Canadian activist and author Maude Barlow, the Toronto Star’s Linda McQuaig, and Lakehead University professor Dr. Charles Levkoe are just a few of the speakers set to present during Third Age Learning Lakehead’s (TALL) inaugural five-part series in Thunder Bay, starting March 24.
“Pivot(al): Possibilities for a Post-pandemic World” will discuss the Covid-19 pandemic and its continued impact on community, globalism, climate, politics, the economy and more.
Supported by the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, the goal of TALL Thunder Bay is to provide adults 55-plus with informed presentations from experts in their fields along with an opportunity to socialize.
Dr. Charles Levkoe, Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, the Director of the Sustainable Food Systems Lab, and associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences at Lakehead University, will kick off the series with “Food for Thought: Towards More Equitable and Sustainable Systems for All” on March 24. Levkoe will delve into some of the prominent challenges facing our food systems, and share examples of initiatives that aim to ensure more equitable and sustainable food systems for all.
On March 31, award-winning playwright, journalist, novelist, and filmmaker Drew Hayden Taylor will explore connections between theatre, humour, First Nations philosophy, literature, and identity in “Me Tomorrow: Going Native and Indigenous Futurisms”.
Dr. Max Haiven, Canada Research Chair in Culture, Media and Social Justice at Lakehead University, will speak to how we can imagine more fair, peaceful and abundant ways of living together as we face the urge to return to “normal” in his talk, “The Struggle for the Post-pandemic Imagination” on April 7.
Linda McQuaig, journalist, author, activist and contributing columnist for the Toronto Star, will speak to how the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted a serious flaw in our quest for privatization of public services and enterprises in “Now More Than Ever: Time to End our Misguided Zeal for Privatization” on April 14.
Maude Barlow will close out the series on April 13 with her talk, “From COVID-19 Crisis to Post-pandemic Possibilities: Transitioning to a Better Future”. Barlow will draw on a lifetime of activism to discuss key issues like trade and the water crisis, but she will also distinguish the important differences between false hope, reality, and a ‘wise hope’ that opens up the potential for positive change.
The first 100 households to sign up for this series will receive something special in the mail to commemorate this launch of TALL in Thunder Bay.
The TALL five-part lecture series runs every Wednesday from March 24 to April 13 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. There is a registration fee of $59 (plus HST) per person. For more information, or to purchase tickets, head to lakeheadu.ca/tal.
