Hope Restored Symposium-SJ

Event Details:

The symposium is being hosted throughout Uptown Saint John with dozens of sessions over May 10 and 11 (from 10 a.m. - midnight each day). Its purpose is to gather people by way of culture and open respectful dialogue about complex social problems that cannot be addressed by only one perspective. It is our stories that will restore our hope by fostering a New Brunswick identity based on shared value and a sense of belonging.

New Brunswick has long been and remains as one of Canada's most rural provinces: almost half of the population lives in unincorporated areas. This fragmentation of local demographic and political landscape creates a specific set of challenges and opportunity for dialogue. Inevitably, these discussions - which often become heated debates - shed light on the intricate and complex web of local identities that make up our social fabric. New Brunswickers can express a fierce desire to preserve and protect specific identities - often at the cost of local empowerment. What do these identities represent to New Brunswickers? Are they being empowered? How do our representations of rurality and urbanity shape our identities? How are urban and rural areas distinct, and to what extent are they intertwined? The forum will invite New Brunswickers to reflect on identities, power, and social cohesion from a local and territorial standpoint.

Lunch will be provided, which includes dialogue with a newcomer chef whose experience of local will become part of the event. The forum will also include the unveiling of a commissioned art piece that captures the juxtaposition of urban and rural.

Registration for luncheon required (all welcome to standing room for observing the talking circle): Stephany Peterson, Symposium Curator, ampersand.stephany@gmail.com Free Shuttle provided to accommodate accessibility issues: please call 506-663-8346.