Cultural Spotlight – Cross-cultural writing: the exchange and combination of writing and knowledge

Despite younger generations reading less in general, Shuyu Kong believes that storytelling and sharing those stories will endure. The Chinese/Canadian Writing Speaker Series, after three successful events, will display the final event June 18 showcasing the benefits of writers crossing cultural lines to create unique and successful works of literature for readers across the world.…

Cultural Spotlight – What do babies know about numbers?

The UBC Early Development Research Group (EDRG) will host their latest Wonder Kids talk with associate professor and developmental psychologist Darko Odic (PhD) on May 29. The webinar will explore the fascinating world of numbers and math concepts that infants can understand. Odic has always been passionate in revealing through research the way that infants…

Cultural Spotlight – Building fish traps, building community

Brazilian mathematics educator Marcelo C. Borba once compared the visualization of ethnomathematics to a forest ‘in which each tree would be considered as a different expression of ethnomathematics, socio-culturally produced.’ “The definition of ethnomathematics that I prefer was stated by Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, another Brazilian mathematics educator and historian of mathematics,” says Veselin Jungic, teaching professor…

Working towards a violence-free society

There is no vaccine for domestic violence. But that has not deterred Balbir Gurm from working to prevent relationship violence. “It’s not a shadow pandemic, it was a pandemic before COVID came around, says Gurm. Look at the definitions of pandemic and we’ve been in a pandemic of domestic violence for some time now.” She…

Cultural Spotlight – An Indigenous healing connection to the land

Suicide among Canada’s Indigenous people is disproportionally higher than in the non-Indigenous population according to a survey done by Statistics Canada (2011–2016). Less well known are the traditional means that Indigenous communities can draw upon to combat that tragedy. Alanaise Onischin Goodwill, PhD, spent two years studying the intergenerational effects of suicide and how the…

Cultural Spotlight: Ethós Lab, a model for building inclusive futures

“Young people are communicating more as avatars than as real people, so we need to understand what that actually means,” says Anthonia Ogundele, the founder of Ethós Lab, an afterschool program for young people aged 13–18, centred around science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and creative entrepreneurship. Ogundele used her experience and skills as a…

Lessons in making chai, finding balance

An enthusiast of the ancient Indian practice of Ayurveda, Muneera Wallace has found a way to spread her knowledge to as many people out West as she can. On March 4, she will be offering an online workshop on making authentic Indian chai. The workshop will also include discussions about chai’s history and the medicinal…

Cultural Spotlight – Families prepare for Lunar New Year celebrations

Although widely used throughout the world, the Gregorian calendar is not the only one around and not the only one with New Year’s celebrations in January. The Lunisolar calendar, which tracks both solar years and lunar months, is responsible for the festivities falling on different days each year. In China, the largest country celebrating the…

Cultural Spotlight: Ubuntu philosophy: reciprocity and community

UBCO graduates and co-founders of the African Ubuntu Association Okanagan, Trophy Ewila and Lady Dia present I Am Because You Are vs. I Am Because You’re Not as part of the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office’s Through The Lens workshop series. The workshop and presentation will be held online Feb. 10, 2021 and centers around…

Cultural Spotlight – Of broken friendships and reunions

Theatre and film often depict how losing or drifting apart from a loved one or can affect someone. The new play Before They Cut Down Our Tree by Jenna Masuhara tells the story of two former friends who grew up before the rise of social media. Meeting again in 2018, find themselves forced to deal…