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• Fall 2019 Speaker Series - Purchase series starting Aug. 5, 2019

  • Start
    August 05, 2019
  •  
    9:00 AM
  • End
    September 02, 2019
  •  
    12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre
  • Spaces left
    129

  Registration is closed

  

  
  

  Fall 2019 Speaker Event Series 
  
  

  All speaker events will be held at the Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  Sept 9	Dr. Philippe Teillet On the Disruptive Technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Virtual Reality
  Sept 16	Max Eisen True story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz
  Sept 23	Sadiya Ansari Does Canada really have an immigration problem?
  Oct 7	George Hewson The Fall of  the Roman Empire and Why it Matters Today
  Oct 21	Rick Phillips The Symphonies by Beethoven – the Universe in Music
  Oct 28	James Thompson A Tale of Two Museums: Louvre of Paris, Victoria & Albert of London
  Nov 4	Ted Barris Rush to Danger - Medics in the Line of Fire

            

               

  
  

  
   
  

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• On the Disruptive Technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Virtual Reality

  • When
    September 09, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  
  

      
  

  Professor Dr. Philippe Martin Teillet 

  Prof. Dr. Philippe Martin Teillet is from St. Boniface, Manitoba, and Métis. Phil obtained a B.Sc. degree in physics from the University of Ottawa, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in astrophysics from the University of Toronto.

  He worked as a federal government research scientist at Natural Resources Canada for 29 years. After that, he was a university professor for 5 years at the University of Lethbridge, focusing on the physics of satellite imaging of the Earth from space. Phil also worked for a year as a Visiting Scientist at the University of Arizona’s Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, Arizona, and for a year as a Visiting Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

  His research bibliography includes authorship or co-authorship of over 400 research publications. He is now busily retired and living in Ballantrae.

  On the Disruptive Technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Virtual Reality
  

  Overviews of artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality are provided from the layperson's perspective, including thoughts on the impacts of these disruptive technologies on our lives.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• True story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz

  • When
    September 16, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  
  

      Max Eisen

  Max Eisen is a Hungarian Jew who was deported to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944 at the age of 15. As an author, public speaker and Holocaust educator, Eisen travels throughout Canada giving talks, particularly to students, about his experiences as a concentration camp survivor.  He volunteers at the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre, and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center in Toronto. 

  Max’s memoir By Chance Alone was a finalist for the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize and for the 2017 Non-Fiction Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature.

  In 2019, By Chance Alone was one of the five books selected for CBC’s annual Canada Reads competition.  Max's book went on to win the 2019 Canada Reads competition! 

  
  

  True story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz

  Some of what we will learn from Max Eisen:

  I was in Auschwitz with my father and uncle. There was a selection process in the middle of the night. It was July 9, 1944 and my father and uncle were selected out. I only had a short time to say goodbye to them. Through the wire — they were in a quarantine area — my father gave me his blessing. He told me that if I managed to survive, I'd have to tell the world what happened there.
  

  I lived through a traumatic and cruel period of history. There are important lessons to be learned and personal accounts to be recorded. I am inspired by the need to tell my story so others may learn from the past. On a personal level, I have a highly developed sense of observation of the world around me, which constantly inspires and motivates me to take action. I hope that a new generation who hears my story will combat racism and bigotry wherever they see it, and that they will speak out and make a positive difference in Canadian society.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• Does Canada really have an immigration problem? Here are the facts

  • When
    September 23, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  
  

      
  

  Sadiya Ansari 

  Sadiya Ansari is a Toronto-based based journalist, focusing on issues around race, immigration and multiculturalism. Her work — including essays, features, Q&As and books reviews — has appeared in the Guardian, Chatelaine, Toronto Star, Maclean’s, VICE, HuffPost Canada, Globe and Mail, Flare, Reader’s Digest and more.

  She holds a Masters of Public Administration from Queen’s University and a Masters of Journalism from the University of British Columbia.

  
  

  Does Canada really have an immigration problem? Here are the facts

  The system that admits newcomers to Canada is complex — and often the subject of misconceptions. This lecture will unpack Canada's immigration system ahead of the election, where immigration will no doubt be high on the political agenda.

  There will be an overview of the current system, including historical context of immigration to Canada, what our current immigration levels are, and how they break down into categories (economic, family, refugee, etc.). The lecture will also take some time to break down the major party platforms on immigration, and how they compare to the existing system. 

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• The Fall of the Roman Empire and Why it Matters Today

  • When
    October 07, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  
  

      
  

  George Hewson

  George Hewson, has a B.A., M.A. in History from York University and a B. Ed. in History and French from University of Toronto.  He is a museum instructor and has taught courses for the George Brown Seniors on a number of subjects such as Japanese Culture and World History Survey.

  A generalist with a  multiplicity of interests, George has lectured across Canada on East Asian history and philosophy. Not content to focus solely on one area of the world he has also acted as a guide and museum enrichment consultant in Rome and Pompeii.

  The Fall of the Roman Empire and Why it Matters Today

  After briefly tracing how Rome was able to build one of the greatest empires in human history, there will be an analysis of the various factors that led to its demise after centuries of success.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• The Symphonies by Beethoven – the Universe in Music

  • When
    October 21, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  
  

      
  

  Rick Phillips

  Rick Phillips is a busy broadcaster, podcaster, freelance writer and reviewer, panel moderator, lecturer, consultant, concert host and music tour guide. He presents a variety of Music History & Appreciation courses at such venues as the University of Toronto, York University, the Royal Conservatory of Music and George Brown College. Often a juror in the classical music categories for the Juno Awards, he is the author of “The Essential Classical Recordings – 101 CDs,” published by McClelland & Stewart.

  From 1994 to 2008, Rick was the Host and Producer of SOUND ADVICE, the weekly guide to classical music and recordings, heard across Canada on both CBC Radio One and Radio Two every weekend. Affiliated with the CBC for 30 years, working in Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto, his career spanned production to management to on-air. He holds a B. Mus. from McGill University and a M. Mus. from the University of Toronto.

  The Symphonies by Beethoven – the Universe in Music

  Beethoven (1770-1827) once said, “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.” That belief is perhaps no better illustrated than in his nine symphonies. They are the most famous and frequently-performed symphonies ever composed - often likened to other great masterpieces of art, such as the plays of Shakespeare or the sculpture of Michelangelo. But what makes them so legendary, and what can they express and communicate to us today, in our busy, hectic lives, two hundred years later?

  In this lecture/demonstration, we’ll look into Beethoven’s life and times, their impact on him and his art, and his powerful skills and methods of musical communication and expression through his wonderful world of the symphony.

   

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• A Tale of Two Museums: Louvre of Paris, Victoria & Albert of London

  • When
    October 28, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

  

     
  

  James A.S. Thompson

  James A.S. Thompson is a continuing studies instructor at several later learning associations in the GTA. He was educated in the museum field, at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and later received his M.A. in Museums Studies from Manchester University, UK.  

  As James is passionate about continuing studies, he also continues to promote museums. James is a committee member at the Royal Ontario Museum, and also served two terms on the Spadina Museum/Colborne Lodge/Mackenzie House advisory board appointed by the City of Toronto.

   

  A Tale of Two Museums: Louvre of Paris, Victoria & Albert of London
  

  Join James A.S. Thompson for a look at the origins and histories of two of the great museums of the world - The V & A  in London and the Louvre in Paris.  In addition to discovering some of the world renowned artifacts in each museum, James will address how the V & A and the Louvre define English and French culture and history. 

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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• Rush to Danger - Medics in the Line of Fire

  • When
    November 04, 2019
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cultural Centre

  
  

      
  

  Ted Barris

  Ted Barris is an award-winning journalist, author, and broadcaster. For more than 40 years, his writing has regularly appeared in the national press – Globe and Mail, National Post, as well as magazines as diverse as Legion, Air Force, esprit de corps, Quill and Quire, and Zoomer. He has also worked as a host/contributor for most CBC Radio network programs and on TV Ontario. He is a full-time professor of journalism and broadcasting at Toronto’s Centennial College.

  Barris is the author of 18 bestselling non-fiction books, including a series on wartime Canada.  Just a few of these are: Juno: Canadians at D-Day, June 6, 1944 … Deadlock in Korea: Canadians at War, 1950-1953 … Victory at Vimy: Canada Comes of Age, April 9-12, 1917. In June 2014, The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award (shared with astronaut Chris Hadfield).  His latest book to be released in August 2019 is Rush to Danger - Medics in the Line of Fire.

  In 2011, he was one of 19 civilians presented with the Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Commendation. The citation reads: “Ted Barris has made such exemplary contributions by generously giving of himself, and so both benefiting veterans and making manifest the principle that Canada’s obligation to all who have served in the cause of Peace and Freedom, must not be forgotten.”

  Rush to Danger - Medics in the Line of Fire

  Ted Barris explores his father’s wartime experiences as a medic leading up to the Battle of the Bulge in 1944–45, along with stories of other medics in combat throughout history.   

  Barris’s research reveals that this bloodiest of WWII battles was shouldered largely by military medics. Like his father, Alex, medics in combat evacuated the wounded on foot, scrounged medical supplies where there were seemed to be none, and dodged snipers and booby traps on the most frigid and desolate battlefields of Europe. While retracing his father’s wartime experience, Ted will also provide stories about the life-and-death struggles of military medical personnel during a century of service.

  In this unique front-line recounting of the experiences of stretcher bearers, medical corpsmen, nurses, surgeons, orderlies, dentists and ambulance drivers, Barris explores the evolution of battlefield medicine at such historic engagements as Fredericksburg, Batoche, the Somme, Vimy, Singapore, Normandy, Falaise, Bastogne, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Fall  2019 Speaker series. Register for the Fall 2019 Event Series.

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