Internationally Recognized Speaker Series Comes to VIU

From striking the right balance between the needs of the collective with the needs of the individual; to reconciliation between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples; and cultivating world citizenship skills, seven thought leaders from across Canada shared their ideas during VIU Presents The Walrus Talks Leadership last March.              

Speaking to a sold-out audience in VIU’s Malaspina Theatre, each presenter talked for seven minutes on the topic of leadership. The Walrus is a registered charitable non-profit foundation with an educational mandate to create forums for conversations on matters vital to Canadians. As part of this mandate, The Walrus Talks are hosted in cities across Canada.

“The goal of The Walrus Talks is to create truly national conversations, and we were delighted to see Nanaimo and the VIU community participating and sharing these ideas with such enthusiasm,” says David Leonard, Director of Events for The Walrus. “For our first event in Nanaimo, and because of VIU’s reputation for leadership, we focused on showcasing established and emerging voices from the local area as well as unique perspectives from across the country.”

The speaker lineup included: Ruby Barclay, Peer Support Navigator for VIU’s Tuition Waiver Program; Stephen Kakfwi, former Northwest Territories premier and former Dene Nation President; Alicia Raimundo, a mental health and youth engagement advocate; Katharina Rout, a translator and Honorary Research Associate at VIU; Judith Sayers, President of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council; Scotty Taylor, a Guthrie Therapeutic Community alumni and arborist; and George Hanson, President of the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance.

Videos of the speakers are posted online at: youtube.com/user/walrustelevision.

*This article originally appeared in the Fall 2018 edition of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories on the VIU Magazine webpage.