Skip to main content

2013 What’s Worth Knowing: Educating for Responsible Citizenship Symposium

Published by

Published March 28, 2013

by afdubreu

Learning for a Sustainable Future is a national non-profit organization housed by IRIS.

The What's Worth Knowing: Educating for Responsible Citizenship Symposium will be held on Monday, May 13th, 2013 at the YMCA of Greater Toronto in Toronto, ON. This event will bring together 120 senior decision makers from the education, government, business, and non-profit sectors, as well as high school and post secondary students. Register for the Symposium Today!

The Symposium will address the following questions:

  • What do children and youth need to know, do, and value, in order to ensure they are responsible, active, and contributing citizens?
  • How can formal education be reoriented to meet these goals?

The aim of this event is to:

  • Raise awareness of issues and challenges relating to youth citizenship
  • Develop a consensus on high-level strategies
  • Launch the youth-designed Our Canada Project
  • Identify actions and commitments to change

The Symposium will be followed by the LSF Annual State of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Gala at the Arcadian Loft in Toronto, ON. Purchase your ticket for the Gala today!

The What's Worth Knowing: Educating for Responsible Citizenship Symposium builds on the Ready or Not? Preparing Youth for 21st Century Responsible Citizenship Roundtable discussions hosted in 2012 by Learning for a Sustainable Future, in collaboration with Deloitte.

Register for the 2013 What's Worth Knowing: Educating for Responsible Citizenship Symposium Today!

Posted in: Events

IRIS Annual General Meeting

Published by

Published March 28, 2013

by afdubreu

AGM_invitationJoin us on Tuesday, April 30th from 12-2pm in room 305 York Lanes for our very first AGM and Potluck!

We have had an awesome year filled with memorable events and we want to celebrate it with all of you. We will be recapping the year by sharing good food and stories.

Please click here to RSVP by Tuesday April 23rd.

Mitra-001

Posted in: Events

Work in a Warming World at York receives vast research archive on environment

Published by

Published March 28, 2013

by afdubreu

The following was published on March 27, 2013 by YFile. W3 is a project affiliated with IRIS.

Work in a Warming World (W3) at York will be one of the recipients of the vast archive of publications and consultants’ reports by the soon-to-be defunct National Round Table on the Environment & the Economy (NRTEE).  What Carla Lipsig-Mummé, director of the W3, calls a “treasure trove” of resources that will now survive the NRTEE’s demise.

The federal government is closing the NRTEE March 31 after 25 years of research on the environment and the economy. It was set up as an independent, non-partisan research body reporting to the federal minister of the environment, but also providing advice to the CarlaLipsigMummeprime minister. Its closure was announced in the spring of 2012.

Carla Lipsig-Mummé

The NRTEE conducted rigorous research and analysis on issues of sustainable development, convening opinion leaders and experts from across the country to share knowledge and diverse perspectives, stimulate debate, generate ideas and provide solutions.

Its more than 600 reports, policies and consultations will go to W3 – a Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada-funded research program based at York – as well as to 12 universities, six libraries and government agencies.

“It’s an extraordinary donation,” says Lipsig-Mummé. “There’s no parallel with the work it’s done. It’s simply the best data in the REalityCheckcountry, and we are both proud and excited to receive it.”

The archive will provide W3 with a rich resource to further its work. It will allow researchers and grad students to track the changes in the government’s research concerns on climate change over more than two decades, analyze the changes in policy focus over the years, summarize the enduring priorities as well as the new priorities, and identify the silences in the archive.

In addition, the NRTEE’s reports over the past five years show a growing worry that Canada is not doing enough to slow the growth of greenhouse gases and that the country is relying on the United States when it is in strategic paralysis, says Lipsig-Mummé. NRTEE sees leadership for Canada within North America, and suggests how that can be made to happen.

The issues the NRTEE tackled had to do with climate, water, energy, biodiversity and governance, and its work included climate change plans, water sustainability and climate prosperity. Some of its most recent publications included “Framing the Future: ClimateProsperityEmbracing the Low-Carbon Economy”, “Reality Check: The State of Climate Progress in Canada”, “Canada’s Opportunity: Adopting Life Cycle Approaches for Sustainable Development”, and “Facing the Elements: Building Business Resilience in a Changing Climate”. All of these publications will be included in the data received by W3.

The data will also include information on environmental fiscal reform, the challenges to creating sustainable cities, greening brownfields in private hands, dealing responsibly with waste and pushing private enterprise to adapt production processes.

The changing importance of environment policy and climate policy in provinces and territories over the past two decades is detailed in the data. The reports point to questions about what young environmentalists are doing, how the government stimulates environmental responsibility and how to measure moving forward.

“It’s the richest data source in the country in terms of historical and present research,” says Lipsig-Mummé.

W3 will soon make the archive accessible for research. To find out more, visit the Work in a Warming World website.

Posted in: IRIS News | News | Sustainability News

Film Fest Explores Law and Activism Around Food

Published by

Published March 25, 2013

by afdubreu

MICHAEL LONG - The following was originally published in the Obiter Dicta.

In the second running of the Focus on Sustainability Film Festival, an event co-created by the Osgoode Environmental Law Society (ELS) and co-produced by the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival (PIF), the YorkU screenings welcomed not only the campus crowd, but attendees from the wider community.  The theme of the festival (food), as well as the afternoon discussion panel attracted foodies interested in both the impressive film selection and even more inspiring panel.

The panel, moderated by YorkU MES Candidate Jessica Reeve, included three notable figures in the Toronto food scene: lawyer Carly Dunster, Harmony Organic’s Lawrence Andres, and food activist and Chef Michael Stadtlander.  In the 90 minute panel, the audience was mesmerized to hear about the niche field of food law, the growth and success of the local organic milk industry, and the anti-GMO activism of a local hero Chef.  However, the panellists were not the only honored guests; following the screening of Sushi: The Global Catch, Director Mark Hall participated in a Q&A period via Skype.  The festival was further honored by the attendance of PIF Artistic Director Kathleen Mullen, who opened the festival and later raffled passes to PIF which returns this November.

An endless array of prizes were also raffled between the screening of the films, as well as before and after the panel, and at the beginning and close of the festival.  The gifts were donated by local markets and restaurants, which included a $100 gift basket from Front Door Organics, a $100 gift card to the Big Carrot, a $60 gift pack from Fresh Restaurant, a $120 gift card to Mama Earth Organics, and brunches for two at the Farmhouse Tavern and Free Times Café.

Of course, we cannot forget to mention the five films screened throughout the day, which covered a range of food/system issues.  Among the five was a short directed by award-winning Min Sook Lee, titled Teodoro in Toronto, which follows one of the featured workers from her film El Contrato as he speaks to locals in Toronto about poverty, food security, and labour rights.  The full length films were: Bitter Seeds, which explores the plight of farmers in India who are forcefully tied to genetically modified seeds; Love Meat Ender, which examines global meat consumption and the (in)ability to keep up with the demand; Urban Roots, which examines reclamation gardening projects in the inner city of Detroit, and Sushi: The Global Catch, which questions whether the growth rate of this popular food can be maintained ethically.

The festival, which will return in winter 2014, was organized by the Osgoode Environmental Law Society (ELS), the Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), and with help from the Centre for Human Rights (CHR).

Posted in: IRIS News

Are YoU a water Zombie?

Published by

Published March 21, 2013

by afdubreu

The following is a YFile publication, from March 20th, 2013.

WaterZombieAre you aware of water issues? Do you want to talk about the phase out of the sale of bottled water? Are your actions hurting disenfranchised people worldwide? Do you want to take action and make a difference here at York and beyond? The third “unconference” in the Zombie series will explore everything to do with water at an open forum Monday.

“Are YoU a Water Zombie? How can we be water wise?” will take place March 25, from 10am to 3pm, at 280N York Lanes, Keele campus. Lunch will be provided and everyone is invited to drop in throughout the day and participate for as much or as little of the discussions as they can.

The purpose of this unconference is to create a forum for students, staff and faculty to have open conversations around social justice, human rights, sustainability and water issues. The end goal is to create opportunities to work together to take action both personally and here at York University.

An unconference uses open-space technology to allow participants to determine the agenda themselves at the start of the day, within the scope of a particular topic – so YoU set the agenda.

This unconference is brought to you by the joint efforts of the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), the Centre for Human Rights and the President’s Sustainability Council.

The day will begin with registration, from 9:30 to 10am, followed by a collaborative planning session, from 10 to 11am, to determine the agenda for the day. Once discussion topics are chosen and opportunities for LewisMerlotcollaborative action are defined, the group will divide up into breakout sessions based on their interests and expertise, from 11am to 2pm.

Lewis Melot (left), a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies, will give a short presentation during the collaborative planning session to help get the ideas flowing. Melot studies photochemical formation of particulate organic carbon in lakes and iron control of cyanobacterial blooms in lakes.

The day will conclude with a summary of the breakout group discussion and the conclusions that can be drawn from the various experiences, from 2 to 3pm.

For more information on all the unconferences, visit the IRIS website.

Posted in: IRIS News

Earth Hour Specials

Published by

Published March 19, 2013

by iris_author

In light of EARTH hour celebrations at York, Aramark will be featuring Lasagna with cheeses from Ontario tomorrow.

Options include:  Hearty Beef Lasagna with a side of fresh garden salad and garlic bread, OR Veggie Lasagna with a side of fresh garden salad and garlic bread!

The locations offering the specials will be available at Stong Cafeteria, Winters, cafeteria, Tel, Café, Osgoode Bistro, and Central Square Cafeteria.

image007

Posted in: Events

Disasters, Climate Risk, and Exclusionary Modernity in Manila

Published by

Published March 19, 2013

by afdubreu

Thursday, 28 March 2013 | 12 to 2pm | 626 York Research Tower | Keele Campus | York University

With Kenneth Cardenas, Department of Geography, York University
 
In his talk, Kenneth Cardenas traces the role played by the idea of ‘irrationality’ in how Manila’s past and future is being imagined. It begins by reconstructing the experience of Manila with developmentalism, structural adjustment, and globalization to argue that the features of its urbanization which are often understood as consequences of irrationality were in fact produced by rational modern schemes for conquering and managing risks. It will then examine how the definition of disasters and climate change risk in terms of irrationality was used by experts, state agencies, and the Philippine media to articulate a vision for an exclusionary disaster-proofing of Manila by attributing the floods wrought by Tropical Storm Ketsana in 2009 to inadequacies in urban planning and an ‘irrational’ slum-dwelling poor.

Kenneth Cardenas is presently a PhD student in Geography at York University. He completed his MA in Sociology with Distinction at the University of Manchester, where he worked on examining how the definition and management of risks from disasters and climate change are being used to justify an exclusionary reconfiguration of Manila.

This talk is the final event in a series of talks on Urban Asia, organized by the City Institute and the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) at York University.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

For more information: ycar@yorku.ca | www.yorku.ca/ycar/Events/urban_asia.html.  

Posted in: Events

Hevina Dashwood on her book “The Rise of Global Corporate Social Responsibility: Mining and the Spread of Global Norms”

Published by

Published March 19, 2013

by afdubreu

CBERN Banner

Save the Date: Keynote by Hevina Dashwood
Friday, March 22, 2013 - York University, Toronto

Keynote by Hevina Dashwood

Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Brock University

 

York University, Room 519 York Research Tower

Friday, March 22, 2013, 2:00pm-3:30pm EDT

 

Directions:

maps.info.yorku.ca/keele-campus/ 
Please save the date for a Keynote presentation by Hevina Dashwood on her book  "The Rise of Global Corporate Social Responsibility: Mining and the Spread of Global Norms" (2012, Cambridge UP). The Keynote will take place at York University from 2:00pm to 3:30pm on Friday, March 22nd.

This presentation will address the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) adoption in the global mining sector.  It will highlight the conceptual framework developed in the book to explain CSR adoption on the part of individual mining companies, and global collaboration to promote global standards in the mining industry. The talk will speak to a central question raised in the book, namely how it came to be that mining companies adopted sustainable development as a normative frame for their CSR policies.

The book is situated in the growing field of private global governance, where non-state actors such as multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have stepped in to establish global standards in the areas of labour, environment and human rights.  This developing research area recognizes the role of global companies as political actors in their own right.  The author will discuss attributes internal to the firm, including the critical role of leadership, the way in which management responds to the institutional context and operational challenges faced in different countries, and how this influences CSR adoption.
The Keynote will feature a 30 minute presentation, responses from panelists, and a 30 minute open discussion. Panelists will be announced soon.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP here
Keynote Webcast:
The keynote will be webcast on the CBERN website at  http://www.cbern.ca/webcast
For those who wish to participate in the discussion, the webcast will feature a live chat. Your questions and comments may be presented to the speaker and panel during the event.

Discussion Resources:

Research Snapshots highlighting key findings of Hevina Dashwood's book will be made available through this page, and through our Research Snapshot Library: http://www.cbern.ca/researchsnapshots

The snapshots will cover Chapter 5, a case study of Placer Dome, and Chapter 7, on global collaboration towards sustainable development.

Further information about Hevina Dashwood's book and a full table of contents can be found here.

Posted in: Events

Earth Hour Concert

Published by

Published March 19, 2013

by afdubreu

Earth Hour Concert will be held from 7:30 to 10:30pm in Vari Hall. There will be bands and other musical performances. During Earth Hour, between 8:30 and 9:30pm, the lights will be turned off and everyone can listen to the acoustic talents of some of the performers. Because it’s such a big space, feel free to bring your own chair, blankets, pillows, towels and friends. The event is organized by Sustainability@YorkU.

Posted in: Events

css.php