The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian 2003

Severn Cullis-Suzuki

Severn Cullis-Suzuki

The inaugural Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian was given on 1 November 2003, by Severn Cullis-Suzuki. It was a youthful, passionate plea for all of us to influence the future of our own country. Severn has been inspiring audiences all over the world since, at the age of 12, she addressed the full plenary session of the United Nations Rio Summit on the environment. At that time, she spoke for only 6 minutes but received a standing ovation, bringing many delegates to tears. Since then, she has spoken all over the world about the need to redefine our values, to act with the future in mind, and to listen to children; she passionately encourages young people to speak out for their future. Now 23, with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from Yale University, Severn steps beyond the natural environment to a larger picture of what it means to be Canadian at the beginning of the 21st century.

About Severn

Severn Cullis-Suzuki grew up in Vancouver and has been active in environmental and social justice work since kindergarten. At age 9, she and some friends started the Environmental Children's Organization (ECO). They were successful in many local environmental projects, and raised enough money to travel to 1992's Rio Earth Summit. While there, 12-yr-old Severn was invited to address a Plenary Session where she gave a powerful speech to the political representatives.

In 1993, Cullis-Suzuki received the UN Environment Program's Global 500 Award at a ceremony in Beijing, China. Now 23, Cullis-Suzuki often speaks to schools, corporations, conferences and international meetings. She is especially passionate about encouraging young people to speak out for their future.

An accomplished television host and presenter, she has participated in many programs in Canada, the U.S., and Britain - most recently as the host of Suzuki's NatureQuest, a children's television series, aired around the world on Discovery Channel. She has written numerous articles and has published a book, Tell the World (Doubleday).

The First Nations people of the West coast have been a major influence on Severn since she was small. She has worked with and learned from the First Nations peoples of British Columbia, Southeast Asia and the Amazon. She has been honoured by three British Columbian First Nations: she was adopted into the Haida Nation and given the name Killthgula Gaayaa; she has been named Mah Nulth Athluk by the Nuchaanulth people; and is also an adopted member of the Heiltsuk Nation.

Sev loves kayaking, rafting, hiking, fishing and snowboarding. In 2000, she and five girlfriends celebrated the millennium by cycling across Canada in a campaign for clean air called Powershift 2000. In the summer of 2001 she worked at the remote Pinkaiti Research Station in the Xingu valley of the Brazilian Amazon, contributing to her recent B.Sc. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University.

In the spring of 2002, Severn and some friends spearheaded an internet-based think-tank called The Skyfish Project. As a member of Kofi Anan's Special Advisory Panel, she and members of the group brought their first project, a pledge called the Recognition of Responsibility, to the recent UN World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002. Their trip also was the subject of a documentary film that aired on CBC's documentary series, The Nature of Things, in January 2003. The African adventure was followed up by a speaking tour of Japan in November, 2002.

Earlier this year, Severn returned from hiking Nepal's Annapurna Circuit with her mom, and spent the summer exploring her home province of British Columbia.