International Week 2016: For a Better World

Explore global issues and celebrate cultural diversity during International Week: For a Better World 2016!

International Week (or I-Week) runs from January 25 — 31 and features over 50 free events! This year’s program is focused on the Sustainable Development Goals: 17 ambitious goals agreed to by world leaders meant to transform our world by 2030. We will consider the current global realities and our path to a better future. We’re also featuring fashion, dance and music that reflect and celebrate the cultural diversity of our community.

The full program can be found online: globaled.ualberta.ca/iweek.

Keynote Events

• Stephen Lewis — The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: Implications for Canada and the World (Jan 29) — Celebrated humanitarian and former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
• Marc and Craig Kielburger — Building a Vision and a Team (Jan 25) — founders of the international charity Free the Children. 
• Marina Nemat — In/visible Scars of Torture (Jan 26) — Torture survivor, author and award-winning activist.
• Sheila Watt Cloutier — The Right To Be Cold: Human Rights and Our Changing Climate (Jan 27) — Inuit activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
• ISIS and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: Canada's Response (Jan 28) — A panel of faculty members and community leaders will assess the situation in the Middle East and the effectiveness of Canada's response.

 Featured Events

• The Global Goals for Sustainable Development: A Photo Exhibit (Jan 25-31) — Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals and help us to envision the world we want in 2030 when the goals expire.
• KAIROS Blanket Exercise (Jan 25) — A powerful and interactive overview of Indigenous history and rights in Canada. This is the history lesson that most Canadians have never been taught.
• Music for a Better World: World Music for Sustainable Development (Jan 30) — A concert to benefit Syrian refugees in our community, featuring music from Syria, India, Pakistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Russia, Ghana, and beyond.
• Jhankaar (Jan 31) — A cultural extravaganza featuring music, dance and food from India and other parts of the world.

Environment-Related Events

• Desolation Row: Sustainability for the Oft Forgotten (Jan 25).
• 6 Students, 5 Countries, 3 Continents: Global Perspectives on Sustainable Development (Jan 26).
• 7 Food Security Lessons We Learned From Livestock (Jan 27).
• After Paris: COP 21 and Beyond (Jan 27).
• New Approaches to Sustainability (Jan 27).
• Conserving and Using Nature’s Bounty: How Dietary Diversity Helps Address Malnutrition in Alberta and Around the World (Jan 27).
• Sustainable Development 3.0: Ukrainian Style (Jan 28).
• Film: A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil (Jan 28).