CUVIC 2016 to highlight university and community responses to TRC’s Calls to Action

First Nations chiefs, Indigenous community leaders, residential school survivors, community members, faculty and students will gather at the University of Victoria next week to explore how the university and broader communities are heeding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada’s Calls to Action on child welfare, education, health, justice, and language and culture. CUVIC 2016: Reconciliation, Innovation and Transformation through Engagement will welcome 200 delegates—from across Vancouver Island and BC and as far away as Nova Scotia—to campus April 27 to 29.

CUVIC 2016 includes dozens of breakout sessions—including some hosted in UVic’s First Peoples House, an important central gathering place on campus opened in 2010—led by local thought leaders involved in transformative reconciliation work. Topics range from collaborations in Indigenous language revitalization to practicing reconciliation in post-secondary education.

The conference also features a keynote by UVic Chancellor and veteran broadcast journalist Shelagh Rogers, a gala reception in Royal BC Museum’s Living Language Exhibit (First Peoples Galleries), an Indigenous arts market and moderated panel sessions. The conference is open to all, but registration is required.

“We are excited to welcome delegates from diverse backgrounds to share stories and cultivate an open and honest dialogue about the path towards reconciliation,” says Valerie Kuehne, vice-president academic and provost. “The conference builds on UVic’s commitment to act on the TRC recommendations by nurturing initiatives with an Indigenous focus.”

UVic offers a wide array of academic courses, programs and research focusing on Indigenous education, Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous language revitalization, as well as student services and community partnerships, all of which reflect the cultural and historical perspectives of Indigenous peoples, and aim to contribute to reconciliation. More than 1,000 Indigenous students now choose UVic for their studies each year, a tenfold increase over the past 15 years.

Community-University-Victoria (CUVIC) 2016 is a biennial conference that celebrates the ways universities and communities collaborate towards more
sustainable, just and healthy communities. For more information and to view the program of events, visit uvic.ca/cuvic2016.

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