But if it's questions you have, you're in good company. Everyone involved with this fledgling organization thinks it's important to ask questions about what's going on in our society. Because before you can formulate a question, you have to be paying attention. Attention to what's going on around you. Attention to what's happening in other parts of the world.

You also have to be able to make distinctions. You have to distinguish between what is and what could be. Otherwise, what is there to question? What choices are we really able to make?

And, of course, choices imply values. We have to value one thing more than another before we will choose it. So what do we value about Canadian society? What does it mean to be Canadian?

Our first project, called The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian, attempts to create dialogue on this subject, and has a special interest in ensuring that young voices join the conversation.

The Eramosa Institute is a Charitable Organization

The Eramosa Institute is a Charitable Organization that exists

• to promote and foster public dialogue on, and greater understanding of, ideas and issues of concern to Canadians by supporting or organizing lectures, seminars and forums on topics relating to public policy, social justice and the humanities;
• to conduct research on matters relating to public policy, social justice and the humanities; and to publish, disseminate or otherwise make publicly available the results of this research; and
• to foster the exchange of such information with individuals, groups and with other research and educational institutions.

Initially, and possibly on an ongoing basis, the above activities will be organized and managed by volunteers. Eventually, staff may be hired, funding may be acquired, and the scope of activities may grow to include efforts designed

• to advance or increase understanding of public policy and social justice issues and the humanities in Canada and internationally by supporting research or projects by meritorious individuals or organizations through awarding scholarships, fellowships, bursaries or grants that will assist them in preparing, completing or disseminating their work.

Many believe we are at an important juncture in human history: global politics, developments in technology, the state of the environment - these factors and many others have brought us to the cusp of critical change. Whether or not we emerge from this time of change in better shape will depend entirely on what we as individuals do and what we demand of our governments, educators and other leaders. Every generation needs new minds, new skills and new leaders.

For over 30 years, the idea has been posited that the world has become too complex for our ability to recognize patterns and develop solutions. The approach of some is to draw us back to more predictable times. Others encourage us to take risks as we forge ahead. In order to decide for ourselves how to live and how to proceed, we need to be engaged, listening to many voices, making up our own minds.

The lecture will take place Saturday, November 1, 2003 at the River Run Centre in Guelph Ontario.

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.

The inaugural Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian was given on November 1, 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.

Photos | Press

The Eramosa Institute announces that Alexandre Trudeau will deliver the 2004 Guelph Lecture on Friday, 5 November 2004. River Run Centre, Guelph Ontario, 7pm.

About Alexandre

This year's lecture features Alexandre Trudeau, an independent documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist. Alexandre will screen portions of his films and discuss his experiences living with typical families - in such places as Israel, Liberia, Belgrade, and Baghdad - who tried to live as normally as possible in spite of bombings and hardships. In Baghdad, he lived for 40 days and 40 nights with a family as they endured the "Shock and Awe" bombardment and the U.S.-led occupation. His latest documentary The Fence tells the story of families on either side of the recently erected security barrier between Israel and the West Bank.

The evening will also include remarks by Madding Angeth, a B.C. high school student who says that only from his position here in Canada can he see that there might be a solution to the conflict in his native country of Sudan. Angeth, who left the Sudan 4 years ago, has aspirations to return to the Sudan one day, perhaps as president. His compelling remarks and insightful comments have caused CBC's Shelagh Rogers to say he is one of "the most impressive people I have ever interviewed."

The evening will also include live music by House of Velvet and a literary reading. A reception will follow the performance.

Please join us and add your voice to this national conversation. You'll also be helping us promote what Guelph has to offer to Canada, and what Canada can offer to the rest of the world.

Ticket Information

Admission: $20 regular, $15 students (EyeGo tickets are available.)

Tickets will soon be available online on the River Run Centre's website or by calling 519-763-3000.

The Eramosa Institute announces that Louise Fréchette will deliver the 2006 Guelph Lecture on Friday, 10 November 2006. River Run Centre, Guelph Ontario, 7pm.

About Louise Fréchette

This year we are extremely fortunate to have Louise Fréchette as our keynote speaker. Madame Fréchette served as the first Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, a position she held for eight years at the culmination of a distinguished career as Canadian diplomat and public servant. She currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo. She has been named as one of the hundred most influential women in the world by Forbes Magazine.

Madame Fréchette will be in conversation with Brian Stewart, long known as one of Canada's most experienced foreign correspondents and one of the most respected foreign affairs analysts. He is Senior Correspondent for CBC's The National and Host of Our World. For more than two decades he has provided Canadians with a window on the world.

This year's musical component features Ndidi Onakwulu with Madagascar Slim and their band. Not only do they have incredible music, they have amazing stories of lives dedicated to music.

We are also very excited by this year's literary portion of the show. To celebrate the University of Guelph-sponsored, community-wide event - Shakespeare: Made in Canada - we will be treated to a most inspiring performance by a well-known Shakespearean actor. Our star actor will read selected passages from the Bard.

Diane Nalini, of Belgian and Goan descent, a Rhodes scholar and U. of G. Physics professor, will sing her original compositions of the same passages, from her newest CD, Songs of Sweet Fire.

Ticket Information

Admission: $20 regular, $15 students (EyeGo tickets are available.)

Tickets will soon be available online on the River Run Centre's website or by calling 519-763-3000.

The Eramosa Institute announces that David Buckland will deliver the 2007 Guelph Lecture on Friday, 9 November 2006. River Run Centre, Guelph Ontario, 7pm.

Tickets

Tickets are on sale now. Don't miss out; last year's event sold out well in advance.

Regular admission: $20. Students are welcome at $15. (eyeGo tickets are available.)

Tickets are available on line at www.riverrun.ca or by calling 519-763-3000 or toll free 1-877-520-2408.

Plan to arrive for a pre-show music set at 6:30, with the formal program to start at 7. A reception follows.

About David Buckland

The 2007 keynote speaker is David Buckland, an artist-photographer, designer and filmmaker - whose photos have been collected by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. He has spent the past seven years leading expeditions to Cape Farwell on a 100-year-old schooner, the Noorderlicht, in an effort to bring awareness to the public on climate change. The UN has called his website, capefarewell.com the best scientific website in the world.

In 2008, Buckland will sail Canada's Northwest Passage, inviting some school children to join in. And 2007/2008 is International Polar Year, setting off a new round of Arctic and Antarctic research and global collaboration. While we might hear most about sovereignty issues in our Arctic, perhaps the real story is about our responsibilities in this precious landscape.

Buckland's film, Burning Ice, opened at the Montreal film festival this year. He will show scenes from it and discuss his work and the North.

Literary Guest

Photo by Philip Cheung for The Globe and Mail

Our literary guest is the Giller Prize-winning author M.G. Vassanji who will read from his new novel, The Assassin's Song. Should he be chosen for the Giller Prize this year, Mr. Vassanji will make literary history by being the first-ever author to win three Giller Prizes for excellence in English-language Canadian fiction. His unique place in Canadian literature comes from his elegant, classical style, his narrative reach, and his interest in characters who are trying to reconcile different worlds within themselves.

Music

Photos by Trina Koster, Karolina Kuras, and Maylynn Quan

This year's musical component features Guelph's own Andrew McPherson and eccodek. You may have heard them on CBC where the Bandwidth host says their new CD is in "near constant rotation" on his personal listening systems. The Ottawa Xpress describes their "magnetic grooves, percolating beats and bone rattling bass" with outstanding approval and other press credits claim they are "one of this year's best dub releases in Canada, if not the world."

For our stage, the group is putting together an original global music and dance performance - a visual feast for the senses - showcasing Ishra, members of Invoke-tress Dance and live bucket drumming featuring Sam Cino.

Special Guest Emcee the Hon. David Anderson, P.C.

A former Liberal cabinet minister of more than 10 years, David Anderson is now Director of the Guelph Institute for the Environment on the University of Guelph

The Eramosa Institute thanks its generous sponsors:

The Guelph Lecture

Each year The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian inspires a community conversation on what it means to be Canadian and what role our country could and should play in a changing world. Through the arts, and film in particular, we share experiences with people all over the world, making possible the exploration of various perspectives, which revitalize us and awaken us to possibilities in our lives.

The Guelph Lecture - On Being Canadian is an offering of the Eramosa Institute, a not-for-profit, Charitable Organization (86498 9207 RR0001) that exists to promote and foster public dialogue on, and greater understanding of, ideas and issues of concern to Canadians.

Ticket Information

Plan to arrive for a pre-show music set at 6:30, with the formal program to start at 7. A reception follows.

Tickets are available by calling the River Run Box Office: 519-763-3000.