Two speakers series recently launched at the University of Manitoba aim to fuel debate on some of the most prevalent issues affecting modern society.
In anticipation of the opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), the speaker series “Critical Conversations: The Idea of a Human Rights Museum” will explore issues related to human rights and how to best represent them in a museum. The series is hosted by the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) Initiative.
The series, which is free to attend, takes place on a weekly basis during Monday afternoons, 2:30 – 4 p.m., in Room 206 Robinson Hall and runs until March.
“Winnipeggers are both proud and curious about what the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will be doing,” said Karen Busby, director of the CHRR Initiative.
The series’ topics range broadly from the fight for residential school compensation in Canada to the use of technology to appeal to museum visitors. Many of the speakers are professors from the U of M.
“It is impossible to choose [any one issue] as the most critical,” Busby commented.
Busby said she looks forward to having the U of M involved in the progress of the CMHR, adding “the idea of a museum series is a way to jump start this involvement.”
Visionary Conversations, a speaker series hosted by university president David Barnard, is looking to provide a venue for some of the U of M’s brightest minds to shed light on challenges facing Manitoba, Canada and the world.
John Danakas, director of Marketing Communications for the U of M, said he was very impressed with the turnout of the first session on Sept. 14.
“The first Visionary Conversations event [ . . . ] was an absolute success,” said Danakas. “All the seats in the [. . .] theatre were taken.”
Danakas described the meeting as a “wonderful, robust exchange of ideas.”
The next conversation topic will be “Livable Cities: 21st Century Perspectives” and will discuss what makes a city livable.
“The discussion promises to be as riveting and relevant as the first one,” said Danakas.
