Submitted by Hazel Smith
Early registration for the 2020 Sources of Knowledge Forum has been brisk. The Forum program committee says it is the strongest advance registration in several years. Early bird registration at $80 is open until April 1st. Registration at $90 is available after April 1st while seats remain. The ‘hot’ topic of climate will be explored through multiple media including films, poetry, presentations, surveys, and polling.
The April 24th to 26th forum includes a Friday evening wine and cheese, a film screening and a reading by one of Canada’s foremost poets, then on Saturday a series of presentations from diverse perspectives followed by a dinner and keynote address. Sunday morning will feature a discussion panel on activism and change, which will open with global data shared by international pollster Doug Miller.
A key focus of all presenters is change. How and when change happens, what a changed carbon neutral world might look like, and the implications of the present activism in Canada and around the world. A number of the presenters, such as Frazer Thomson of Ecojustice, will look at how existing institutions, in this case our legal system, can be an agent for change. He will discuss the legal challenge being mounted in Ontario by youth seeking to protect their environmental future. Similarly, Kristen Hargis, PhD candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, will look at the education system.
Dr Peter Victor, Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar at York University, is an expert on ecological macroeconomics. He is the author of Managing without Growth. Slower by Design, not Disaster, released in its second edition in 2019. He will help attendees consider the concept of a healthy economy that is based on zero growth.
Also presenting from an economic perspective is Andrea Curley from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. In her role at Intact, Andrea oversees research on best practices to address extreme heat in urban communities across Canada. The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation is an applied research centre with a national focus located within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Its mandate is to help homeowners, communities, governments and businesses to identify, and reduce, risks associated with climate change and extreme weather events.
Other presenters include climate activist Steve Lee, Darlene Upton with a Parks Canada perspective, and local, long-time citizen-scientist in the field of climate change, Bill Caulfeild-Browne.
The Sources of Knowledge Forum is partly funded by Parks Canada and by generous donations from local businesses and individuals. As Sources of Knowledge strives to keep registration costs low, donations both modest and magnificent are most welcome. Anyone interested in making a donation is invited to contact Linda Bain, Sources of Knowledge Administrator, at info@sourcesofknowledge.ca
The 2020 Sources of Knowledge Forum will take place at the Parks Canada Visitor Centre. The Saturday night dinner and keynote address by Arctic Captain and Ice Pilot, Mark Taylor, will take place at the Tobermory Community Centre. Stand alone tickets for the dinner and keynote are available at $35. To register for the full weekend or keynote event only visit: https://www.sourcesofknowledge.ca Early registration is advised as all seats are expected to sell out.
