Teacher Conference

A free conference for elementary and secondary school teachers and librarians.

Friday, February 21, 2020
Docs For Schools Teacher Conference
Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave, University of Toronto (St. George subway station)

8:30 AM: Registration
9:00 AM-3:00 PM: Conference

Please be sure that you have admin approval before booking.

Questions? Contact Lesley Sparks at [email protected].

CONFERENCE INFO

Following the success of the Docs For Schools Greta-inspired Fall Focus program, the conference will continue the theme of the environment.

All sessions will include a Q&A period giving attendees an opportunity to dialogue with our guests.

Keynote Speaker: Ziya Tong

Ziya Tong is an award-winning science broadcaster, best known for her work with Discovery’s flagship show, Daily Planet, and NOVA ScienceNow on PBS. She is the author of the The Reality Bubble, short-listed for this year’s Charles Taylor Prize, and the winner of CBC Canada Reads 2019. Ziya currently serves on the board of WWF International and is the former Vice Chair of WWF Canada.

Fridays For Future

Allie Rougeot will be showcasing the new Fridays For Future education material for the classroom and will be in discussion with Ziya Tong.

Aliénor (Allie) Rougeot is an Economics and Public Policy student at the University of Toronto. She has been an environmental and human rights activist since the age of 10 and has been passionate about sustainability and climate justice since high school. In January 2019, she took on the role of lead coordinator for the Fridays for Future movement in Toronto. Fridays for Future is a worldwide movement where students have been striking and protesting to demand bold climate action from all levels of government. Allie has been recognized for her work by the Canadian Voice of Women for peace with the Kim Phuc Youth Award, Toronto Post Magazine in “20 under 20”, Corporate Knights 30 under 30, and has received a Youth Climate Award at the Climate Arts Awards 2019.

#FridaysForFuture is a movement that began in August 2018, after 15-year-old Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks, to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis. She posted what she was doing on Instagram and Twitter and it soon went viral. On September 8, Greta decided to continue striking every Friday until the Swedish policies provided a safe pathway well under 2-degree C (in line with the Paris agreement). The hashtags #FridaysForFuture and #ClimateStrike spread and many students and adults began to protest outside of their parliaments and city halls all over the world. During the week of March 15, there were at least 1.6 million strikers on all 7 continents, in more than 125 countries and in well over 2000 places.

Screening: There’s Something in the Water
D: Ellen Page | Ian Daniels | Canada | 70 min
Based on the book There’s Something In the Water by Dr. Ingrid Waldron.

Environmental racism is a phrase we know but, for most, unlikely experience. This doc introduces us to a Canadian story set in Nova Scotia, showcasing the living conditions and bringing Dr. Waldron’s book to life. We see the damage and hear the stories through those in the Indigenous and Black communities who have been fighting the toxins from industrial development that have infested their communities for decades—a Canadian story not isolated to Nova Scotia.

Dr. Waldron will join us via Skype for a Q&A following the film.

Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Ph.D. is a sociologist and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University, a Senior Research Scholar and Team Co-Lead for the Health of People of African Descent Research Cluster at the Healthy Populations Institute, and the Co-Chair of the Dalhousie Black Faculty & Staff Caucus. Her research, teaching, and community leadership and advocacy work are examining and addressing the health impacts of structural inequalities within health, education, employment, child welfare, and the environment in Indigenous, Black, immigrant, refugee, and other racialized communities in Nova Scotia and Canada.

Book Availability:

Both books, Ziya Tong’s The Reality Bubble and Ingrid Waldron’s There’s Something In the Water will be available for sale.

There will be dedicated time for a book signing with Ziya.

Details will be available in advance. Both books would make great additions to the school library.