The Humber community is invited to listen to a discussion with a diverse group of panelists followed by a community engagement session where they can share their thoughts on the future of sustainability at Humber.
Humber’s Sustainability Vision will guide the Office of Sustainability’s commitment and actions for the next several years. They’re looking for feedback on what actions and goals should be prioritized in the future and suggestions on how to get there.
The Office of Sustainability is holding the Shaping Sustainable Futures event on March 19. It will take place at North Campus in the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation’s Polytainers Atrium. It will also be live streamed to Lakeshore Campus in L1017 and at the International Graduate School’s Learning Commons.
Shaping Sustainable Futures is the cornerstone event of Humber Earth Month this March and is organized into two parts. The first is a panel session where panelists will talk about Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, and other lenses that imagine a more inclusive and sustainable society.
Following the panel discussion, there will be a community engagement session.
“As we chart the new Sustainability Vision for Humber, we are prioritizing community participation in the process and exploring sustainability from diverse perspectives. The Shaping Sustainable Futures event will be a special moment for us all to come together and get the conversation started,” said Lindsay Walker, director, Sustainability.
Walker notes that, during the panel portion of the event, panelists will discuss how current sustainability discourse is not enough to address the complex issues the world is facing, and they will present different perspectives that bring more depth to environmental stewardship. Equipped with this knowledge and more, event attendees will gather in groups to brainstorm about Humber’s role in advancing sustainability.
She added that Humber is responsible for teaching students the skills needed to transition away from fossil fuels, build-up the green economy, lessen the impact of the climate crisis, and promote an understanding of the behaviours, mindsets and decisions that led to it. She said, Humber has a duty as an academic institution to provide the tools to solve global challenges so the current generation of learners can help decide what comes next.
The panelists include Anjum Chagpar, founder of the Good Futures Collective that works at the intersections of climate, community and justice. Also part of the panel is Lauren Snyder, a dedicated sustainability leader who assists companies in achieving their decarbonization goals.
Other panelists include Moyo Rainos Mutamba a scholar, educator, musician, and community worker with a background in economics, social work and social justice education who serves as director of Educational Equity and Internationalization at Sheridan College. Also part of the panel is Jordyn Burnouf, advisor to the Vice-President of the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan who’s a 20/20 Indigenous Clean Energy Catalyst and a part of the national initiative Bringing it Home to address the housing and energy needs of First Nations.
Those interested in attending can register on the Humber Earth Month event page and choose which campus or location they would like to attend.