Communication for Social Transformation
“Challenging Inequality and Promoting Cultural Integrity”
Cape Breton University, Multi-Purpose Room
A participatory forum exploring how various forms of communication from journalism, visual arts, theatre, music and conflict resolution are being used to promote social justice and cultural integrity in communities around the world.
Registration closed.
Schedule
Friday, March 12
6:00 – 7:00 pm
CBU Art Gallery & Great Hall
P. Sainath, exhibit opening: Visible Work, Invisible Women: Women and Work in Rural India
7:15 – 9:30 pm
Multi-Purpose Room
Opening Panel Discussion: Communication for Social Transformation
P. Sainath, Journalist and Rural Affairs Editor of India’s The Hindu
Daniel Rocha, Director of Theatre, National Commission of Reparation and Reconciliation, Colombia
Saturday, March 13th
Click here for full Saturday schedule.
After Party
Join us at the after conference “Jamming for Justice” party featuring live music by Tom Fun Orchestra, Buck and Kinch, The Misfit Toys, V. Tomiczek and others at 6pm in CBU’s Pit Lounge.
An Alternative Gathering
Traditionally, speakers are invited to give a presentation on subject matter in which one could be called an “expert”. The presentations are taken in by participant-observers who may ask questions afterward.
We are circumventing this tradition, and instead promoting an alternative model, one that attempts to promote the equality of ideas through the open exchange of opinions and experiences.
Invited speakers have a formidable knowledge of the issues to be discussed, but the format will differ from the panel-audience layout generally used in conferences. The seating arrangements will be circular, for two reasons:
- It gives everyone the chance to see each other, and see who is speaking whether it is a guest or a conference attendee. The guests that we invite to speak will be sitting wherever they want to in the circle, among the attendees. This creates a dynamic that promotes a more open sharing of knowledge and opinion.
- It reduces barriers that could prevent someone from sharing their views or experiences if they see a speaker as the ultimate expert on the subject.
By promoting the inclusion of all types of knowledge, it is important to note that this does not include the diminishment of the role of the speakers who come to participate in the conference. It means that we want to empower everyone involved to engender feelings of participation, which we hope will translate into feelings of hope and feelings of responsibility for future efforts to ensure human security on the local, national and global levels.
Saturday, March 12 – Full Forum Schedule
(Registration and Sessions 1-3 will take place in the Multi-Purpose Room)
8:30 – 9:00 am
Registration and Coffee
9:00 – 10:30 am
Session One: For Justice and Cultural Integrity
Popular Theatre and Music in the Struggle for Social Change
This session will explore how the arts of music and theatre can play a creative role in social transformation, from protest against the establishment in Punk music, to rebuilding community identity in post conflict communities in Colombia to celebrating the power of working class history in Cape Breton.
Featuring:
Daniel Rocha, Director of Theatre, National Commission of Reparation and Reconciliation, Community Project in La Libertad, Colombia
Jan Hancock, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, CBU
John C. (“Jack”) O’Donnell, Musical Director and Conductor, Men of the Deeps
10:30 – 11:00 am
Coffee Break
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Session Two: Behind the Lines
Media as a Site of Struggle for Justice
This session will examine the role of independent media and activist journalism in covering the untold stories of poverty, human rights, and environmental justice. Speakers will provide critical reflection on the media status quo and an exploration of the media as a space for promoting sustainable communities, economically, culturally and environmentally.
Featuring:
P.Sainath, Journalist, India
Tracy Glynn, Julie Michaud, New Brunswick Media Co-op
Erna Macleod, Professor, Department of Communications, CBU
Rachel Brighton, Editor, Coastlands: The Maritimes Policy Review
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Lunch (Faculty Lounge)
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Session Three: Communicating for Change
Building Community through Popular Education, Dialogue and Conflict Resolution
Through storytelling and dialogue, this session will explore the conflict resolution strategies, community development principles and legal mechanisms behind efforts to build bridges and promote justice between communities and groups with divergent and sometimes opposing perspectives.
Featuring:
Steve Law, Social Transformation Program Coordinator, Tatamagouche Centre
Evelyn Jones, Refugee Sponsorship Coordinator, Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services
Ishbel Munro, Executive Director, Coastal Communities Network
Felix Odartey, Professor, Department of Communication, CBU
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Session Four: Visualizing Justice and Promoting Cultural Integrity (Art Gallery II)
Activist Art and Photography Display and Discussion followed by Music to Promote Cultural Integrity
Caitrian MacNeil Oil Paintings (Guatemala)
Shayna George, Photography (Guatemala)
Music by Men of the Deeps (Maritimes Male Choir)
Cash bar and free snacks!
Resource People
P. Sainath, Indian journalist and Rural Affairs Editor of The Hindu.
More about P. Sainath »
Hindu Times website »
Daniel Rocha, Director of Theatre, National Commission of Reparation and Reconciliation (CNRR), Colombia.
CNRR website »
Jan Hancock, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, CBU.
John C. (“Jack”) O’Donnell, Musical Director and Conductor, Men of the Deeps. Jack is also Professor Emeritus, Department of Music at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia.
More about Jack O’Donnell »
Men of the Deeps website »
Julie Michaud, founding member of the New Brunswick Media Co-op and active member of the Fredericton Peace Coalition.
More about Julie Michaud »
Fredericton Peace Coalition website »
Tracy Glynn, Acadian Forest Campaigner with the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, and member of the New Brunswick Media Co-op and the Fredericton Peace Coalition.
More about Tracy Glynn »
NB Media Coop website »
Steve Law, Social Transformation Program Coordinator, Tatamagouche Centre.
More about Stephen Law »
Tatamagouche Centre website »
Evelyn Jones, Refugee Sponsorship Coordinator, Immigrant Settlement and Integration Services (ISISNS).
ISISNS website »
Ishbel Munro, Executive Director, Coastal Communities Network.
More about Ishbel Munro »
CCN website »
Felix Odartey, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, CBU.
Erna Macleod, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, CBU.
More about Erna Macleod »
Rachel Brighton, Editor, Coastlands: The Maritimes Policy Review
Coastlands website »