Places to Go, People to See: UBC International Engagement & Global Influence & Interesting Vancouver

I've been dormant for a while, active on other blogs for a bit, getting some R&R with the summer and working on various projects.

International Engagement and Global Influence:
How Ambitious is the University of British Columbia?

Join President Stephen Toope as he outlines his International Engagement discussion paper.

When: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Where: Liu Institute, Multipurpose Room

The University of British Columbia is already one of Canada’s most internationally engaged universities. In the Trek 2010 Plan, UBC committed itself to further internationalization as one of five central ambitions. The university aimed to strengthen global awareness on campus, to increase international learning opportunities and to enhance its reputation internationally.

If our ambition is to position UBC as a centre of research and teaching on the major issues facing humanity in the 21st century, then we will have to more clearly define the ambition and be more organized in its pursuit. The world is struggling to address fundamental challenges including climate change, devastating infectious diseases, a skewed
distribution of economic benefits, cultural and religious conflict, and weak global governance.If UBC is to be relevant and significant as a globally influential university, we need to demonstrate that we are at the centre of dialogue and activities on the big issues that matter.

Get his paper here.

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Interesting Vancouver will take place Friday, October 23 @ the Vancouver Rowing Club. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday September 8.

Tickets are available through the end of September at the same price as 2008. We sold out last year so best manage procrastination accordingly and get tickets early. Plus we've added food to the 2009 program.

2009 Ticket details on Eventbright here.

If you or someone you know has something interesting to share, speaker nominations are open.

Visit InterestingVancouver.com for further details on what's cooking for this year.

For more information click here: Interesting Vancouver 2009

Prevention of Violence Against Women Week - April 19 - 26, 2009

Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy

In recent months Vancouver and the province of British Columbia has experienced a death by a thousand cuts as services and the network of support for women survivors of violence are being dismantled. Further the pursuit of liberation and equality for women remains elusive as systemic policies and practices are regressing while violence against women continues as an epidemic.

In unprecedented form, the feminist women's organizations in Vancouver have joined together to host an event series during Prevention of Violence Against Women Week April 19 - 26, 2009. Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, Act II Safe Choice, Women Against Violence Against Women, YWCA Munroe House and Battered Women's Support Services will host a series of ground breaking and thought provoking events which are designed to engage our communities to prevent violence, to ensure the that women's support services remain intact and to work for systemic change.

On behalf of the over 8,000 women who access Battered Women's Support Services each year I ask that you join us during this week and further assist us to get the word out, please forward this email to all your contacts. Finally we ask that you join the effort to eliminate violence against women.

If you require additional information please check out the event on Battered Women's Support Services Face book group page, see our website at www.bwss.org , email me at strategicinterventions@bwss.org or call me at 604-687-1613.

Thanks in advance and...peace,
Angela Marie MacDougall

Prevention of Violence Against Women Week Event Series

Because Women Are Fighting For Critical and Essential Feminist Services including:

Battered Women’s Support, Rape Crisis Centres and Transition Houses

All Events are Free and Open to the Public

Monday April 20, 2009. 7pm. Montmartre Café, 4362 Main St.

Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter launches
The Johns : Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It

with author Victor Malarek and UBC law professor, Janine Benedet

Tuesday April 21, 2009. 7pm. Bean Around the World, 3598 Main St.

Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, YWCA Munroe House and Act II Safe Choice host
Rewriting Our Own Futures: Words from Women of Vancouver Transition Houses
with ex-residents from transition houses and singer songwriter Kate Reid

Wednesday April 22, 2009. 7pm. Montmartre Café, 4362 Main St.

Battered Women’s Support Services and WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre host
Community Engagement in Violence Prevention. Tough Guise: Violence Media and the Crisis in Masculinity
Film/panel discussion applying a feminist analysis to involving men/boys in anti-violence work with Irene Tsepnopoulos-Elhaimer, Angela MacDougall, Hari Alluri and Curtis Clearsky and with performances by Kia Kidiri, JB The First Lady & Christie Lee

Thursday April 23, 2009. 7pm. Our Town Café, 245 East Broadway.

Vancouver Rape Relief and Womens’ Shelter and WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre host
Bad Dates, Campus Creepers and Drug Rapes
with Aboriginal Women’s Action Network, Antigone Magazine and BC Women’s Hospital Sexual Assault Centre

Friday, April 24, 2009 3 pm Location TBA

Battered Women’s Support Services host

You Can Bet Your Maple Leaf On That - Violence Against Women & 2010 Olympics

Battered Women’s Support Services announces anti-violence prevention strategy pre, during and post 2010 Olympics

Saturday April 25, 2009. 7pm. Our Town Café, 245 East Broadway.

Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter hosts
Olympics 2010: Women in Sport, women as Sport
with Exploited Voices Educating, Aboriginal Women’s Action Network and Sports Journalist, Laura Robinson

Battered Women's Support Services

BWSS on Facebook

Time to Put Our Feet to the Ground for Housing in BC

Grand March for Housing

Coordinated by Citywide Housing Coalition

Saturday, April 4th

Join communities across BC as they march to demand immediate government action to build and protect affordable rental housing, raise welfare rates and the minimum wage.

For more information contact Laura Stannard at 604-637-3317 or

Rider Cooey at 604-872-1382

or email at info@citywidehousingcoalition.ca .

To organize your own march outside of Metro Vancouver contact: CALMhousing@hotmail.com

CALM: Community Advocates for Little Mountain

Saturday, April 4^th:44 Marches and rallies scheduled so far throughout BC
See list...

2009 Metro Vancouver leaflet: for the Grand March in April

Join us at one of these starting points at noon:

- Thornton Park at Main St. Skytrain Station

- Hastings & Main

- Peace Flame Park - South end of Burrard St. bridge

Convergence & Rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery - Georgia St.

1:30pm

Will you Stand with us?

Concern about affordable housing and homelessness is strong and widespread. From Burns Lake to Princeton, from Revelstoke to Vancouver, we are a broad spectrum of religious groups, concerned citizens, advocacy groups and labour unions.

At Main & 33rd in Vancouver, we stand from 1:00 to 2:00 pm on Saturdays.
LET’S send a message to all levels of government: "We aren’t going away. We will stand until there is a comprehensive affordable housing program. We will be a force in the upcoming municipal, B.C. and federal elections."

Let’s continue to speak for:

1. a permanent, national social housing program
2. a comprehensive provincial housing program that works with municipalities and communities to build affordable housing for people at all income levels
3. public land for non-market housing – no sale of public land to private interests
4. improved access to social assistance, increased welfare rates and a higher minimum wage
5. On April 4^th, lets press MLA candidates to take a stand on affordable housing

April 4th is just five weeks before the provincial election. We want every candidate to be inundated with demands for action on affordable housing and homelessness.

Find your MLA, or the candidates running in your riding & tell them housing is one of the most pressing issues in the upcoming election.

On May 12th 2009, Vote for Social Justice in BC.

Places to Be, Things to Read, People to Meet

CCPA released Leadership for Tough Times: The Alternative Federal Budget Fiscal Stimulus Plan.

The one-year package would create 407,000 jobs, boost the economy by 3%, and help protect Canadians from the worst of a recession. Consistent with recommendations by the IMF and OECD, the Plan would inject $32.9 billion (or 2.1% of GDP) into Canada’s economy to protect Canadians who experience loss of income, as well as strengthen and build hard and soft infrastructure to address the challenges of climate change, income inequality, and aging populations.The news release for the report is pasted below. The full report is available, in English and French, on our website: www.policyalternatives.ca.
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STAND for Housing

We will be at the corner of Nanaimo and Hastings for the province wide STAND for Housing on:

Saturday, Jan 24 from 1-2

Hope you can all be there! This will be one of three stands that will lead up to the GRAND MARCH for Housing on April 4. Our hope is to build the number of people at each stand and the number of stands at monthly, province wide stands for housing. Mark these dates in your calendar:

Saturday, February 21 from 1-2

Saturday, March 21 from 1-2

Saturday, April 4 details about the GRAND MARCH will be coming out soon.

Hope to see you all on Jan. 24. Bring friends and neighbours!

Labour of Love Sock Drive

Labour of Love Sock Drive January 12^th to February 14^th, 2009. RECLAIMING OUR SPIRIT’S goal this year is to collect 3,000 new pairs of socks for our weekly homeless outreach. With our snow white winter weather lingering longer than usual it’s critical that we meet our goal!

RECLAIMING OUR SPIRIT is encouraging the business communities, faith organizations, non profits, academic schools elementary/ secondary/colleges/ universities, media-television & newspaper, and other organizations to support our sock drive by doing their own sock collection.

You could even send out a friendly challenge to others to meet or beat your donation!

WHY SOCKS?

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The Vancouver & District Labour Council Education Committee

and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives present

The Economic Crisis in BC: Developing a Progressive Alternative

Public Forum & Conference

Public Forum – Economics For Everyone

Friday, January 30, 2009
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Maritime Labour Centre

Guest Presenter – Jim Stanford, author and CAW economist
Suggested donation - $10 – no one turned away.

Conference - The Economic Crisis in BC

Saturday, January 31, 2009

9:30 am to 3:00 pm

Maritime Labour Centre

Morning Session 9:30 – 12:00
How We Got Here & Debunking False Solutions

• Jim Stanford - Opening reflections
• Marjorie Griffin Cohen – Economist and Professor in Department of Political Science and Women’s Studies Department.
• Bob Simpson – NDP MLA for Cariboo North - Opposition Critic for Forests and Range, Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services
• Jim Sinclair - President, BC Federation of Labour
• Moderator – Joey Hartman, HEU and VDLC
  

Lunch – Soup & Sandwiches

Afternoon Session 12:30 – 3:00

Alternatives for the Future

• Andrew Jackson – Canadian Labour Congress – Provincial & Federal Options
• Seth Klein – CCPA – Poverty Reduction and Green Jobs
• Adrienne Montani – First Call – Solutions for Families; Living Wage and Child Care
• Municipal Pension Plan – Putting Pensions Funds to Work for Working Folk (OR Alternatively, someone speaking to an indictment of capitalism)
• Moderator – Harjap Grewal, Council of Canadians
  

Registration - $25 with lunch (preregistration required) \ $15 without lunch – no one turned away.
Contact the VDLC to register - 604-254-0703 or office@vdlc.ca

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Offered by the Association of Women in Finance:

Women in Politics

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

5 :30 p.m. Registration and Networking

6 :00 p.m. Dinner

6 :45 p.m. Speakers

At the Sutton Place Hotel at 845 Burrard St. Vancouver

Women in Finance will host a lively and interactive panel discussion featuring Women Politicians who have enjoyed great successes at municipal, provincial and federal levels.

The panel, subject to change to due house and legislature sittings :

• MP for Vancouver East, Libby Davies ;
• MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, Jenny Kwan;
• Former MLA for Vancouver-Hastings , Joy M acPhail,
• MP for Vancouver Quadra, Joyce Murray;
• Minister of Healthy Living and Sport and MLA for Langley, the Honourable Mary Polak ; and
• Minister of State for Childcare and MLA for Richmond East, the Honourable Linda Reid.

***Note: This is a non-partisan event.***

Cost for AWF members: $55; Guests: $75

Register by calling 604-662-4401 before noon January 15th

Equal Voice - We are committed to working to increase women's representation among elected officials.
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2009 Poverty Olympics

Mark you calendar now!!! The second annual Poverty Olympics will be held on February 8 at 1 pm at the Japanese Language School, 487 Alexander St. in Vancouver.

This family-friendly event will include a Torch Parade (starts at 380 E. Hastings at 12:30--come and join!), mascots Creepy the Cockroach, Itchy the Bedbug, and Chewy the Rat, Opening and Closing Ceremonies, events like Skating around Poverty and the Housing Hurdles, and a special appearance by Mr. Con Dough. Cockroach Cake will be served.

Free. Everyone welcome. Sponsored by Raise the Rates, Carnegie Community Action Project, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, Power to Women, Streams of Justice, BC PWA, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House.

For info or to get involved call 604 729-2380 or visit www.povertyolympics.ca.

What's Old is New Again: Stories on Olympic projects, Millenium and the Players

Westcoast Indie News Stories:

Something Stinks in Vancouver: Follow the Money Trail for Olympic Venues

November 8^th 2008.

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This one goes out to Sam Sullivan and the NPA/BC Liberal bunch, only it ain't cheap.

AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

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The Plot Thickens: Vancouver City Hall prepares for Investigation Season

November 12, 2008.

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AC/DC - Back In Black

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Follow the Money Trail – Part 2: All Good Things Seem to Lead to Liberals

November 13, 2008.

Don't Miss Event: Public Forum on Homelessness

Public Forum on Homelessness - Vancouver - January 14th 2009

Co-Hosts: Libby Davies, Hon. Hedy Fry and Don Davies

Date & Time: Wednesday, January 14, 2009

From: 9:00am - 12:00pm

Location: Vancouver Japanese Language School Auditorium
487 Alexander St. Vancouver, BC

Description

This public forum will explore existing challenges and opportunities for addressing homelessness in the community, with a particular focus on federal policy and funding.

The goal of the forum is to send a strong message to the federal government to implement a national housing strategy and to step up their plan to address homelessness.

Guest speakers include:
Judy Graves, Tenant Support for the City of Vancouver
Dr. Michael Byers, UBC Department of Political Science
Jaimie McEvoy, Director, Hospitality Project
Laura Track, Lawer, Pivot Legal Society