UNews - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

Canadian, Mexican universities converge for Aboriginal round table

trevor.kenney — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:18:40 +0000

Nine Canadian universities and eight indigenous universities in Mexico will together focus on improving Aboriginal educational experiences and research collaborations during a one-day round table meeting at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge on June 22, 2013.

Building on the momentum of a similar meeting held in Mexico City in March 2012, university presidents, Aboriginal advisors and elders will move forward initiatives pertaining to student mobility, research collaboration and community engagement as it relates to Aboriginal higher education.

"Continued dialogue between Canadian and Mexican universities about best practices and increased collaboration will serve the needs of students in both of our countries," says Dr. Brian Stevenson, president of Lakehead ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. "Removing barriers for Aboriginal students is a shared goal of all participants and this round table will help institutions in both countries make important progress in this critical area."

For the past 10 years, the federal and state governments in Mexico have partnered to create a number of regional universities, called Intercultural Universities, to improve post-secondary access to indigenous peoples. For decades now Canadian universities have also worked to increase access for Aboriginal students and to improve outreach to Aboriginal communities.

At the conclusion of the inaugural meeting between the Intercultural Universities and 10 Canadian Institutions in Mexico last year, Canadian and Mexican university presidents committed to both bilateral and consortium level partnerships to promote student and faculty mobility, joint research initiatives and cultural exchanges. Agreement was reached at that time to host a second meeting in Canada.

"The U of L is excited to host and participate in this important meeting," says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Mike Mahon. "The U of L has long recognized the important role it must play in creating access for Aboriginal post-secondary students and this round table will certainly help us shape future directions and initiatives."

Federal, provincial, municipal and Aboriginal representatives have been invited to participate in some of the sessions.

In addition to the one-day round table, and to celebrate National Aboriginal Day in Canada on June 21, participants from both countries will participate in a series of cultural activities to broaden the understanding of Alberta's Aboriginal communities. This will include visiting the Kainai and Piikani First Nations communities and Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Prague experience resonates

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:05:28 +0000

The Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts had never previously sent their technical theatre and design majors on an international travel experience. So when the department finally got that opportunity, it made it worth their students' while as they attended the largest performance design event in the world – the Prague Quadrennial (PQ).

"PQ is truly the World's Fair for the technical theatre and design profession," says Roger Schultz, the instructor who instigated and spearheaded the project. "The PQ is an international exposition that highlights and exhibits the art of theatre designers from more than 76 countries spread across five continents."

Every four years since 1967, more than 5,000 registered theatre professionals and students, along with 30,000 visitors, descend on the Czech Republic's capital city. Featuring individual country pavilions, workshops, lectures, discussions and presentations on contemporary work in all theatre design disciplines; the PQ lasts 10 activity-packed days.

Technical theatre and design majors made the most of their Prague excursion.

"Both the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and our department recognize the value of students obtaining international experiences in their field of study," says Schultz (BFA '89). "This event provided an innovative opportunity for students to witness first-hand the national trends and the work of leading theatre design practitioners from around the world."

The PQ also has a strong student component highlighted by the student pavilions, which were almost as extensive as the main exhibition, and an event called Scenofest, which involved live design/performance and student workshops.

"Our students were excited to take part in one and two-day workshops where they explored sound, light, costume and scenic design under the guidance of a renowned international theatre design artist," says Schultz. "It was also a wonderful forum for meeting and working with their peers from around the world."

The opportunity to visit Prague, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and experience its long history and rich cultural life was an added bonus. As well as being known for such cultural heroes as Mucha, Kafka and Mozart, Prague is renowned for its architecture. With roots stretching back to 900 AD, much of the architecture in this city has survived intact. Pristine examples of Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance, as well as famous examples of Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture abound.

"Add to that a culture rich in music, contemporary art museums, the fascinating residue of Communism and a real live castle (with St Vitus Cathedral as the crowning jewel) overlooking the entire city, Prague is a must see destination," enthuses Schultz.

The trip to the PQ was a significant educational opportunity for the students.

"Forums of this sort, specifically focused on their area of specialization, are rare," he says. "The students who participated returned transformed and more aware of their place and connection to a larger global community. As one student put it, "It was wonderful to see that there is so much more out there . . . more than I thought I knew, more than I could have imagined."

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Prague experience resonates

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:47:50 +0000

Technical theatre and design majors made the most of their Prague excursion.

The trip to the PQ was a significant educational opportunity for the students.

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Honorary degree recipients make contributions

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:04:55 +0000

The 2011 Honorary Degree Recipients

A distinguished group of four people make up the Spring Convocation list of Honorary Degree recipients. In each instance, it is apparent that this group gave a great deal to their vocational field but more than anything, they gave back to society.

Maude Barlow

Maude Barlow is a widely published author, leader in the International Water Justice Movement, senior advisor on water to the 63rd president of the United Nations General Assembly and the founding member and national chairperson of the Council of Canadians.

Clint Dunford

Clint Dunford is a business consultant and four-term member of the Alberta Legislature (Lethbridge West) who was instrumental in the creation and launch of Campus Alberta and WorkSafe Alberta, among other initiatives. A cancer survivor, Dunford served as the honorary chairman of the Canadian Cancer Society's Walk for Life.

Kim Phuc

Kim Phuc is a noted humanitarian and subject of the famous photograph of a young Vietnamese girl fleeing her village after a horrific napalm attack. Phuc founded the Kim Phuc Foundation and is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for a Culture of Peace.

Gordon Semenoff

A Pincher Creek-born theoretical physicist, Gordon Semenoff is a professor of physics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia. He was the 2010 Bertram Brockhouse medal winner and is a renowned expert on quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics and string theory.

2011 Honorary Degree Recipients

trevor.kenney — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:34:32 +0000

The 2011 Honorary Degree Recipients

Maude Barlow

Clint Dunford

Kim Phuc

Gordon Semenoff

Senate selects honorary degree group

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:17:51 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Senate has confirmed six deserving individuals to receive an Honorary Degree at Convocation ceremonies taking place in the spring and fall. Following are short biographical sketches of this year's honorees.

Maude Barlow
Barlow is a widely published author, leader in the International Water Justice Movement, senior advisor on water to the 63rd president of the United Nations General Assembly and the founding member and national chairperson of the Council of Canadians.

Clint Dunford
Dunford is a business consultant and four-term member of the Alberta Legislature (Lethbridge West) who was instrumental in the creation and launch of Campus Alberta and WorkSafe Alberta, among other initiatives. A cancer survivor, Dunford served as the honorary chairman of the Canadian Cancer Society's Walk for Life.

George Gemer
A well-known Lethbridge track and field and fencing coach, Gemer is also an author and survivor of Second World War prisoner of war camps who fled Hungary for Canada in 1956. Gemer has coached and officiated at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and other world-class sporting events while retaining close ties to the Hungarian community in Lethbridge and beyond.

John Kloppenborg
A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduate (1974), he is a professor and Chair at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto's Department and Centre for the Study of Religion. Kloppenborg is well-known as a researcher of the origins and sources of early Christian texts such as the Q document, a lost book of the New Testament.

Kim Phuc
Phuc is a noted humanitarian and subject of the famous photograph of a young Vietnamese girl fleeing her village after a horrific napalm attack. Phuc founded the Kim Phuc Foundation and is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for a Culture of Peace.

Gordon Semenoff
A Pincher Creek-born theoretical physicist, Semenoff is a professor of physics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia. He was the 2010 Bertram Brockhouse medal winner and is a renowned expert on quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, statistical mechanics and string theory.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Lasting Impressions

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:57:33 +0000

Academic, artist, author and world traveller, Dr. Hiroshi Shimazaki is widely known for his watercolour landscape paintings. Shimazaki's career at the U of L in management and human geography allowed him to incorporate his passion for travel and painting into his life journey.

While working on research projects around the world, he has always recorded his excursions through sketches and paintings.

Here, in his own words, he recalls a trip with ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Bill Cade and wife, Elsa. Fondly remembering that time and commissioned by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, Shimazaki painted Solid Foundations as a parting gift for the couple from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

I wanted the subject of the watercolour to be a place with which Bill and Elsa connected through their work with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, and to reflect their long-standing interest in native cultures and their personal ties. In discussion of its subject matter with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, several choices presented themselves, all familiar landscapes: the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge environs including Waterton National Park, a Kainai site or some other place. What I ultimately chose was Xochimilco (flower field place) at the outskirts of Mexico City, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Xochimilco's history is long and, of course, complex, but what speaks to me in relation to what Bill and Elsa have done for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ these past 10 years is the development of "chinampa" in this area. This agricultural practice enabled the inhabitants to utilize the shallow lake to grow crops and thereby sustain a civilization. The foundation for the crops was created by placing large reed mats on the water, covering them with a thick layer of mud taken from the lake bottom and planting fast-growing trees that put down deep roots to anchor them. Centuries later the chinampa are now solid land crisscrossed by canals like the one in the painting. Families and tourists enjoy music and food on the "trajineras," the colourful boats that ply the canals. The title of the painting, Solid Foundations, speaks not only to the Xochimilco landscape but also to the Cades' innovative, unswerving efforts to strengthen the internal and external foundations of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, with outstanding results.

Solid Foundations, Xochimilco, Mexico City. Hiroshi Shimazaki.

The original sketch of this waterscape was created in 2002, the year the Cades, Ali Dastmalchian (then-dean of the Faculty of Management) and I visited Universidad Panamericana (UP) and Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresa (IPADE) in Mexico City, and UP's Guadalajara and Aguascalientes (Universidad Bonaterra) campuses to renew the Faculty of Management's first international exchange program agreement. I have wonderful memories of that trip, especially the opportunity it presented for me to get to know both Bill and Elsa better and, of course, the incredible introduction they gave me to the world of crickets as we listened to their love songs on the Aguascalientes campus.

To view the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Inclusive education a measure of quality

trevor.kenney — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:09:35 +0000

Dr. Noella Piquette-Tomei has filled out countless report cards over her years as an educator, but it's safe to say she's never handed out grades on a worldwide scale. That's just the opportunity she and 500-plus colleagues had recently at the Return to Salamanca: Global Inclusion Conference.

Invited as one of only a handful of Canadians, Piquette-Tomei and her brethren were in Spain to review the Salamanca Accord, an understanding signed by all members of the United Nations that pledged to further inclusive education, providing all children the opportunity to learn.

"The point of this conference was to basically look at it as a report card, 15 years later, and ask where we are," Piquette-Tomei says.

The results, while encouraging at the administrative level, are less than satisfactory at ground level, where millions of children worldwide still do not have access to education, and especially those with disabilities.

"The desire, the intent to improve education for students is there, especially at the grassroots level," she says. "There just isn't the necessary financial support from governments because there are so many things that they are trying to do simultaneously."

The topic of inclusion has been at the forefront of Piquette-Tomei's teaching career virtually since day one. The Alberta native and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary graduate taught special education for 11 years in the Calgary Catholic school system. She came to the
U of L because she was so impressed with the Faculty of Education's undergraduate program and saw a niche where she could educate students on the importance of incorporating special needs students into the mainstream.

"We don't separate individuals once they are out of this artificial school environment, so why are we doing it in schools?" she asks. "Why are we not allowing students with and without various special needs to intermingle and learn from each other and about each other? For me, personally, this conference was a real motivator to continue pushing that thesis."

She admits the Salamanca experience was eye opening and while her focus here is on inclusion strategies for special needs students, the fact that basic education is unattainable in many countries is disappointing.

"We have a lot of complaints here in Canada about accountability, about funding, about support, but the humbling part really hit me when I heard teachers, administrators and community support workers from around the world talking about all the issues they face," she says.
"In this day and age when we know that education is the only way to access everything we talk about related to freedom, it's really disturbing."

It has reinvigorated her desire to continue to push Canadian educators.

"The quality of education should be measured by the quality of education that we provide for our most vulnerable populations," she says.

GET THE FACTS

• Piquette-Tomei has been at the U of L for six years and is currently on sabbatical.

• As a result of the Salamanca conference, she has been asked to contribute to a case study book that will be used across Canada by pre-service teachers and community workers for strategies when facing various disabilities.

• A total of 56 countries were represented in Salamanca with presenters from the United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, Canadian Human Rights Commissioner, The World Bank, OCED and the Minister for Education: Spain.

• A total of 77 million children worldwide are currently out of school; 25 million of them have a disability.

• More than 85 per cent of students worldwide with special needs do not have access to school, health services or even basic sanitation.

UNews - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

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