Day 1 – January 25, 2023
Morning | 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. From Faraway Lands
9:30 a.m.
Opening Messages and Greetings
9:45 a.m.
DIVERSITY ON SCREEN: EVOLUTION IN CANADIAN CONTENT
Zaib Shaikh and Sameen Durr-e
Learning outcome: Sometimes the media can shape positive race relations, as was the case with the TV comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie. How was this cultural product not just a Muslim comedy but rather about everyday people, living everyday lives, on the everyday Prairies, without the everyday silos?
10:15 a.m.
WHY PERCEIVING?
Anita Ogurlu
Learning outcome: Do we all have multiple identities and backstories that are unseen and unheard? Discover how we perceive one another and how keeping an open heart and mind might help us see that the “unfamiliar” may be more “familiar” than we think.
10:25 a.m.
“THEY ARE JUST LIKE US”: AN INDIAN WOMAN’S JOURNEY TO CHINA
Adrija Jana
Learning outcome: Realize that the people of India and China have much in common, and newscasts and cultural biases can lead to misperceptions. How can sharing lived experiences lead to diplomacy, peace and maintaining good relations?
10:30 a.m.
KATHAK & JINGLE: A SENSE OF SOUND
Kashmira Khadilkar and Kimowan Ahenakew
Learning outcome: Whether dance is for healing or the embodiment of what it means to be humble, witness how dance and authentic curiosity about one another’s cultural traditions connect two cultures across time and space through a shared experience.
10:55 a.m.
JOURNEYS FROM SOMALIA: PUTTING DOWN ROOTS IN COMMUNITIES
Ahmed Hussen and Ali Abukar
Learning outcome: Listen to two men’s journeys from Somalia to Canada and how their stories intersect. Learn what impact Canada has had on them and, particularly, on their aims to bring justice to communities across the nation.
11:20 a.m.
WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, GRASS SUFFERS
Farkhonda Tahery and Anastasiia Misan
Learning outcome: When elephants move, the grass gets trampled underfoot. How do the unfortunate circumstances of these two newcomers change their perceptions? Understand their challenges in starting from scratch in a new homeland and their desires to create a new reality!
11:40 a.m.
MY UKRAINIAN ROOTS
Dalia Gesser
Learning outcome: How do present-day conflicts, like the one in Ukraine, alter a sense of cultural identity with a history of family migration ? What cultural practices restore a sense of self and identity?
11:45 a.m.
CIVILIZED LIKE US? MEDIA COVERAGE OF CONFLICT
Anita Ogurlu and Steve Chao
Learning outcome: How do the mainstream media, and particularly newscasts from conflict zones, shape our understanding of other cultures? Who is deemed “civilized” or “uncivilized” by the media? Does Canada’s location on the globe limit our understanding of other cultures in conflict zones?
12:15 p.m.
SANG MAGHROR (PROUD STONE)
Maryam Masoomi
Learning outcome: Feel how music touches the heart and soul, even if the lyrics are not familiar to us. Acknowledge the importance of self-expression found through music, especially when it is taken away needlessly, in another time and place.
Afternoon | 1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Coming Together
1:30 p.m.
PRESERVING STORIES, CULTURE AND LANGUAGE THROUGH MUSIC
Christopher Tin and Kathleen Solose
Learning outcome: The curiosity to learn, share and acknowledge another culture’s music traditions proves that by breaking out of the accustomed educational forms of music, we not only expand our horizons, but also acquire new learning and music that benefit everyone.
1:50 p.m.
INTERWEAVING
Xiangmei Su
Learning outcome: Explore globalization and how it influences cultures around the world, specifically China. How have old forms of production been replaced with new ones, and how do older production methods remain in the body and soul of culture, as forms of self-expression across time and space?
2:00 p.m.
WEAVING COMMUNITY, ONE THREAD AT A TIME
Janell Rempell and Anita Ogurlu
Learning outcome: Explore Threads’ interdisciplinary method that weaves together intellectual, artistic and emotional learning. Discover that learning is not about acquiring bits of information but rather transforming our thoughts, actions and practices in every new encounter with one another.
2:20 p.m.
FROM COLLECTIVISM TO INDIVIDUALISM: IS THE WEST WEIRD?
Joe Henrich and Anita Ogurlu
Learning outcome: The West has some of the “WEIRDest” people in the world. Learn about the cultural adaptation process and how the breakdown of European kinship-based relations and the emergence of the small nuclear family shapes Canadian culture.
2:45 p.m.
UTILITY POLE
Fiona Tinwei Lam
Learning outcome: Weaving an ecological dimension into Threads, not only is Utility Pole highly aesthetic, but it also represents how the natural and organic networks of nature are destroyed by being replaced with technological networks that drastically alter and shape nature’s and thus humans’ communication.
2:55 p.m.
LEADING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VOLUNTEERING
Ali Abukar and Brendan King
Learning outcome: Discover the magic of a business that’s truly dedicated to creating a welcoming environment, through paid volunteerism for employees. Understand how volunteering and shared experiences can change someone’s life and create a community where people want to settle and live!
3:10 p.m.
THE CANADIAN WORKPLACE THROUGH THE EYES OF TWO NEWCOMERS
Fred Eteng and Marina Iyeme-Eteng
Learning outcome: Understand the challenges Newcomers face in a Canadian workplace through the eyes of seasoned Nigerian professionals. What can we learn and build on from our employers and our work cultures, such that we may integrate into our workplaces better?
3:25 p.m.
LEAVING YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Boris Tsimerinov
Learning outcome: Get advice on meeting new cultures and expanding networks beyond our comfort zones from a recipient of the 2021 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. Learn how business and social systems mix and work in Canada.
3:30 p.m.
CAN’T SEE… CAN’T DO: BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATING IN STEM
Naheda Sahtout
Learning outcome: Question perceptions about disability through the eyes of a Palestinian scientist, whose ability to overcome barriers drives her advocacy not only to have more women engaging in STEM but also for the inclusion and encouragement of Indigenous students in these fields.
3:45 p.m.
ARRIVAL
Titilope Sonuga
Learning outcome: Explore the ebb and flow of migration across time and space. Through poignant spoken word, appreciate the journey of African women and their families newly arrived in Canada who simply ask: “Where may I flourish?”
Day 2 – January 26, 2023
Morning | 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Expanding Our Experiences
10:00 a.m.
ATAMSKOW – ENRICHMENT
Willie Ermine and Michael Afenfia
Learning outcome: Join a philosophical talk about the fundamental connections of our shared existence… human, ecological, and spiritual. Acknowledge the place of Indigenous languages and how Cree words like Atamskow hold much meaning of enrichment and knowing one another in the world.
10:30 a.m.
A STOP AT THE UKRAINIAN MUSUEM OF CANADA (SASKATOON)
Jen Budney
Learning outcome: Ukrainians are on their fifth wave of immigration to Canada. What was migration like then and what is it like now? Explore the heritage of Ukrainian Canadians and why their cultural practices help them build a sense of belonging in a new land.
10:45 a.m.
TWO SPIRIT (SAKIHITOWIN MINA WAHKOTOWIN: LOVE AND KINSHIP) CHALLENGING PERCEPTIONS FROM A GOOD PLACE
Warren Isbister-Bear and Osemis Isbister-Bear
Learning outcome: Discover what a safe space means for a two-spirit Indigenous couple and what it means to expand our circles. How might the Cree word for love and acceptance, sakihitowin, cultivate new ways of perceiving one another, through small acts of kindness.
11:10 a.m.
PERCEPTIONS ON RUSSIANS
Verushka Samarkina
Learning outcome: What are some of the stigmas that cultures face? Explore how a Russian-Canadian woman blends the best of both her cultures in a new geography to recreate her identity, especially through the realization that we are all mortal beings.
11:20 a.m.
BRIDGING THE GAPS: A UKRAINIAN-CANADIAN WRITER AS SETTLER
Myrna Kostash
Learning outcome: Discover the well-seasoned Canadian-Ukrainian author who captured generations of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. In her latest work, Myrna takes a fresh look at the mythologies of the land and weaves new connections between the Indigenous and Ukrainians at the turn of the 20th century.
11:35 a.m.
A FOOT IN TWO WORLDS
Christine Bennett
Learning outcome: Consider how some cultures are more recognizable to us than others, simply by the familiarity they have for Canadians. But have some cultures come to be marketed and consumed? Isn’t there much more to culture than just the packaging?
11:40 a.m.
WHO IS A REFUGEE?
Christopher Veeman and Sultan Ali Sadat
Learning outcome: Challenge your perceptions about refugees and migration with a person who was once a refugee himself. Being a refugee in today’s world of unfolding wars leaves millions of lives in shambles — a constant Snake-and-Ladder game of attempts to flee, against forced returns.
12:00 p.m.
MAN AATASHAM (I’M FIRE)
Sound of Afghanistan
Learning outcome: Appreciate the melodies from the Sound of Afghanistan, a group of young women refugees who desire nothing more than to continue singing, when they couldn’t sing in their native Afghanistan. They’ll perform “Man Aatasham” which in Dari means “I’m Fire.”
12:05 p.m.
LIBRARY UNDER THE TREE
Anita Ogurlu, Sourian Daneshmanesh, and Abdulghader Balouch
Learning outcome: Discover the tenacity and determination of an Iranian school teacher to give young children access to reading books. See how the youth and the community change their perceptions of themselves, just as we might change our perceptions of an underprivileged but resilient people.
Afternoon | 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm Engaging in Diversity
1:30 p.m.
FROM WHITNEY PIER TO FREEING VIOLA DESMOND AND BEYOND
Mayann Francis
Learning outcome: Discover how Viola Desmond’s face came to be the one on the Canadian ten-dollar bill thanks to the efforts of Dr. Mayann Francis. As the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, what experiences did she have in the close-knit community of Whitney Pier that shaped her worldview?
2:05 p.m.
THIS COULD HAPPEN TO ME
Shelley Rottenberg
Learning outcome: When does an identity, name or appearance become a cause for concern, even fear, if one’s culture becomes a target of discrimination and hate? How does this alter perceptions about the self, and might knowledge become a form of power to overcome fear?
2:10 p.m.
A STORY OF FEAR
David Lane and Elly Cockcroft
Learning outcome: Deconstruct the concept of fear. Might some people act hostile because they fear their own death and find safety when they gravitate to their own cultural ingroup? Learn how media fuels our own fears and how media might be used to build empathy to counter the “us versus them” frame.
2:25 p.m.
YOU CAN’T TAKE THE SOUTH OUT OF THE GIRL
Lisa Abbott Moore
Learning outcome: Discover the intersection of beauty and ugliness in the deep south of Mississippi. Expand your perceptions as you listen to the joys and sorrows and how they are woven into art, music and everyday life.
2:30 p.m.
DISMANTLING BIASES AND HOW TO MAKE A MARK
Humphrey Fonge, Obii Udemgba, and Ela Udemgba
Learning outcome: Young, inquisitive students pose questions to Dr. Fonge about the challenges of being Black in the fields of STEM. What words of encouragement can Dr. Fonge give these students and what strategies might they use to ensure their success in STEM fields in the future?
2:45 p.m.
NEWCOMERS AND THE CANADIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM
Justice Avvy Go and Anita Ogurlu
Learning outcome: Learn from Canada’s first Chinese-Canadian Federal Court Justice how the language barrier is one of the main reasons why immigrants lose access to legal services, including challenges with employers and landlords. How does Judge Go confront racism in the legal system?
3:05 p.m.
CHANGING PERCEPTIONS THROUGH POETRY AND SPOKEN WORD
Khodi Dill
Learning outcome: Explore perceptions of the diverse and meaningful ways we speak. How does African-American vernacular span space and time to West-African language groups? Khodi asks, how might we write a love letter to different accents?
3:20 p.m.
EMPOWERING INDIGENOUS YOUTH THROUGH SPORTS AND FITNESS
Joel Pedersen
Learning outcome: Reclaiming the health of Indigenous youth, and whoever wants to join, is the beginning of a wellness journey. Often, humans tend to focus on either the mind or the body, but what happens when we focus on both?
3:30 p.m.
PEDAGOGY AS EMANCIPATION
Heesoon Bai and Anita Ogurlu
Learning outcome: Explore how Eastern and Western philosophies can be blended to heal and restore the emotional well-being of students. Dr. Bai, a professor in the Philosophy of Education at Simon Fraser University, explores whether the current education system might harm rather than help students.
3:45 p.m.
SCHOOLS AROUND THE WORLD
Shauna Tilbury and Sultan Ali Sadat
Learning outcome: Listen to how education is perceived around the world. How do people learn differently? How might taking a practical, hands-on approach, especially through apprenticeships at a very young age, advance people’s skills through “learning by doing”?
4:00 p.m.
BUCKET LIST
Michael Afenfia
Learning outcome: What do we prioritize to add to our Bucket List? Might far-flung extreme fantasies be replaced with getting to know and talk to real people in real situations? Does having people behind us, beside us and with us cultivate hope?