Stories of Asian identities on campus and in community: a panel discussion
Tuesday, May 25
4 - 5:30 p.m. (MST)
UCalgary International is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion on the 2021 theme for Asian Heritage Month, “Recognition, Resilience and Resolve”. Speakers will share their journey as builders and contributors to their local and international communities. The conversation will focus on their successes, and will also touch on their unique struggles and challenges as Asian Canadians to ultimately open a discussion on how we can collectively impact positive change.
Meet Our Speakers
Moderator
Dr. Malinda S. Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Calgary
Panelists
Teresa Woo-Paw, Chair, Canadian Race Relation Foundation, Asian Heritage Foundation and ACCT Foundation
Woo-Paw is the first Canadian woman of Asian descent elected to the Calgary Board of Education (1995-2000), the Alberta Legislature and Cabinet Minister in Alberta (2008-2015). She founded and built eight non-profit entities over a span of 40 plus years including the ACCT Foundation & Asian Canadians Together-ACT2EndRacism National Network; Asian Heritage Foundation, the Ethnocultural Council of Calgary (Action Dignity) and the Calgary Chinese Community Service Association. Woo-Paw holds a bachelor of arts degree in social work from the University of Calgary.
Dr. Turin Tanvir Chowdhury, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary
Dr. Chowdhury is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. His primary research interests are equitable access to care and unmet needs faced by the immigrants, refugees and racialized/ethnic communities. He leads his program of research through the approach of Community Based Participatory Research and Integrated Knowledge Translation where efforts for Meaningful Community Engagement is at the core.
Dr. Cesar Suva, PhD, Director, Research and Program Development, The Immigrant Education Society
Dr. Suva graduated from of the University of Calgary’s Department of History in 2009, and subsequently obtained a PhD in Culture History and Language from the Australian National University in Canberra working on imperialism in Southeast Asia and the colonial incorporation of religious and ethnic minorities. He is currently the Director of Research and Program Development at The Immigrant Education Society (TIES) and works extensively with UCalgary researchers on various settlement and integration topics such as urban gardening in integration, newcomer emotional wellness and mental health, the practice of language brokering, and technology in integration. Suva is also connected to UCalgary's Newcomer Research Network.
Fatima Saleem, Undergraduate Student, University of Calgary
Saleem is currently completing her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Calgary. She is passionate about serving underrepresented and vulnerable communities. Saleem co-founded a non-profit that redirects surplus food from restaurants to people in-need across Canada, and she advocates for the mental health needs of minority youth by volunteering with the Kids Help Phone, BRIGHT International and Art of Recovery.