This weekend on March 5th and 6th, the students of the University of Toronto International Health Program (UTIHP) hosted the Health and Human Rights Conference at the J.J.R. MacLeod Auditorium. Gathering a smorgasbord of scholars, professionals, thought-leaders, and concerned and socially-conscious youth, the HHRights Conference was a two day affair that sought to tackle the crucial but highly problematic issue of international aid and development. Asking hard questions about the current impact of aid, its current flaws, and potential solutions, the event generated truly thought-provoking and insightful discussions and conversations. Some highlights include:

1. Opening performance of “Broken Land – A Song for Haiti” by JC and Karim.

I have no idea who these guys are (fellow U of T students, I presume) but what a way to start the conference! A soulful performance with equally riveting lyrics that set the mood for the rest of the evening. Have a listen to the song here…

2. Opening Keynote presented by George Roter

Engineers without Borders Co-founder and Co-CEO George Roter kick started the event by sharing his experiences during his time in various African countries, drawing the link between the rather abstract theme of aid and development to its human connection. After all, as he said, the conference is “about these human beings living in extraordinarily challenging conditions who want to see change for the better”. With a brief history of the development of aid and highlighting specific thought starters, George set the context for the conference reminding the audience that “we need to go beyond the idea of charity and start thinking about [aid] as opportunity, as partnership”.

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photo from blogTO.com

What can I possibly say that could even remotely capture the feeling that was the 2010 Olympic games? For seventeen days, this entire nation, the entire world, was glued to their TVs reveling in all the competition and the excitement. For seventeen days, Canada demonstrated to the world its incredible hospitality, the amazing talent of its athletes, and the absolute spirit of this great nation. For seventeen days, it was as if all the citizens of Canada were as one. We celebrated together when Bilodeau won that first gold on Canadian soil.  We mourned with Joannie Rochette after hearing about her loss and cheered her on as she courageously took the ice. We drank with Jon Montgomery as he marched the streets of Vancouver. Our hearts went a flutter watching the heavenly Virtue and Moir. We randomly burst into song, belting out our national anthem night after night. We rejoiced and wept together every time our athletes won (or lost). We groaned and moaned collectively when Parise scored that wretched goal in the last few seconds of last night’s game. And of course, we screamed, drank, celebrated and paraded down the streets together when Sid the Kid won us that glorious hockey gold! It has been riveting. Electrifying. Straight-up magical. Never before have I ever felt so proud to be Canadian and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten misty eyed because of all this pride welling up inside of me! With a total of 14 gold medals, not only have our athletes set a personal best for our nation, they’ve set a record that the entire world has yet to beat! It’s been an amazing ride and regardless of whether you were watching the games from Vancouver, the local pub, or just your own living room, the feeling of euphoria has been undeniable and unstoppable.

And so, if I may indulge myself for one last time (everyone shout it with me now)…CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA!

photo from blogTO.com

A quick scan through Ulife’s list of campus organizations show that student-run groups at U of T run the gamut from ethnic-based associations to academic networks, from student government unions to politically motivated affiliations, and from environmental and advocacy groups to faith communities. With all of these organizations trying to capture the student population’s attention, it’s pretty easy to get lost and blend into the background but there are a few out there that really deserve some recognition. One such organization is that of Peace by Peace, a student-run organization with chapters at York, Glendon, and of course, U of T. With the aim of empowering kids with the ability to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict in their everyday lives, students at the three aforementioned university chapters deliver an eleven week conflict resolution curriculum to Grade 5 students all across the Greater Toronto Area. By using interactive games and stimulating group discussions, youth members of Peace by Peace guide children through daily problems that will help them to develop valuable conflict resolution skills.

Every year the organization hosts what they like to call the Peace Bowl, a bowling tournament with funds going directly to PxP initiatives. Last year, they raised $10,000 and they’re hoping to up that amount to $12,000 this year on Sunday, February 29th. The students working behind this organization are so committed to their vision and goals, so much so in fact that,  Liisa Hyyrylainen, U of T Chapter President, vows to get a tattoo of their logo, the puzzle piece, if they hit that $12,000 mark (no turning back now, Liisa!). Proceeds from the Peace Bowl will go not just to the schools that cannot afford to fund PxP programs but also to the Peace Festival, a whole day’s worth of fun and games celebrating the culmination of the nearly three month program. Grade 5 students all over the GTA will get together this year on April 6th at Rexall Centre to enjoy a day especially for them, a day meant to commend and reward them for their hard work and effort. But PxP needs your help to ensure that the day goes smoothly so if you would like to volunteer for the event, contact them at pbyptoronto@gmail.com or drop by their office at 21 Sussex Clubhouse, Rm. 531.

Peace by Peace, in its 10th year of operation now, is undoubtedly an organization worthy of praise and encouragement. Run by university students for elementary students, it’s a sign that our generation is headed towards the right direction. Just their name says it all…

So let me make this open confession right now. I’m a Twitter fanatic and I don’t care what the rest of you think about that. No, it’s not just “status updates” like what we find on Facebook. It’s a place to interact, engage, and communicate with many like-minded and inspired individuals from the local Toronto community and beyond. It is a hotbed of many brilliant ideas from passionate, creative, and driven people. Let me demonstrate…

Speaker Mark Kuznicki of ChangeCamp. Photo by Andrew Louis/Torontoist

Last Thursday, #voteTOin416 was held at the Annex Live, an event organized by #voteTO, a group of self-proclaimed municipal geeks that came together through Twitter with the shared goal of a better Toronto. Hosted by writer, broadcaster, and organizer, Jane Farrow, and using the upcoming municipal election as a backdrop for discussion, the event showcased fourteen different presentations that captured various solutions for Toronto. And staying true to the Twitter style, each presentation was kept short and sweet…not quite as short as 140 characters but almost. Each speaker had 4 minutes and 16 seconds to share and discuss their vision, some of which included voting reform, the establishment of Toronto as a fair trade city, and the need to solve the city’s bedbug epidemic (yeah, you read correctly). (more…)

Waking up in the morning is always an ordeal for me. Seeing that I sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning, nothing is harder than dragging yourself out of bed at 8:30 to get to your 10AM class. To make the process of waking up easier, my iPod docking station is always there to wake me up with lovely tunes at the proper time. Admittedly, my favourite music to wake up to has to be the music from Carmen – even if it is overused figure skating music. (Also, yes, I have opera on my iPod, go ostracize me if you dare.)

Anyways, tonight, I had the wonderful fortune of getting one of the rare tickets to the Carmen dress rehearsal staged by the Canadian Opera Company. (My source of dress rehearsal opera tickets told me that they were completely sold out.) Tickets for the regular shows – on from January 27th to February 27th -  may also be sold out, but if you’re interested and perhaps lucky you can purchase tickets on the Canadian Opera Company website.

As for the show itself, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The orchestra and sets were very impressive (my favourite set being the one from Act II where the gypsies are in front of an inn) and the cast, although rather large was charismatic and fun to watch. Rinat Shaham – who played the title character – had the misfortune of stumbling upon this reviewer (who is, admittedly, an opera newbie) whose standard Carmen is the legendary Maria Callas, who has no equal; however, she held her own for most of the performance. The unfortunate corporal, Don José performed by Bryan Hymel was well cast and delivered a steady and touching performance. Songs by the two gypsy girls, played by Teiya Kasahara and Lauren Segal were also highly entertaining and formed some of the best parts of the opera.

My special mentions however, will go to Jessica Muirhead, who played the innocent Micaela with so much commitment and passion that she sent shivers up my spine when she was pleading with Don José to return to his mother. Another special mention will be sent to the youth or children’s chorus who displayed a kind of professionalism that was beyond their age.

All in all, it was a lovely evening of beautiful music, interesting choreography and a wonderful opera. I highly doubt that Carmen needs any more advertising as it is, but if you do get a chance, I encourage you to see it.

Picture by the Canadian Opera Company.

Attention for all film lovers, fans, nerds, and aspiring movie stars: here is your chance!

Project Fandom is an independent film project based in Toronto that hopes to bring a new concept of film-making to the film industry: interactive film-making.

Using a membership-based website, they are providing interactive “behind the scenes” content, showing how a feature film is created, produced and distributed. By combining social network tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc, members can actually get involved in a film project by being part of it and having their voices heard by the production casts and crews! It is also a great learning opportunity on all aspects of film-making, such as screenwriting, acting, production, etc.

This is kind of like taking crowdsourcing to the next level, which encourages members’ creativity and contribution to the process, as well as promoting participation in an open casting call and other contests.

The membership is $19.95 USD, which lasts until the end of the production. This is a one-time fee: members get a chance to apply for a leading role, or be a production assistant, by uploading a video about themselves on to YouTube for online auditioning. That means no matter where you are (even if you are living in the North Pole), you get equal opportunity to be part of it. Also, members have the opportunity to edit the actual screen play and have their ideas and thoughts passed on to the production crew!

Don’t feel comfortable about being front of the camera? No problem! If you have talent in song-writing, poster-designing or editing, don’t miss this! There will also be contest for members to create the official theme song for the film, design the official poster or create your own trailer.

Members will also receive a limited edition graphic novel and DVD.

The movie itself is not “crowd funded” — it is being made regardless of the amount of members!

The location of this project will be taken place based on the majority of members located in the city. If the majority of members are from Toronto, then it will be taken place right here in our home city!

The actual draft of the script will be released to members in two weeks, and the production crews will start shooting in early spring, and the planing release date is set to be in December!

For more information, check out their Facebook page and Twitter.

You won’t be know how much it takes to make a music video until you get yourself involved! Just before the end of 2009 drew near, I got a chance to help out on a set of shooting a music video for U of T’s upcoming film festival. It was my first time getting involved in events like this and boy what a pleasant experience that was. Being on a set of video shoot can be chaotic sometimes, but you have to be pleased with the effort everybody puts in!

The theme of the music video is social justice and was directed by award-winning Iranian film director Babak Payami, who studied cinema at the University of Toronto decades ago.

Some technical stuff: When shooting a music video, usually the same sequence will be shot around 11 times so that it will provide enough material for the editors to edit during the post-production stage. However, the song will be played over and over again! By end of the day, almost everyone who worked on the set has the song inked in their heads!

Some additional photos:
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