Workshop 01
“Co-Creating a New Future: Harnessing the Collective Imagination”
Conducted by:
Dr. Shoshannah Bryn Jones Square,
Ph.D., Oxford, Activist, and Interdisciplinary Instructor
Canada
In his “Preface to Lyrical Ballads,” British Romantic poet William Wordsworth maintains that the purpose of poetry is to “produce excitement in co-existence.” This is what Dr. Shoshannah hopes to achieve through this workshop, in which participants will work together to envision a better future through collective thinking and imagining. As cognitive scientist Jim Davies writes in Imagination: The Science of Your Mind’s Greatest Power (2019), human beings have the unique ability to “imagine complex possible futures.” This gives us agency; we have a say in what kind of world we want to live in, and we have the power to create it if we work together. Dr. Shoshannah will discuss the climate crisis, COVID-19, system racism, police brutality, prison reform, restorative, social, and environmental justice, mental health, empathy and compassion, activism, the arts and sciences, and more from a diversity of perspectives.
Workshop 02
“Finding Your Passion”
Conducted by:
Calvin Tiu,
Rapper/Songwriter/Producer,
Academic Advisor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University,
Canada.
Calvin “Kalvonix” Tiu is an artist who lives on his passion for music. By infusing his creativity into multiple areas of his life, he hopes to inspire others to do the same. His workshop will focus on the importance of discovering and developing your passion and inserting it into everyday life.
He will also delve deep into his own personal story and share his experience growing up with Cerebral Palsy. Ultimately, Calvin discovered his voice and strength through rap music.
Listening to artists like Eminem and Kid Cudi, he found a way to infuse his pain and personal experience into words, rhyme, and music. As Calvin’s workshop will show, with an outlet to cope, a foundation to explore and a platform to reflect, life and success naturally find their way.
Your passion does not have to be directly connected to your job it is about finding indirect ways to make those connections. Calvin will discuss creativity, passion, adversity, and other elements that are key to chasing your dreams.
Workshop 03
“The Path from Academia to Activism: Moving the Health Humanities from Theory to Practice”
Conducted by:
Dr. Carol‑Ann Farkas,
Professor of English, Director of Writing Programs,
School of Arts and Sciences, MCPHS University
United States.
In what ways are the health humanities political? Not nearly enough; in this workshop, Dr. Farkas invites participants to share strategies for changing that.
How do scholars become activists? In this workshop, she will briefly survey some contemporary examples of scholar-activists such as Angela Davis, Michelle Alexander, Bryan Stevenson, and Gail Bradbrook, who have taken their political commitment from the scholarly page, from the classroom, and put it into practice. What inspiration can we draw from these examples? What strategies can we employ to turn our theories and critique into action – with the risks to our privilege that such moves would entail?
Dr. Farkas encourage participation from health humanities scholars and students, as well as those in the arts and public health. This session is for those with a commitment to social justice broadly construed, though her particular concern is with the intersection of the health humanities and the climate emergency as health emergency. The goal for the workshop will be to invite discussion and brainstorming so that participants leave with concrete next steps to take in their own health humanities activism in the classroom and beyond it.
Workshop 04
“Emotions in Motion”
Conducted by:
Lyric Hajer
Activist, Life Coach, Support Group Facilitator, and Dance Instructor
Canada.
Lyric Hajer, a poet, dancer, activist, and life coach, is passionate about art and its power to set emotions in motion. As someone who’s struggled with mental health issues, they know how easy it is to slip into feeling numb or stagnant and how this can affect everything from creativity and activism to whether or not you brush your teeth.
This workshop will walk you through practices combining music with mindfulness as a tool for shifting emotions that feel stuck and for coping with living in today’s world. These practices will also provide an opportunity to play with movement while taking necessary space from hard topics. We’ll work our way from meditating to a melody to wiggling as much as our body wills.
Wear something comfortable and be somewhere with space to move.
Workshop 05
“If Your Eyes Could Speak: Audio Description and Literacy”
Conducted by:
Dr. Joel Snyder
President, Audio Description Associates
USA.
Dr. Joel Snyder is known internationally as one of the world’s first “audio describers,” a pioneer in the field of Audio Description, a translation of visual images to vivid language for the benefit, primarily, of people who are blind or have a vision impairment: the visual is made verbal. Since 1981, he has introduced audio description techniques in over 40 states and 63 countries and has made thousands of live events, media projects and museums accessible.
Workshop 06
“An inward Journey”
-A Guided Meditative Session-
In apparent life and existence, most humans are driven by what the mind interprets to them. Needless to mention therefore the inevitable restlessness, anxiety, worry, fear, or anger arising from thoughts linked to one’s past and the anticipated future including the very next moment. Vipula will guide you into ‘an experiential inward journey’ to embrace the presence where your mind cannot find you!! At least for a while!!
This session comprises a discourse and a guided meditation for 30 minutes.
Date: 22nd Sep 2021
Time: 10.00Am- 10.30 Am
Moderator:
Dr. Vipula Wanigasekera
Director General of Sri Lanka Tourism Authority
Sri Lanka.
Dr. Vipula Wanigasekera was in spiritual studies for several decades. He is a former Sri Lankan Diplomat and Director General of the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority. He is currently a Senior Lecturer for Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. With his publication ‘Pointers to Enlightenment’, he embarked on a journey of offering meditative sessions for spiritual seekers looking for inner peace and tranquility.
DIGITAL SOLO ART SHOW
ART IN THE TIME OF CORONA
The United Nations celebrates and raises awareness for a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A sustainable green recovery plan from the pandemic necessitates understanding the links between climate change, health, and inequality; and implementing ambitious climate change policies, which align with the Paris agreement. The digital art shows by Selva Ozelli, These art shows contain paintings that were acknowledged in numerous United Nations art competitions.
By Selva Ozelli
International Tax Expert and environmentalist,
USA.
WELLNESS THROUGH VISUAL POETRY
14th Webinar of the GLOBAL SPIRITUAL FORUM
In association with the 8th International Conference on Arts and Humanities (ICOAH 2021)
WHY?
Arts can be used as a coping mechanism in dealing with personal challenges, losses, and sadness. Personal stories of such journeys can be useful for the wellness of survivors.
WHEN?
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
8:00 am to 10:00 am Colombo
21st 10:30 pm to 12:00 am Montreal
WHERE?
Virtual, using Zoom
WHO?
Event Organizer: The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM)
Webinar Presenter: Dr. Chandi Jayawardena
Webinar Moderator: Dr. Vipula Wanigasekara
Event Attendees: FREE for Members of GSF & Attendees of ICOAH 2021
WHAT?
Program:
- 5-minutes – Welcome – Dr. Eldad Tsabary
Associate Professor, Concordia University, Canada - 10-minutes – Introduction – Dr. Vipula Wanigasekara
Lecturer, Edith Cowan University, Australia - 60-minutes – My Journey in 2020 and 2021 – Dr. Chandi Jayawardena
President, Chandi J. Associates Inc Consulting, Canada - 15-minutes – Questions & Answers
Code healing
A live coding soundscape performance by Concordia University’s Alana DeVito and Dr. Eldad Tsabary (Conference Chair) using the Estuary platform, designed as part of the SSHRC-funded project “Platforms and practices for networked, language-neutral live coding. “The duo will improvise with relaxing natural and synthesized sounds using the mini-tidal language.”
Date : 22nd Sep 2021
Time: 3.00pm – 3.30pm
Dr. Kylie Harris
Research Psychologist,
Australia
Kylie P. Harris, PhD, is an independent research psychologist, writer, and activist from Australia. She is an academic at the University of New England, and a research assistant for The Juice Media. Her doctoral thesis investigated the relationships between spiritual emergence(y), psychosis, and personality. She has presented her work at local and international conferences, and published book chapters and journal articles in peer reviewed journals. She is a founding board director of The Australian Centre for Consciousness Studies, a member of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium, and an Ambassador for the WallOBooks and Great Life Choice programs.
Kylie works experientially and her research is guided by personal experience. She is interested in investigating the psychology of climate change and the global crisis; and shamanic and Indigenous perspectives towards healing and transformation. She also enjoys writing and presenting for the general population, including radio and podcast interviews for mainstream audiences.
Her Story
“Somebody once told me, “If your life is not worth writing a book about, you are not living it properly”… It may have been the same person who told me that, “When you are an artist, you can be as crazy as you like!” Somehow, these two poignant comments have shaped my adult life. After a few years as a struggling artist, I decided to become an academic instead. This was largely based upon my personal journey of mental struggles, including depression, anxiety, and what appeared to be hypomania.”
Naaz Sidhu
Kwantlen Polytechnic University,
British Columbia
Naaz Sidhu is a Punjabi creator, social justice advocate, podcast host, and content creator, and she is in the third year of her Sociology degree at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in Surrey, British Columbia (CA). She is a spoken word poet and has been featured in South Asian poetry events held at KPU. Naaz has been writing poetry for seven years and connects her work and art with her personal experiences.
Her Story
In this session, Naaz will be talking about her struggles with cultural identity, mental health, and spirituality. Her story will show how art, creativity, and activism enabled her to persevere, connect with her community, and begin her path of healing.
publication workshop
“WORKSHOP ON SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS”
Conducted by:
Prof. Michael Bull,
University of Sussex,
United Kingdom.
Dissemination of research findings is an essential part of the scientific research process. Hence, it is of utmost importance for a researcher who is writing a full paper with the aim of publishing in a reputable journal or in a reputable proceeding. Furthermore, getting a paper published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal or proceeding is an important milestone for researchers.
Through the publication workshop, Prof. Michael Bull will be covering the following three aspects of publication along with a Q & A session at the end.
- Submitting a journal article
- Submitting a book proposal
- Submitting a book chapter after a call for chapters
Duration: 1hr 15min