[van-announce] Seeking Justice: Human Rights in our Communities Symposium

[announcements at resist.ca]

Seeking Justice: Human Rights in our Communities Symposium

Where:
Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue 580 West Hastings St. Vancouver

When:
Friday, 7th of November 2003 from 7:00 PM until approximately 9:30 PM

Cost: pay what you can; suggested donation $50

October 24, 2003

Simon Fraser University
Media & Public Relations
604-291-3210

Contact:	Debbie Bell, 604-291-5145, debbie_bell at sfu.ca
		Shanthi Besso, 604-291-5201, sbesso at sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, 604-291-3035, cthorbes at sfu.ca


Seeking grassroots input on justice

Organizers of a symposium at Simon Fraser University hope that efforts to reach beyond 
the academic setting will encourage typically excluded groups of people to 
participate in the series. SFU’s community outreach program in continuing 
studies launched the Social Justice series last January. It built lectures 
and follow-up discussions around the topic of poverty. 

This second installment, Seeking Justice: Human rights in our communities, 
will use the same vehicles to examine another piece of the social justice 
pie. But, rather than using high profile academics, professionals and 
advocates to lead grassroots discussions after the lectures, this series 
will train 15 to 20 community leaders to generate discussion. “We didn’t 
have as many traditionally-hard-to-reach members of the community taking 
part in the follow up discussions as we would have liked,” says Debbie Bell. 
She is the director of SFU’s community education programs.

Bell and her program assistant David Kolber hope that a leadership training 
session for community leaders, who deal daily with disadvantaged groups, 
will broaden their participation. “Trained community leaders can choose 
settings and use language that encourage people to participate in the 
discussions. The setting could be a women’s shelter, a half way house, a 
church,” says Bell. 

Community or circle leaders interested in leading discussions based on the upcoming 
symposium will attend an orientation session on Saturday, November 15. The 
symposium, featuring lectures on five topics linked to human rights, takes 
place Friday, November 7, 7:00-9:30 p.m and Saturday, November 8, 9:00 
a.m.-5:30 p.m. at SFU’s Morris J. Wosk centre for Dialogue.

Gwen Brodsky, a research associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy 
Alternatives, is among the many speakers on human rights topics. She will 
talk about a growing concern that Canada’s social net is being shredded, and 
that its dissolution is a violation of basic human rights. 
—30—
websites: 
http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/community/ for more information about the symposium.


For more information:
Shanthi Besso
commed at sfu.ca
604.291.5201
www.sfu.ca/cstudies/community

This event is being organised by Community Education Programs, SFU
  



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