-Canadian activists Mary Kitagawa and her partner Tosh. In 1896, Mary Kitagawa’s grandfather moved from the prefecture of Hiroshima to Canada. He would make up the first…

Filling the gaps in World War I history

A local community historian wants to give people a more holistic perspective of World War One, particularly the Sikhs’ contribution. “My intent is to present the real inclusive history, not the one perpetuated in pop-culture and classrooms for that matter. It’s going to be a history lesson to fill in the blanks for the people…

Colouring the world, one cloth at a time

In Chinese, Maiwa means beautiful language or language of the arts. Maiwa is also the name of a foundation that operates around the world. A school of textiles loved by Vancouverites also bears the same name. It all began with a family’s passion for cloth, time and colours in 1986. Earlier in her life, Charllotte…

Learning Through the Arts (LTTA): a refuge for refugees

Maher Bahloul, University of British Columbia (UBC)’s visiting linguistics professor from The American University of Sharjah, Dubai, has constructed a Learning Through the Arts (LTTA) proposal for refugees. The concept of Bahloul’s proposal Meaningful Integration of Syrian Refugees: Targeting the Artists is based on several factors, including the recent arrival of Syrian Refugees in Canada…

App provides digital roadmap to services for refugees

With the growing number of refugees, globally and locally, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identified a need to bridge the gap between service providers and refugees. That was when PeaceGeeks, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization, stepped in.  Founded in 2010 in Vancouver, PeaceGeeks uses global operations and leverages technology to promote peace. Their…

Reaping the lessons of food production

Cycling from Vancouver to Mexico, a group of young Canadians set out to find the reality behind organic food production. Little did they know what was ahead of them in their quest for understanding organic growing. The road trip proved to be the opposite of what they set out to do. Forearmed with knowledge on…

Kizuna – a way of healing

Yoriko Gillard has always used art as a way to deal with pain or anxiety. She will be presenting Creative Practices as Healing Aids for Human Suffering at Capilano University on March 28. As an only child, Gillard lived with the fear of losing her mother who had a heart condition and other health problems…

Bringing European concepts of architecture to Vancouver

Michael Geller will be hosting his 4th annual lecture series at SFU Harbour Centre on Feb. 15, 2017. This year, the focus will be on higher density housing with insights based on his travels in Europe. Geller is an architect, planner, real-estate consultant and property developer. Born in the UK but raised in Toronto, Geller…

Documentary looks at life in refugee camps

After Spring, a 2016 documentary, uncovers life in the Zaatari Refugee Camp by following two families and an aid worker. The film is being presented at KDocs Film Festival, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s annual documentary screening event. The festival runs Feb. 16 to Feb. 19.  Since the start of the Syrian conflict six years ago, more…