Archive | May, 2009

John Lombard – Lessons from China

29 May

n189589895407_8564The Center for Inquiry Vancouver is hosting a lecture tonight (Friday, May 30th, 2009) by John Lombard who will discuss his experience with the education system in China having lived 15 years there. The lecture will be from7pm-9pm in the Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms at the Vancouver Public Library downtown. For CFI members, the event is free but for non-members, it will cost only $5.  It should be an interesting talk, visit the Facebook Event for more information: John Lombard – Lessons from China.

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Our schools have, in many ways, become a battleground over what should be taught. Evolution vs. creation. Atheism vs. religion. And yet many people on every side of this debate are making a fundamental mistake — trying to teach our children ‘what to think’, rather than teaching them ‘how to think’.

Using his experience of living in China for 15 years, John Lombard will use examples from the Chinese educational system — its strengths, and its weaknesses — to bring a new perspective to the debate; and to suggest ways in which we can learn from that situation. Why is it that in China, a country that is officially atheist, superstition and cults are growing at an astounding rate? How does the debate over Traditional Chinese Medicine in China relate to the debate over abortion in North America?

Mr. Lombard will present arguments and examples of a strategy that most people, regardless of their beliefs, should find more rational and reasonable: a strategy that uses critical thinking as its foundation, and that seeks primarily to teach our children how to think — and reach decisions — for themselves.

The audience will be encouraged to ask questions and make comments after the talk, and attendees are invited to stay and discuss the issues. The event will conclude by 9pm.

John Lombard was born and raised in Canada, but for the past 15 years he has been living and working in China. He established two businesses as well as a non-profit organization to work with one of the Chinese minority groups, the Mosuo. In addition, he worked with local Chinese skeptics and scientists to establish one of the first official critical thinking organizations in China. John is currently the Director of Business Relations at the Canada Asia Business Network.

Job applicants with foreign names have lesser chance for interviews: UBC study

21 May
Philip Oreopoulos, an economics professor at UBC, says more research is needed to determine whether employers deliberately withheld interviews from candidates with non-English-sounding names. (CBC)

Philip Oreopoulos, an economics professor at UBC, says more research is needed to determine whether employers deliberately withheld interviews from candidates with non-English-sounding names. (CBC)

“A recent UBC study showed that job applicants with English-sounding names have a greater chance of getting interviews than those with Chinese, Pakistani or Indian names.

The study found Canadians and landed immigrants with names such as “Jill Wilson” or “John Martin” are 40 per cent more likely to be offered an interview than someone with a name like “Sana Khan” or “Lei Li,” given an identical resumé.

Applicants with mixed names like “Vivian Zhang” had a 20 per cent better chance to land an interview than job-seekers with non-English names, but still less than the English-only names.

“The findings suggest that a distinct foreign-sounding name may be a significant disadvantage on the job market even if you are a second- or third-generation citizen,” said Philip Oreopoulos, a professor of economics at UBC who led the research…” for the rest of the article, go to: Job applicants with foreign names have lesser chance for interviews: UBC study

It’s not entirely surprising that people with English-sounding names seem to be preferred considering that there is a perception in society that someone with an English-sounding name must automatically speak English perfectly whereas there is always a chance that English is the second language for those who do not have English-sounding names. I wonder whether this trend will continue especially since the ethnic minorities of Vancouver are growing rapidly to become the city’s majority.

Fleeing horrors and coming by sea – Vietnamese and Chinese boat people of the 80’s and 90’s

15 May

1852-bp-refs-hongkong“No beds were provided! Approximately 20 people were crammed into a house this big, and we piled bamboo mats together and that’s how we slept; each family takes a corner. My impression of Hong Kong is not very good. The “jail guards” – the police who guarded the camps – were not very nice to us, refugees. Hostility towards refugees who committed crimes makes sense, but they were impolite to the children and women, to us refugees in general… For example, everyone was lining up for buckets of water in a narrow space, so there were inevitably some pushing and shoving. Then, one of the guards kicked one of the buckets and yelled at us with profanity. He didn’t tell us in polite tones to keep order, but yelled and swore at us… Not everyone was like this, but 6 to 7 out 10 of them were.” -Excerpt from “Finding the Sino-Vietnamese: The Historic Process of the Identification of the Sino-Vietnamese in Vancouver” a graduating essay by Angela Wong (May 2008)

Between the period of 1979-1980 resettled 60,000 Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese refugees who were escaping Vietnam by the masses in boat. This period was often referred to as the Boat People Exodus during the late 1970s and 1980s, and was often compared to the plight of the Jews in the Holocaust. This year would mark the 30th anniversary of this horrific event.

The Canadian Red Cross is hosting a talk featuring a Vietnamese survivor,Tuoi Nguyen.The event will be at the Central Vancouver Public Library in the Alice McKay Room. It will be on Tuesday, May 19th, from 7-9 pm. Admission is free but seating is limited. For more information, visit: We Came By Boat – A Story of Survival

Good Wives and Wise Mothers: Japanese Picture Brides in Early Twentieth-Century British Columbia

12 May
Japanese Picture Brides

Japanese Picture Brides

On Friday, May 15, 2009, Dr. Michiko Midge Ayukawa will be lecturing on the social implications for the Japanese Canadian community in regards to the Japanese Picture Brides of the early 20th Century. Without the large influx of Japanese wives following the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907, permanent settlement of Japanese may not have taken place. These brave, enterprising and adventurous women laid the foundation of the society and molded the character of their Canadian-born children.  Dr. Michiko Midge Ayukawa lives in Victoria, British Columbia and has published widely on Japanese Canadian history. Her most recent book is Hiroshima Immigrants in Canada, 1891-1941, UBC Press 2008.

The talk will be at National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent (at Kingsway & Sperling) in Burnaby from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm.

For more information, visit: http://www.herstorycafe.ca/

NŪR: LIGHT – THE ESSENCE EXHIBIT

5 May

nurposterwebAllah is the Light
Of the heavens and the earth
The likeness of His Light is as a niche
Wherein is a lamp – the lamp is in a glass
The glass as it were a brightly shining star
Kindled from a blessed Tree
An Olive neither of the East nor of the West
Whose oil is well-nigh luminous
Though no fire touched it
Light upon Light
Allah guides to His Light
Whom He Wills
(Qur’an 24:35)

From May 13th to 29th, the Ismaili Council of BC and the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre will be hosting an exhibition, Nur: Light – The Essence,  which is a collaboration of the artists from the Ismaili, Iraqi and Iranian communities. The exhibit is inspired by the mystical verse on light in the Qur’an, this exhibition explores the multifaceted notion of light in both its popular and mystical forms – especially within a contemporary context.

Curated by Amyn Sunderji and Jabbar al-Janabi, this exhibition presents artists from the Ismaili, Iraqi and Iranian communities and features the work of: Amir Ali Alibhai, Jabbar al-Janabi, Sherazad Jamal, Pari Azarm, Mohamed Somani, Rozita Moini Shirazi, Rubina Rajan, Riyadh Hashim, Alia Noormohamed, Nabil Adnan, Naznin Virji-Babul, Farida Mawji.

Be sure to check it out!

The 2nd Annual New Asia Film Festival – May 7-10

5 May

Final poster

The 2nd Annual New Asia Film Festival will be going on this week from May 7th to the 10th at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate). This year, the festival is featuring 12 films from Canada, Japan, India, the UK, China and South Korea. Tickets are only $3 so be sure to check it out.

The schedule for the event is as follows:

TUESDAY MAY 5

18:30 – 21:30 DocuAsian Forum: A Chinese Documentary Night

Room 1800, Harbor Centre (SFU’s Downtown Campus)

Brave Father
Game Dream

Filmmaker in attendance

THURSDAY MAY 7

19:00 – 20:30 Opening Reception ( by INVITATION only)

21:00 – 22:20 Opening Film ( Ticket at door only)

A State of Mind ( UK / Doc)

FRIDAY MAY 8

14:00 – 16:00 Four Women (India / Drama)

16:30 -18:00 Who Killed Our Children (China / Doc)

19:30 – 22:30 CNEX Screenings

Hip-Hop Storm (Taiwan / Doc)
The District Councillor (HK / Doc)

Filmmaker in attendance

SATURDAY MAY 9

10:30 – 12:30 3XFTM (South Korea / Doc)

13:00 – 14:30 Mongolia, 30 Years Later (Canada / Doc)

Filmmaker and guest speaker in attendance

15:00 – 17:30 puujee (Japan / Doc)

Filmmakers in attendance

18:30 – 21:00 A Warrior’s Religion (Canada / Doc)

Filmmaker in attendance

21:30 – 23:30 Four Women (India / Drama)

SUNDAY MAY 10

10:30 – 12:30 A State of Mind (UK / Doc)

13:00 – 14:30 puujee (Japan / Doc)

Filmmakers in attendance

15:00 – 17:00 Mother’s Day Special Feature

Flower in the Pocket (Malaysia/ Drama)

18:30 – 21:30 Audience Choice Award Announcement
Award-winning Film Additional Screening

Writers Workshop Present…Author Jen Sookfong Lee

5 May

endofeast2-sm

Writers Workshop is presenting a workshop hosted by Jen Sookfong Lee on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at the Richmond Cultural Centre (7700 Minoru Gate) from 7-9 pm. Jen Sookfong Lee is best known for her novel, The End of East. The novel explores themes of isolation, immigration, romance and sanity through the eyes of its narrator, Sammy Chan, a Chinese Canadian woman in her early 20s, and through the experiences of her parents and grandparents. The End of East is a novel with poetry at its heart, mixing character study, history, place and sexuality for a story that is both edgy and evocative. The novel is a terrific read and this workshop would be a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in writing that draws from family history of uses biographical information.

Admission is free but you must call 604-247-8300 in advance to reserve a spot.

Asian Heritage Month Is On NOW!

5 May

logo_ahmMay is Asian Heritage Month in the Lower Mainland and there is practically an event that celebrates the diversity of Asian culture every day this month. Asian Heritage Month is coordinated by explorASIAN which has endeavoured to explore the diversity of Asian Canadian life and culture and promote the discussion of relevant issues and concerns within and beyond the Asian Canadian community since 1996.

ACCO will be highlighting different events this month, so please be sure to check us out daily to find out about more upcoming events.

For the complete list of events happening this month, visit explorASIAN’s Festival Calendar.

An Ending and A New Beginning

4 May

Hi Everyone,

This is my swan song. The semester has come to an end and so has my reign as President of ACCO. It has been an amazing year and I have learned a lot from the executives that have worked so hard this year to make ACCO’s second year a success. I won’t lie as there were many challenges and I would like to use this space to share some thoughts that may help next year’s executives:

1) I think my biggest challenge this year was that I had to completely rebuild the club as all our executives from the first year had graduated. With a lack of a support system, understandably my fear was that the people I recruited would become overwhelm with their duties (as it was the first time for many to take on an executive role) and then I would lose them. So, I became a bit relaxed in holding people accountable as I understand that other priorities came first (family, exams, etc.), BUT I think that was a mistake to an extent as there were preparations that were completed last-minute when they should have been completed way beforehand. So, for the new executives, make sure to understand that people do have other priorities but after taking that into consideration, clearly ask volunteers or club members what the extent of their commitment is and always hold them accountable to what they agree to.

2) Be organized; answer e-mails on time; and follow-up with community volunteers and leaders who want to help advance the organization. Although ACCO is a student club, one of our goals in our mandate is to promote Asian Canadian cultural and community events, and to do so, you must make connections with the community!

3) Establish long-term and short-term goals with all members at the beginning of the year and make sure all members’ voices are heard. Refer back to these goals periodically so that the group will stay on track.

4) Motivate and encourage one another. The team can only be strong as the teamwork that is involved. Everyone’s opinions count and ACCO is only successful as long as the people involved find value in it.

5) Have fun! This is what we certainly did this year :D

Those are my last thoughts as President. As I pass on the torch to Crystal, I know that she will lead with authority and grace and with Kristina as Vice-President, the two of them will make a formidable team. Good luck to the girls and the new executives. If you need anything, I am always here to support and encourage you!

I have met such great people this year and made some beautiful friendships. Thank you everyone for making my Presidency such a wonderful experience.

- Angela

ACCO Executives 2008-2009
ACCO Executives 2008-2009

VACT presents… Flower Drum Song

4 May

142

Continuing to celebrate 10 successful years as the city’s premiere Asian Canadian theatre company, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (VACT) is excited to announce that it will be staging Rodgers & Hammerstein’s FLOWER DRUM SONG from May 29 to June 14 at The Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island.

This is the very first time that this Tony award-winning Broadway musical will be presented in Vancouver as a full production, during this, the 50th anniversary of the play.

Student Prices are only $20!!!

For complete details and ticket ordering information, check out http://www.vact.ca/

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