University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) celebrates International Women’s Day with an online event on Monday, March 8.
The Zoom event starts at 12:30 p.m. and features a panel moderated by Dr. Carin Bondar, an internationally known science communicator who is also an adjunct professor of biology at UFV and a newly elected Chilliwack school trustee.
Bondar is author of the books Wild Sex and Wild Moms. She is also a writer and host of several online series based on her books, which have garnered over 120 million views.
Panelists for the event are Jasmin Kaur, Tsansdlia Van Ry, and Dr. Jacqueline Ashby. They will discuss how they handle life’s challenges, the connection and overlap between art and science in their careers, advice to younger women, and how they have responded to the specific challenges posed by the pandemic.
Kaur is a writer, illustrator, and poet living on unceded Sto:lo territory. As a spoken-word artist and creative writing facilitator, she has toured across North America, the UK and Australia to connect with youth through the power of artistic expression.
RELATED: B.C. children’s writer encourages girls to pursue the sciences in new book
Her debut poetry and prose collection, When You Ask Me Where I’m Going (2019), is available with HarperTeen in North America and with Penguin Random House in the Indian Subcontinent. Her sophomore novel, If I Tell You The Truth, is available now with HarperTeen.
Vay Ry is a Sto:lo educator working in her ancestral territory of Ts’elxweyeqw, a part of the greater Sto:lo Nation.
She was the 2020 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor General Medal for Inclusion, Diversity and Reconciliation at UFV, and most recently shared her passion for cultural equity by participating in TedX Abbotsford 2020: Perception.
Van Ry currently works at a middle school in the Chilliwack School District, and is pursuing further education at Simon Fraser University in curriculum and instruction.
Ashby is an environmental researcher and educator intrigued by the transactional relationship between people and place. She has studied this dynamic over the past 14 years resulting in her award-winning dissertation Designing for the future: A post-occupancy evaluation of the Peter Jones Learning Centre.
Ashby also serves as a technical advisor and mentor for the Primary Compassionate Care Initiative, located in Abuja, Nigeria. In addition, she is a member of the Sedna Epic Expedition 2020/21 team that works with women and youth in developing knowledge and practice in tackling societal and climate challenges.
UFV’s event will tie into the official theme for the day this year, which is Choose to Challenge. It will also be part of the UFV President’s Leadership Lecture Series.
“Focusing on the theme of ‘Let’s All Choose to Challenge’ for this year’s event recognizes that challenge can bring awareness and positive change,” says UFV president Joanne MacLean. “I hope that members of the community will tune in for an engaging discussion and participate in our interactive social media campaign leading up to the event.”
RELATED: 2020 International Women’s Day at UFV
To participate in the #ChooseToChallenge social media campaign, download the ChoosetoChallenge Selfie cards, strike a pose, and take a selfie. Tag the photo with #goUFV #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021.
Last year’s International Women’s Day event at UFV – held March 6 at the Abbotsford campus and featuring Tamara Taggart, Shahana Alibhai and Kate Horsman – was one of the final public events held in person at UFV before the COVID-19 pandemic.
A link to register for this year’s International Women’s Day event at UFV can be found at events.ufv.ca.
