For Immediate Release - Pennies For Playgrounds

Pennies for Playgrounds: Urban Planning, Children’s Rights and Climate Change- December 6

Abbotsford, BC- On Thursday December 6, UFV Global Development Institute along with Association of Universities and Colleges Canada and Ardhi Institute of Human Settlement Studies will be having a reception to launch their art exhibit at The Reach Gallery, 32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford, BC, from 4:30-6 pm. Admission is by free but donations are strongly encouraged and open to the public.

Pennies for Playgrounds is a collection of work that showcases University of the Fraser Valley student projects with an emphasis on the child’s voice and the right to play. A central theme will be child’s perspective on play and safe places due to relocation following flooding in one particular informal settlement in Dar es Salaam. There will also be maps and photos from other related UFVproject on the same themes from India and Antigua as well as a connection to Abbotsford. It is our hope that through this exhibit we can not only showcase the resilience of children, their optimism in spite of all odds and the spirit that connects us globally as we work to create better places for children and in the end for all of us.

Students from UFV intern every year in Tanzania. This exhibit and fundraiser is being put on by previous interns to give back to the area they studied and worked. A part from showcasing student’s work, we hope to raise enough money to build a safe playground in Tanzania for children that have been forced to move from their home because of recent flooding due to climate change.

For more information about Pennies for Playgrounds and where you can donate please visithttp://www.indiegogo.com/penniesforplaygrounds.

UBC & SFU awarded the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries & Development

To all strategic partners of the UBC-SFU bid for the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development:

We are pleased to announce that the coalition of the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University has been selected to establish the Canadian International Institute for Extractive Industries and Development. The announcement was made today by the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, at a speaking event in Toronto. The CIDA news release may be found here and the joint UBC-SFU news release may be found here.

UBC and SFU will establish a world-class institute to deliver knowledge and technical assistance aimed at helping resource-rich developing countries manage their natural resources responsibly and transparently. We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to you, as a strategic partner, for your support of our bid. We could not have achieved this incredible goal without you.

Over the coming weeks and months ahead as we establish the Institute, we look forward to working closely with you to further develop areas for collaboration and partnership. In the meantime, should you wish to discuss the Institute, please contact Dr. Bern Klein at bklein@apsc.ubc.ca or Dr. Danny Shapiro at dshapiro@sfu.ca. Dr. Bern Klein Professor and Department Head Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering University of British Columbia Dr. Danny Shapiro Dean, Beedie School of Business Lohn Foundation Professor Simon Fraser University

Once again, thank you for your support.

Best regards,

The UBC-SFU CIIEID Steering Committee

2012 PIBC Conference

This intensive four-week applied project professional course focuses on reviewing planning projects in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar with an emphasis on  identifying strategies to address dense informal urban fabric, history, and struggles in adapting to the pressures of poverty, population growth, infrastructure challenges and global issues such as climate change and fiscal restraint.  Drawing on expertise of local planners, NGOs, government officials and organizations such as United Nations  and building on preparation prior to coming participants will work in partnership with community leaders in an an informal settlement in one location to create a community vision and plan.  The final document and presentation  will address infrastructure requirements including housing, appropriate technology, urban design, micro finance opportunities,  and selected key issues.  An important outcome will include a funding and implementation plan. 

More info can be downloaded here

The iternarary can be downloaded here  

UN Provides New Opportunities for Women

Planning for the Future: Presentations and Workshop for Women on ICT

Association of Universities & Colleges Canada (AUCC) in a research partnership with the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) and Ardhi University (ARU) are proud to be hosting an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Day event for young women. The event is being held at *insert venue* on June 26. The event will run from 10am-3pm and features presentations from two Ardhi Ph.D students then a workshop put on by interns from Canada for young women on how to use GPS/GIS.

ICT is the fastest growing industry today and more jobs are created in this industry than any other. The same prospects are for the future. ICT has been identified as the industry that will lead forward world economies, improve lives of families across the globe and make the planet a smaller, more accessible place. Women should take a more prominent role in this process.

This public engagement event is for women to learn more about what ICT has to offer in the field of urban planning.  This event will present current ongoing research from students at ARU that have been involved in mapping and GPS work related to flooding of informal settlements in Dar es Salaam. After lunch selected young women will have the opportunity to participate in a training session and workshop on GPS and GIS mapping. The event is being hosted in coordination with the UN Girls ICT portal, Making Africa Work, Women’s Fund Tanzania, and River Cross Tracking Limited.

More info can be downloaded here