Events  

      
Our SPRING Speaker Series starts April 8, 2024!  You will be contacted with registration details if you are a paid up member of TALYR.


Thanks for supporting Third Age Learning York Region.


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Upcoming events

    • April 08, 2024
    • 10:00 AM
    • May 13, 2024
    • 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex Theatre (IN PERSON)
    Register

    SPRING 2024 Speaker Event Series 

    All Spring 2024 speaker events will be IN PERSON


      April 8 Bill Curran

     The Idea of North: Contemporary Canadian Architecture  


      April 15 Claire Davis


      April 22 Erum Shazia Hasan

     We Meant Well: International Development


      April 29 Julia Zarankin, PhD

     How Reading Chekhov Can Change Your Life


      May 6 Elizabeth Legge, PhD

     Picasso and Matisse Reinvent the World


      May 13 Mike Daley, PhD 

     The Gordon Lightfoot Story



         

    • April 08, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person



         Bill Curran

    Bill Curran is an architect, architecture teacher and writer who has practiced on a wide range of architecture, interiors and urban design projects across Canada, the USA and internationally in his 40 years of professional experience. He also undertakes development projects.

    Curran Gacesa Slote Architects's (CGS) buildings and interiors aspire to be thoughtful, engaging and to transcend the ordinary. They are understated, sophisticated, contemporary architecture that seek to subvert accepted paradigms.

    Their notable projects range from a 3 million square foot urban neighbourhood under design to highrise housing, civic buildings, restaurants and bars and wineries, university and college buildings, affordable housing and cutting edge workplaces. They include buildings for York Housing at 10415 Yonge and on Main Street in Stouffville now in construction.

    CGS has received over 20 design awards for their innovative work, and their work has been published internationally in books and journals.

    Bill is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, a member of the Ontario Association of Architects, holds a LEED AP professional designation in sustainable design, has taught undergraduate architecture for over 25 years, and mentors intern architects.


    The Idea of North: Contemporary Canadian Architecture

    Canadians have a romantic but ambivalent relationship with the harsh landscape that generations have worked to subdue and adapt to. Much of Canada is uninhabited and inaccessible, with 70% of the population clustered along the US border, where our cultural identity is challenged by the elephant over the border. This cultural insecurity, the need to subdue or coexist with a harsh landscape and other influences find expression in cultural products like our architecture.

    Famed Canadian composer and pianist Glenn Gould (1932–1982) worked to better understand that identity and the relationship to the landscape, with his 1967 ‘Solitude Trilogy’ of groundbreaking complex documentaries about solitude, migration and the influence of contemporary society on traditional values, the first of which was ‘The Idea of North’.

    Building on Glenn’s exploration in Canadian cultural identity, we explore architecture:

    • Where does our architecture come from ?
    • If much of our architecture is junk, what does that say about us ?
    • 'We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us’. A quote from Winston Churchill, is important context for this exploration.

    Hamilton architect Bill Curran will present a survey of Contemporary Canadian architecture, both by masters and by the leading firms of today, work both domestic and abroad and reflecting the cultural melting-pot and landscape that is Canada today.



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series.  

    • April 15, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person


       

    Claire Davis 

    Claire Davis holds an MA in International and Intercultural Communication from Royal Roads University. She has worked in the non-profit charitable sector, both national and international, for over 30 years, including in several countries in Latin America.

    Claire is a consultant for the Food Bank of York Region, which serves as the regional food collection and distribution hub for York Region, servicing 80+ local non-profit food banks, pantries and meal providers. She has conducted research on food insecurity and published reports on the state of food insecurity in York Region. She also works with Deaf Reach in Pakistan.  It is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing deaf education to underprivileged children and creating Pakistan Sign Language learning resources.  


    Food Insecurity and Food Banking: The Rising Trend  

    Food Banks Canada and Feed Ontario have recently reported that food insecurity has been rising at alarming rates in 2022 and 2023—a trend which shows no signs of abating.  Food insecurity, defined as the inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints, has serious implications for people’s health and wellbeing, and in the case of children, their overall development. This presentation will explore factors that have been identified as contributing to the surge of food insecurity in Ontario and in York Region, the demographics of people affected, and the role of Food Banks to bridge the gap and ensure that low-income people in York Region have access to food assistance.  



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series. . 

    • April 22, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person


       

    Erum Shazia Hasan

    Erum Shazia Hasan is a bestselling Canadian author. Her debut novel, We Meant Well, has not only captivated readers but also earned her a place among Canada's literary elite, securing a coveted spot on the longlist for the prestigious 2023 Giller Prize.

    Born in Canada and raised in France, Hasan is now based in Toronto where she is a sustainable development consultant for the United Nations and other international agencies. Inspired by her many travels, Hasan's writing transcends borders, bringing diverse cultures to life on the page.


    We Meant Well: International Development  

    Erum will share with us the concepts and complexities of International Development, and discuss the ethical and gender issues involved, which she explored in her novel We Meant Well. She will help us to understand the key issues involved in charitable giving,  asking “Is there a right way to be charitable? “. 



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series.  

    • April 29, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person


       

    Julia Zarankin, PhD

    Dr. Julia Zarankin is a Toronto-based writer, birder, and educator. Recently awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, she holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and enjoys teaching lifelong learners in venues across the GTA.

    Julia is the author of the bestselling memoir, Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder, and her writing appears in The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, Canadian Geographic, Audubon, CBC, and Cottage Life. The recipient of a translation fellowship from the Yiddish Book Center, Julia also translates from Yiddish into English.


    How Reading Chekhov Can Change Your Life

    Discover how Anton Chekhov, the inventor of the modern short story and one of the founders of modern theatre, can change your life and make you a more empathetic person. Join us as we explore his literary world, which is full of ambiguity and without clear-cut answers to life's problems--very much like our own lives. 
     



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series. 

    • May 06, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person


       

    Elizabeth Legge, PhD

    Elizabeth Legge studied at the University of Toronto, Cambridge, and the Courtauld Institute of Art.  She is an Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Toronto. In 2005 she was visiting professor in the Humanities Centre at Johns Hopkins University. 

    She has written on Dada, Surrealism, and contemporary Canadian and British art, with books on the Surrealist artist Max Ernst's uses of psychoanalysis, and on the Canadian artist and film-maker Michael Snow’s landmark film, Wavelength. In recent years she has written on a variety of topics: on the new aesthetics of cuteness and boredom in contemporary art, on the oppressive legacy of a high school textbook in French Surrealism, on the effects of miniaturization in artists’ depictions of historical atrocities, and on the emulation of computer effects in late 1960s art.


    Picasso and Matisse reinvent the world  

    At the end of the twentieth century, facing a new millennium, Western curators and art historians felt the need to evaluate the major cultural achievements of the previous hundred years. Picasso and Matisse seemed to win these institutional stakes, as they were paired and compared in major exhibitions in London, Paris, and New York.

    Picasso and Matisse each regarded the other as his only artistic equal and worthy adversary in the shared task of inventing what the “modern” might look like. This lecture explores the ways these two artists, always engaged in a fractious dialogue with one another, envisioned new worlds of radically reconfigured space, colour, and subject matter, creating templates for the “modern.”

     



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series. 

    • May 13, 2024
    • 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    • Aurora Cineplex - In Person


       

    Mike Daley, PhD

    Dr. Mike Daley is a freelance popular music history lecturer around Toronto. He holds a Ph.D in musicology and has published widely on a variety of musical subjects.

    Mike's well-received lectures on the Beatles, Elvis, jazz, folk music and much more have gained him a strong following in the GTA. Mike also offers video lecture series on his website, mikedaleymusic.com and is currently writing a history of live music in the Yorkville coffee house district of Toronto in the 1950s and 1960s.


    The Gordon Lightfoot Story  

    Dr. Mike Daley tells the fascinating story of the late singer-songwriter, illustrated with live renditions of some of his classic songs.

     



    This event is part of the Spring 2024 Speaker series.  

    • May 13, 2024
    • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
    • Virtual Presentation via Zoom



    Andrew Coyne

    Insightful, provocative commentary on political and economic issues is what Andrew Coyne delivers to Canadians across the country. With topical and timely presentations, the former national editor of Maclean’s magazine and currently a columnist with the Globe and Mail, Coyne is sure to ignite debate and discussion with every audience.

    In addition to writing for Maclean’s and the Globe and Mail, Coyne has been an editorial writer and columnist for the Financial Post, and a nationally syndicated columnist with Postmedia and the Southam newspaper chain. He also writes regularly for a number of foreign publications and is a frequent commentator on radio and television — most famously, as a panelist on CBC’s The National in the popular “At Issue” segment.

    Coyne is the winner of two National Newspaper Awards and a four-time finalist in the National Magazine Awards. A past recipient of the Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism, he is also a Fellow of the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto. Coyne received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from the University of Toronto, and a Master’s in Economics from the London School of Economics.


    Six Challenges to Democracy  

    For over two decades, nationally syndicated political journalist Andrew Coyne has been delivering insightful, provocative commentary on the day’s biggest political and economic events.

    In this timely presentation, Coyne engages audiences in a powerful conversation on the six biggest challenges facing democratic governments today, including a changed post-pandemic landscape, debt and inflation, an aging population, big geopolitical forces, climate change, and artificial intelligence. With deep long-term and multilateral effects, Coyne asks how we, as a species, can pull together to address the biggest challenges looming over our future.

     

    This event is part of the TALYR 10th Anniversary event.  

Past events

February 05, 2024 Black Canadian History - Let's Get Educated!
January 29, 2024 NEPAL IT'S NEVER TOO LATE: Rediscovering Love, Connection and Personal Resilience on Nepal's Great Himalayan Trail
January 22, 2024 Unveiling the Cosmos with the James Webb Space Telescope
January 15, 2024 FREE Winter 2024 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
January 15, 2024 A Good War: mobilizing Canada for the climate emergency
November 06, 2023 Migration and Culinary Change
October 30, 2023 TALYR Annual General Meeting, 2023
October 30, 2023 What's Really Going On In The South China Sea?
October 23, 2023 Policymaking in Times of Crisis
October 23, 2023 Agatha Christie and Archaeology
October 23, 2023 LIMITED ZOOM-ONLY TICKET PACKAGE FOR THE FALL 2023 SPEAKER SERIES [Includes ONLY 4 Webinars via Zoom]
October 16, 2023 The Right to Learn - Why Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan Matters to All Of Us
October 02, 2023 Battle of the Atlantic
September 18, 2023 AI, Wearables, and our Future Digital Lives
September 11, 2023 COMPLETE TICKET PACKAGE FOR THE FALL 2023 SPEAKER SERIES [Incudes ALL 8 LECTURES: 4 in-person and 4 via Zoom]
September 11, 2023 Laughing in the Dark: The Art Of Comedic Filmmaking
May 15, 2023 Living the Medicine Wheel Teachings
May 08, 2023 Lessons Learned on the Frontlines: The Daily Work of MSF from Crisis to Care
May 01, 2023 150 Years of Canada Taiwan Relations and no Embassy Yet - Does it Matter?
April 24, 2023 CANCELLED - Policymaking in Times of Crisis
April 17, 2023 The Trial of Leo Frank: Precursor to Peril?
April 03, 2023 SPRING 2023 SPEAKER EVENT SERIES (via Zoom)
April 03, 2023 While Nations Talk, Cities Act
February 06, 2023 My Life in 4 Chapters
January 30, 2023 How to Confront a Dictator
January 23, 2023 What Were the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Should Anyone Care?
January 16, 2023 FREE Winter 2023 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
January 16, 2023 The Community Roots of Storytelling Careers
November 07, 2022 How To Fix Eldercare: A Prescription for an Aging Society
October 31, 2022 Understanding Transatlantic Slavery and Canadian Slavery
October 24, 2022 Do We Really Need a Canadian Defence Policy?
October 17, 2022 TALYR Annual General Meeting, 2022
October 17, 2022 Ten Ideas to Make Canadian Healthcare Faster, Better, Smarter
October 03, 2022 Growing Up in the Ice Age: Were Children Drivers of Human Cultural Evolution?
September 19, 2022 Innovation in Humanitarian Assistance and Implications on the War in Ukraine
September 12, 2022 TICKETS ON SALE for FALL 2022 SPEAKER EVENT SERIES (via Zoom)
September 12, 2022 Turkey Since 1923: The Rise of a Regional Superpower
May 16, 2022 How pandemics start - a bat’s perspective
May 09, 2022 Harry Oakes and the Writing of History
May 02, 2022 Wild Algonquin: The Nature of a World Famous Park through the Seasons
April 25, 2022 Moonshots and Groundshots: how research is changing the future of cancer
April 11, 2022 Happily Ever Older
April 04, 2022 Climate Change and Growing Extreme Weather Risk: Canada Must Adapt, NOW
March 28, 2022 Spring 2022 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
March 28, 2022 The Wicked Problem with Microplastics and What We Can Do About It
February 07, 2022 They Call Me George: Black Sleeping Car Porters and the making of Modern Canada
January 31, 2022 Lahore - The Cultural Heart of Pakistan
January 24, 2022 Home as Memory, Home as Witness
January 17, 2022 FREE Winter 2022 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
January 17, 2022 Medieval Anatomy and the Rise of the Renaissance
November 01, 2021 Architecture: Now I Get It! Understanding the Elements of Architecture
October 25, 2021 Annual General Meeting
October 25, 2021 Indigenous ethnies and Nations
October 18, 2021 Aging: Fact and Fancy
October 04, 2021 Decarbonizing our cities: going beyond transit and intensification
September 27, 2021 A Cybersafety Intro: Understanding Where Your Data Goes and Why It Matters
September 20, 2021 Canada Needs a New Seniors’ Strategy: Lessons from the Pandemic
September 13, 2021 FREE Fall 2021 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
September 13, 2021 In Praise of Walking
May 17, 2021 A Romp Through the Roaring 20’s
May 10, 2021 Evil, Memory, and Redemption after COVID
May 03, 2021 The Elvis Presley Story
April 26, 2021 An unrivalled city: Constantinople at the time of the Italian Renaissance
April 19, 2021 Your Discovery Years: Finding Joy in Retirement
April 12, 2021 FREE Spring 2021 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
April 12, 2021 A Fascinating Tour of the Universe
February 08, 2021 Ten Events That Shaped Our National Character
February 01, 2021 The Future of Publicly Funded Healthcare in Canada: Do We Need a Private Option?
January 25, 2021 Delivering Health Services to Remote Areas – One Plane at a Time
January 18, 2021 Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic
January 18, 2021 FREE Winter 2021 Speaker Event Series (via Zoom)
November 09, 2020 Mozart - The Musicians’ Musician and Everyman's Composer
November 02, 2020 Is cannabis a cure all?
October 26, 2020 Human Trafficking: Hidden in Plain Sight in Our Backyard!
October 19, 2020 New Approaches for Treating Cancer
October 05, 2020 Hong Kong, China and the deep roots of the ongoing crisis
September 21, 2020 To See, To Be, To Do: The Landscape of the World's Religions
September 14, 2020 Forensics in Crime Solving
April 06, 2020 The (not so ) Young Persons’ Guide to the Orchestra
March 30, 2020 Publicly Funded Healthcare in the Future
March 30, 2020 CANCELLED Speaker Event until FALL 2020
November 04, 2019 Rush to Danger - Medics in the Line of Fire
October 28, 2019 A Tale of Two Museums: Louvre of Paris, Victoria & Albert of London
October 21, 2019 The Symphonies by Beethoven – the Universe in Music
October 07, 2019 The Fall of the Roman Empire and Why it Matters Today
September 23, 2019 Does Canada really have an immigration problem? Here are the facts
September 16, 2019 True story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz
September 09, 2019 On the Disruptive Technologies of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Virtual Reality
May 13, 2019 Full Disclosure: Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of Canada
May 06, 2019 120 Years of Fear and Fascination with the Automobile
April 29, 2019 Forbidden Fruit: Banned, Censored, and Challenged books from Dante to Harry Potter
April 23, 2019 TALYR Members Only - REGISTER NOW! Dr. Brian Goldman: The Power of Kindness in Healthcare
April 23, 2019 Non-TALYR Members - PURCHASE NOW! Dr. Brian Goldman: The Power of Kindness in Healthcare
April 15, 2019 Truth and Reconciliation - what does it really mean for Canada ?
April 08, 2019 Maintaining the Best of Both Worlds
April 01, 2019 The Road to Marylake
April 01, 2019 Spring 2019 Speaker Event Series - Sold Out
November 05, 2018 Does the Punishment fit the Crime? How Judges Sentence Offenders in Canada
October 29, 2018 End of WWII
October 22, 2018 How to Protect Your Privacy Before it’s Taken Away: Embed Privacy, by Design
October 15, 2018 Wrongful Convictions in Canada
October 01, 2018 Surnames and History
September 24, 2018 Use of Music in Film
September 17, 2018 Ridgeway 1866: The Hidden History of Canada’s First Modern Battle and the Last Battle Fought in Ontario.
August 06, 2018 Fall 2018 Speaker Series - SOLD OUT
May 14, 2018 Perspectives on the Federal Government
May 07, 2018 Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo
April 30, 2018 Richard III: Monstrous or Misunderstood
April 23, 2018 Gardens: A Microcosm for the World’s Environmental Health Issues
April 16, 2018 Engineering Moneyball in Hockey, Baseball and Beyond
April 09, 2018 Orphan 32
February 26, 2018 Spring 2018 Speaker Event Series - PURCHASE series beginning February 26th at 9:00 am
October 30, 2017 Designing a good community to live in
October 23, 2017 Triage for Extinction – Which Species should we Save?
October 16, 2017 The Amazing Universe
October 02, 2017 The United Nations in the Modern World: Blessing or Burden
September 25, 2017 Where Ideas Come From
September 18, 2017 Canadian Fascination with Weather
September 11, 2017 The Symphonies of Mozart - the evolution of genius
July 31, 2017 Fall 2017 Speaker Event Series - SOLD OUT!
May 15, 2017 The Great Lakes: A History of Water Quality and Water Politics
May 08, 2017 Shakespeare – Confronting the Vexed Authorship Question
May 01, 2017 The Great American Songbook 101 - Dissecting the American Songbook
April 24, 2017 Canada on the World Stage: Past, Present and Future
April 10, 2017 Understanding Japanese Society and Culture
April 03, 2017 Bees, Importance and Diversity
October 31, 2016 The Result of Rebellion: North American Political Prisoners in van Diemen's Land
October 24, 2016 Come from the Shadows: Tales of Ontario Archaeology
October 17, 2016 Brazil: Past and Present
September 26, 2016 The Great Escape: A Canadian Story.
September 19, 2016 Dancing on the Edge: Athleticism and Emotion
September 12, 2016 How Music can Impact Health
August 08, 2016 Fall 2016 Speaker Event Series
May 16, 2016 Tin Pan Alley: the Art and Business of the Popular Song
May 09, 2016 Is War still a Rational Option for Conflict Resolution?
May 02, 2016 Why Canadian History is Not Boring!
April 25, 2016 St Petersburg and the Hermitage: Wonder and Opulence
April 18, 2016 Taking it to the Top: The Supreme Court of Canada and the Cases it Hears
April 11, 2016 Food Insecurity, Consumerism and the Corporatization of Food
November 02, 2015 We Animals: Jo-Anne's Journey and Adventures as an Animal Rights Photographer
October 26, 2015 Footbridges as Philanthropy: Bringing Social Change to a Walking World
October 19, 2015 Sir Winston Churchill - A True Renaissance Man
October 05, 2015 How to become an opera buff in under an hour!
September 28, 2015 Ontario’s Opportunities in a Changing Climate
September 21, 2015 The Russia-Ukraine Affair – “my lie is truer than your lie"
August 03, 2015 Fall 2015 Speaker Event Series
May 25, 2015 The Greater Golden Horseshoe in the 21st Century
May 11, 2015 Modern Middle East
May 04, 2015 Happiness
April 27, 2015 Dimensions of Aging: Realities, Intervention, Prevention
April 20, 2015 Produced and abandoned: the best films you have never seen!
April 13, 2015 Innovation in China's Development
November 03, 2014 Pursuit of the Real
October 27, 2014 Prisoners of Tehran
October 06, 2014 Loving Water
September 29, 2014 The European Union: Innovation from Crisis
September 22, 2014 The Aging Brain: Opportunities & Challenges
September 15, 2014 The Play's the Thing - or Is It?
May 26, 2014 Our ailing Parliamentary Democracy - Can it Recover?
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