Invitation to the 7th Annual Tommy Douglas Institute

POVERTY   POPULISM   PLANET
Envisioning
ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Featuring Maude Barlow, National Chairperson, Council of Canadians

http://www.georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute

 
The 7th annual Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College is pleased to announce author, activist and Council of Canadians National Chair, Maude Barlow as its keynote speaker on Poverty, Populism, Planet: Envisioning Economic Justice.

It’s 2019 and decades of neoliberal sacrifice of the public good for private accumulation has led to a dramatic display of wealth inequality as 26 of the world’s richest own as much as its 3.8 billion poorest. Growing numbers of the economically and socially disenfranchised withdraw into extremisms of race, religion and nationalism, while fringe groups trafficking in fear and xenophobia make their way to the centres of political debate and governance. In a world of globalized media, militarism and money, reactionary politicians campaign on promises of stronger borders, borders that are powerless against almost everything, except humanity - keeping the poor and desperate out, while shuttering empathy and compassion within. And where truth is no longer a matter of evidence but of convenience, a climate-change denying superpower and its allies continue the lie that we must choose between jobs and the environment, even as our polluting economies usher in the geologic era of the human-caused Anthropocene and the Sixth Age of Mass Extinction.

However, where rage at widening poverty and deepening insecurity is justified, the diversion of this rage toward socially and environmentally destructive agendas, by a regressive populism, is not.

This is also a time of activism, intelligence, care and hope.

From schools to halls of government, from airports to city streets and from the real world to the virtual, we are seeing powerful resistance to the politics of fear and division.  In every corner of the world, communities large and small are mobilizing…

  • to build people-centred, life-affirming economies that wage war against POVERTY, rather than against the poor;
  • to grow a progressive POPULISM fuelled by shared stakes, solidarity and social justice for the common good; and
  • to connect the rights and dignity of all peoples to the rights and dignity of our PLANET.
The day of presentations, performances, interactive exhibits and roundtable discussions also features a panel on Envisioning A Peoples’ Centred Economy with Nour Alideeb (CFS Ontario), Maude Barlow (Council of Canadians), John Clarke (OCAP), Kofi Hope (Wellesley Institute), Vicky Mochama (journalist/commentator) and panel moderator Olivia Chow (former Member of Parliament/community organizer).
Roundtables:
Migration: Humanity Without Borders: From Xenophobia to Compassion & the Building of Global Communities
Media: The Battle for Truth, the Amplification of Hate and the Power and Reach of Modern Media: Educating for Change in the Information Age
Labour: From Working Class Rage to Workers’ Rights and Solidarity: Organizing for Bread and Roses in Precarious Times
Environment: Climate Denial, Environmental Violence and the Age of the Anthropocene: Crimes Against Humanity?
Poverty/Inequality: Balancing the Budget on the Backs of the Poor: Organizing for Dignity in the Age of Neoliberalism 
Governance: Standing Against the Emergence of Regressive Populism and the Gutting of Our Social Contract / Standing For Social Justice and Good Governance
Education: Our Schools Are Our Futures: Defending Against Neoliberal Attacks on Educational Systems, Students, Workers and Critical Pedagogy
Join us in exploring a true vision of ECONOMIC JUSTICE that sustains our shared humanity and our shared Earth.
Registration & Program Information
Date/Time:       Thursday May 23rd, 2019 / 10:00am – 4:30pm
Location:         George Brown College (290 Adelaide St. E., 4th Floor)
Fee:                  $55 (regular) / $20* (GBC student / low wage)
*Apply for subsidy for reduced rate, limited subsidies available
Contact:           tdouglasinstitute@georgebrown.ca / 416-415-5000 ext. 2555
Facebook:        facebook.com/TommyDouglasInstitute

Twitter:            @TDIGBC

Taras Gula

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