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• The (not so ) Young Persons’ Guide to the Orchestra

  • When
    April 06, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cineplex

  
  

  
  

      
  

  Brian Carlile

  Brian Carlile, born and brought up in the UK has a broad background in the world of professional music.

  As a player in major symphony and chamber orchestras and as a session musician, conductor, contractor and organiser, his working life has taken him across continents and through society. As a music writer and arranger he has experienced the creative process from the ground up.

  As a speaker he  gets to explore and share his perspectives and insights with interested audiences.

  The (not so ) Young Persons’ Guide to the Orchestra

  What an orchestra is, is a fairly straightforward question to answer. The questions of why and how an orchestra exists require somewhat more complex consideration. The answers go to the core of human experience and underscore the very value of life itself.

  Far from being some elite-life peripheral luxury, concerted music-making matters to us all much more than we might ever imagine or realise. From a simple economic perspective, the orchestra, in its various forms, is at the heart of present-day multi-billion dollar industries.

  This talk will describe why and how this is so. It will provide a better understanding of just what an orchestra is and can be. It will also take a look at what orchestral life is all about.

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring  2020 Speaker series. Register for the Spring 2020 Event Series.

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• To See, To Be, To Do: The Landscape of the World's Religions

  • When
    April 20, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cineplex

  
  

  
  

           Brian Carwana

  Brian Carwana is the Director of the Encounter World Religions Centre, having left a business career to explore the endlessly fascinating topic of religion. Brian has a Master’s degree and is in the latter stages of acquiring his PhD from the University of Toronto.

  Brian has taught at university and brings thousands of people every year to houses of worship to encounter the people, places, practices and philosophies of the world’s religious traditions.  

  To See, To Be, To Do: The Landscape of the World's Religions

  Brian will offer a panoramic map of the religious topography and provides a framework for studying religions. Insight will be provided into the following religions: Daoism, Judaism, Christianity, Native Spirituality, Zoroastrianism,  Wicca, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Rasta, Sikhism.

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring  2020 Speaker series. Register for the Spring 2020 Event Series.
  

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• Reporting on Trump, the Fords and the Truth

  • When
    April 27, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cineplex

  
  

  
  

  Daniel Dale

  Daniel Dale is a graduate of York University’s Schulich School of Business and a native of Thornhill, Ontario.

  He was a former staff reporter for the Toronto Star. During his tenure, Daniel spent four years as the Star’s Washington bureau chief, covering U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and other stories in the United States. Before that assignment he spent four years as a Toronto city hall reporter and bureau chief, covering the administration of Mayor Rob Ford.

  Daniel is now a Washington-based journalist for CNN.

  During his career to date he has won a number of awards -  National Newspaper Award: Norman Webster Award for International Reporting (2019), National Newspaper Award: Short Feature (2011),  Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize (2011), Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize (2010)

  Reporting on Trump, the Fords and the Truth
  

  Daniel will discuss his experience reporting on some of the era's most interesting politicians: Rob Ford, Doug Ford and Donald Trump. He will also explain his unique role as a fact-checker of everything Trump says, about what he has learned about truth and lies in politics, and offer tips on how citizens can contribute to the promotion of facts.

  
  

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring  2020 Speaker series. Register for the Spring 2020 Event Series.

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• Forensics in Crime Solving

  • When
    May 04, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cineplex

  
  

      
  

  Myriam Nafte

  As a forensic anthropologist, Myriam Nafte is an active advisor and consultant for criminal casework across North America. She received a Specialized Honours BA in Medical Anthropology from York University, a BEd degree in Science from Brock University, and completed an MA and PhD in Physical Anthropology at McMaster University.

  Currently, Nafte is an instructor at McMaster University where she teaches upper level courses in health and illness. She continues to research the use of human remains as material culture, documenting their transition from cadaver to objects of power, identity and capital. Nafte is the author of numerous articles and books including Flesh and Bone: An Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, Crime and Measurement: Methods in Forensic Investigation, The Skin of Murder Victims: Fingerprints and Other Evidence [editor], and the forthcoming Trophies and Talismans: The Traffic of Human Remains.

  Forensics in Crime Solving

  Forensic investigation is a largely misunderstood field. The work of civilian scientists versus police is governed by areas of specialty that are quite distinct from one another. In this lecture, I define the evolving field of police forensics with an overview of the protocols governing crime scenes, warrants, security, and the processing of physical evidence. Much of my research and training has been in the identification of human remains in various forms of trauma and/or decomposition. Due to the nature of the physical evidence I process, it has been my experience to work alongside both police and forensic scientists as part of a team.

  Along with the important procedures, I will discuss some of the most challenging cases of my career.

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring  2020 Speaker series. Register for the Spring 2020 Event Series.

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• Human Trafficking: Hidden in Plain Sight in Our Backyard!

  • When
    May 11, 2020
  •  
    10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Location
    Aurora Cineplex

  
  

  
  

      
  

  Debbie Pond

  Debbie thrived with the challenge of forging a road less traveled in her 35-year career as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer (retired 2013). Debbie’s passion for people and advocating for change to support vulnerable and marginalized individuals has taken her to a variety of human services sector roles.

  Debbie is one of the founding members, and volunteers full time as Chair / Executive Director of U-R Home Awareness & Support Services. U-R Home is a York Region organization that brings education and awareness on human trafficking, supports survivors in having the life they desire and families whose children have been affected by sex trafficking.

  Debbie is on the Executive Leadership of York Region’s Community Partners Alliance to Stop Trafficking among other community collaboratives.

  Debbie’s love for people and travel has taken her on numerous extended volunteer trips to Africa where she works with young girls and women; empowering and providing opportunities through education to be the change in their communities.

  Human Trafficking:  Hidden in Plain Sight in Our Backyard!

  We think it only happens to people living “over there” but IT Can Happen to Anyone and is happening in “our backyard”. Survivors say they lived in our communities but were unSEEN!

  Debbie believes that we can end all forms of sexual exploitation but it is each person’s responsibility to challenge the harmful attitudes and stereotypical norms in our society!

  Debbie will discuss what human trafficking entails, the many forms of exploitation, what it looks like in “our backyard”, how to recognize signs of trafficking and recruitment tactics.  Does trafficking happen because people are poor or vulnerable? The role social media plays in human trafficking. How the mindset of a trafficked person impacts their ability to “just leave”.  Debbie will share her experience of walking with families, survivors and the realities of their lives after exiting The Game. She will challenge you to become an Advocate and Assist in ending human trafficking in “our backyard”.

  
  

  This event is part of the Spring  2020 Speaker series. Register for the Spring 2020 Event Series.

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