Global Citizens Week promotes solidarity in action

This year’s event includes visiting speakers, film screenings and live music.

A campus-wide, community event with a global focus is once again returning to Vancouver Island University (VIU).

Global Citizens Week takes place from February 6 to 10 this year and features a variety of events, visiting speakers and dialogues centered around the theme of solidarity in action.

“With all the conflict and suffering people are experiencing in the world, we often wonder: ‘What can I do?’ or ‘How do I act in solidarity and help make things better, both globally and closer to home?’” said Darrell Harvey, VIU’s Manager of Global Engagement.

Global Citizens Week aims to draw attention to important social justice and development issues and highlight the changemakers in our community who are tackling them. 

“We bring people from across campus and the wider community to talk about their work and help educate our students and faculty on what they can do to help make a difference,” said Harvey, adding that many of the activities and events offered during the week are two-pronged with both educational and action-oriented components.

New this year, Global Citizens Week will be working with VIU’s Career Studio on an event for students who are interested in working for local, national and international non-government organizations whose goal is social change. The event will help educate attendees on how to prepare themselves for employment in these fields, how to get a job, how to effectively network and ultimately link their passion with their career.

Other event highlights include the Engaged Citizens Speaker Series, which tackles the topic of herring and the health of the Salish Sea. Visiting guest speaker Bryce Casavant, Director of Conservation Intelligence at the wildlife conservation organization Pacific Wild, will look at herring/fisheries management in the context of Canadian laws. The event will be held live in the Malaspina Theatre, as well as via Zoom webinar. Those interested in attending either in-person or virtually can register via Eventbrite.

The week will also explore issues of criminal justice, climate change, refugee experiences and women’s rights in Iran, among other topics.

“Global Citizens Week is always focused on the action piece – what are we doing as a campus and academic community to make positive change in the world,” said Harvey. “It’s an opportunity to feature faculty, students, staff and community partners who are doing just that.”

A full schedule of the week’s events is available on the Global Citizens Week website.