Two student initiatives will bring cultural understanding and education to Thompson Rivers University next week.
Culture Feast, to be held on the International Day for Elimination of Discrimination Tuesday, March 21, will feature speakers, entertainment and international cuisine. Student speakers will discuss their ethnic backgrounds, including Colombia, Nigeria, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, China and North American aboriginal. Ethnic dancing will precede and follow the speakers and fill the intermission.
The event, presented by the TRU Student Social Justice Committee and sponsored by TRU World, Kamloops Rotary, Grinders Coffee House, Accolades, the Smorgasbord and Bookies, will be held at 7 pm in the Panorama Room, located on the third floor of TRU’s new International Building. Admission is free, with a suggested food or $2 donation.
Asked why she took time from her busy schedule to help organize an event of this nature while other students are busy writing essays and preparing for exams, event co-coordinator Monique Smith, currently in her first year of study for a Bachelor of Arts degree, said, “I love culture, and this event is something I would like to go to.”
Smith, a dual citizen from Tacoma, Washington, will experience another culture first-hand when she takes part in a Study Abroad exchange to Spain in her third year of study.
The remainder of the week will offer three days of presentations on global issues at Evolution: Health, Community, Global Conscience, with an aim to promote understanding and compassion at both a global and local level.
The awareness-raising event, sponsored by ACE TRU, Oxfam TRU, and the TRU Arts Community, will begin at 11 am on Wednesday, March 22 with a traditional First Nations blessing and drumming on Student Street. A short reception with refreshments will follow the opening ceremony.
That evening at 7 pm at the Kamloops Centre for Water Quality, Miriam Palacios, the BC Programme Coordinator for Oxfam Canada, will deliver a free public talk on global poverty.
Later that evening, local artists and musicians will be showcased at Youtopia Jam Night, starting at 8 pm at Heroes Pub in TRU’s Campus Activity Centre. Admission is $2 or a food donation. March 23 features nine workshops led by a variety of campus and community groups from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at various campus locations, followed by a forum, “How we can build community through the arts,” beginning at 2:30 pm in Room 1611 of TRU’s Old Main building. That evening, TRU student Adam Sanders delivers a free public talk on Personal and Group Sustainability in the Environmental movement starting at 5:30 pm in Old Main 2422, followed by a free showing of the movie “Thirst” in TRU’s Alumni Theatre, sponsored by the Council of Canadians in recognition of World Water Day. The week wraps up Friday, March 24 with a BBA fundraiser for The X campus-community radio starting at noon in TRU’s Independent Centre, along with live music and a “World’s Fair” showcasing 50 community groups and organizations involved in wellness, community and global conscience from 11 am to 4 pm.
Another free movie, “Don’t Temp Me,” will be shown starting at 6 pm in TRU’s Alumni Theatre, and the event wraps up with a concert and closing ceremony from 7 pm to 12:30 am in the Independent Centre.
For more information, please contact:
Culture Feast: Monique Smith at 828-0662 or siocantleat7@hotmail.com
or Merel at 319-9506 or living_it_all_up@yahoo.ca
Evolution: For info call Tria Donaldson at 374-3234 or kamtracc@gmail.com
or Andrew McNab at 574-1896 or tru_evolution@hotmail.com
