Shape the Conversation

This week the Vancouver Global Shapers had the absolute pleasure of hosting and producing their first ever remotely recorded episode. Missy Johnson was joined virtually by Tesicca Truong, 26-year old B.C. NDP candidate for Vancouver Langara and Harrison Johnston, 20 year old B.C. Greens candidate for North Vancouver-Seymour. The discussion revolved around the need for youths in the legislature, the most urgent issues faced by young people in this election, how to start getting involved in politics and how to avoid the burn out. A couple of B.C. Liberal candidates were contacted but unfortunately, unavailable. Music credit to Purple Planet Music.

Over the past decade, fast-food feminism has flourished in both private and public sectors thanks to #MeToo. But how can the feminist movement truly be democratic and capture the people’s will? Activists like Cicely Blain, who has been fighting for the rights of POCs and LGBTQ+ people have been championing intersectionality for years. In this episode, Vancouver Global Shaper Vivienne Zhang is joined by the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Vancouver and Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Cicely Blain, in a discussion on meaningful consultations, female leadership, and bringing intersectional feminism into the workplace.

How do our beliefs and motivations affect the way we interpret data and climate science? How do these motivations drive polarization and are further exacerbated by the positive feedback loops of social media algorithms that fuel disinformation? How can we harness this knowledge of the human mind to understand one another better and potentially shed light on the need for diverse engagement strategies and consider individual drivers to sustainability to tackle the climate crisis? These are just some of the thought-provoking issues brought up during Miguel A. Rozo's conversation with Dr. Jiaying Zhao - Professor at the University of British Columbia from the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the Canada Research Chair (t2) in Behavioural Sustainability. Check it out and spread the word!  Twitter: @jiayingzhao @miguelarozo @shapersvan

In this episode, Ayesha Khan interviews the BC Minister for Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Honourable Shane Simpson and Halena Seiferling from Living Wage for Families. Together, they discuss existing barriers to political participation, effectiveness of a living wage, holding state and non-state actors accountable regarding structural poverty, and access to opportunities.