SFU students counter extremism through competition

SFU professor Richard Frank decided to run his fourth year Advanced Issues in Cybercrime class a little differently last semester. Instead of the usual lectures, presentations and papers, the class was structured around participating in a counter-extremism competition hosted by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Frank completed a PhD in Computing…

Global citizenship engages us all. | Photo by the city of Surry

Global citizenship: something to talk about

Global citizens, according to the NGO Global Citizens Initiative, are those who identify beyond their own country’s physical and cultural borders with a more international community. Are we all global citizens? Should we be? The tough questions of how humanity should feel about itself at home and on an international scale will be tackled in…

Speaking up to remove the stigma behind autism

The ANCA World Autism Festival showcases the hidden talents of people who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This year’s festival begins Sept. 30 with over 100 international delegates, cultural organizations and world ambassadors.  Autism Naturally Consulting is one of many organizations that provides resources and supportfor people diagnosed with autism. Leonora Gregory-Collura and her…

Retracing the Cuban-Chinese connection

Earlier this month, Kin-sheun Louie from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and co-author of Transmitting Chinese Medicine to Cuba: A Byproduct of the 19th Century Coolie Tradetalked about the Chinese-Cuban connection and the impact of migrant workers from China to Cuba. Louie participated in a community dialogue as guest of the Pacific Canada Heritage…

A call to abolish slavery and human trafficking

“There are more slaves today than in any time in human history,” says Matt Friedman, current CEO for the Mekong Club, one of the first not-for-profit organizations of its kind in Asia to use a ‘business-to-business’ approach to fight slavery.  Forced labour and forced prostitution is growing at an unprecedented rate while there is relatively…

Saving ocean treasures from plastic pollution

David Pennington will hit the road from the Mexican border for the Ocean Rescue Run on April 18. The Canadian will run over 2,700 kilometres, reaching Vancouver in about 44 days. This journey begins with a life shift that not only includes Pennington but also Indonesia and its ecological struggles. Born in Prince George, Pennington…

Who’s picking your food?

Pablo Godoy is the national representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, Canada (UFCW Canada) and founder of Students Against Migrant Exploitation, or S.A.M.E. On Feb. 20, Godoy was the keynote speaker for the documentary Food Chain$, which showcased in Vancouver at KDocs, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s own documentary festival. The documentary Food…

Making sense of migration’s forces

The mass migration of Syrians fleeing their war-torn country has forced the international community to act urgently in response to the crisis. A panel of five Vancouver scholars and writers will contribute their perspectives and research on the issue in the discussion Migration or Escape: Journeys to Sanctuary on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at…

Exploration program to launch Indian start-up

Lightmetrics, an Indian-based tech start-up that invented an app capable of giving a 360-degree view of driving behaviour, came to visit Vancouver’s new Simon Fraser VentureLabs in early December 2015. Now Lightmetrics is ready to target the Canadian market. Lighmetric is one of the five winners of the Next Big Idea contest held by Zone…

A Delhi state of mind

Beneath the surface of New Delhi traffic lies acceptance. One might easily miss it amid the cacophonous honks, the strain of overworked engines and the veil of smog, but it is persistent. You find it on the face of every driver who is cut off (and honks) or crosses on red (while honking) or slices…

Helping Bolivians, helping ourselves

While growing up in Saskatchewan, Gretchen Ferguson was struck by the status of the First Nations around her. “I wondered why people thought it was OK to have racist attitudes. I saw how they struggled in school and with the system. I saw injustice,” says Ferguson. Her passion for social and economic justice grew from…

PhD student builds school and offers hope for a future

Joash Gambarage, a Tanzanian PhD candidate specializing in African linguistics at UBC, is the only one in a community of approximately 20,000 people to pursue higher studies outside of the small town of Mugeta in rural Tanzania. “There were very few families that were well-off [in Mugeta],” says Gambarage, who attributes his success to his…

Dreams, resilience, support: a mix for success

For refugees dealing with a new land and memories of past ordeals, learning English is notoriously difficult. Thankfully, there are those who want to help and none are more strong willed than the English teachers who help refugees communicate the past and discover their future. Kue Bway was born in a UN-run refugee camp on…