Chancellor's Conversations Podcast
In September 2022, Chancellor Peggy Garritty began a conversation series - Bridging Connections - about important and interesting topics with interesting people. The Chancellor invites individuals working in different areas to have a conversation on their work and then the attendees are engaged in a group discussion about the conversation. The conversation and discussion are recorded and, working with Adverb Communications, podcasts are produced for each event.
The Bridging Connections podcast has recieved the 2023 Audio/Visual Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators (Edmonton).
November 2023 - Edmonton's Housing Crisis
Chancellor Garritty interviews Cheryl Whiskeyjack from Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society and Jordan Reiniger from Boyle Street Community Services about this crisis. Cheryl and Jordan share stories about the clients they work with every day and the Chancellor asks them what can be done to address this issue, especially in light of the number of folks who have dies over the past few months.
National Indigenous Peoples Day
In advance of the Chancellor’s Conversation at the CKUA Radio Network studios, Chancellor Peggy Garritty was delighted to interview Adrian LaChance to learn more about the power of Indigenous music. LaChance is a renowned Plains Cree dancer, singer, and helper. In their conversation he shared some teachings about Indigenous drumming and what it means as a creative and cultural expression. He also played a few songs on his hand drum and described music as ceremony and a connection to the Creator.
May 2023 - The Music that Moves Us
University of Alberta Chancellor Peggy Garritty interviews Edmonton musicians Ben Spencer, Ellen Doty, and Biboye Onanuga about all things music: how inspiration strikes them, how they write songs, and how they know when a song is finished. Then, the Chancellor passed the mic to the audience who ask the musicians questions about ciricism and the experience of writing music without lyrics.
February 2023 - The War in Ukraine
University of Alberta Chancellor Peggy Garritty interviews David Marples, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Classics at the U of A; Oleksandr Melnyk, an academic from Ukraine studying at the U of A with the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies; and, Lyudmyla Honcharova, one of 80 Ukrainian students studying at the U of A who arrived here from Ukraine on August 20, 2022. Along with her guests and members of the audience, Chancellor Garritty explores the stories behind the conflict, and what an end to this war might look like.
November 2022 - Stopping Hate Online
This conversation with Lana Cuthbertson, co-founder of Areto Labs, a company that is finding ways to identify and mitigate online abuse and hate. Areto Labs is a Canada-based, women-led company that started out of conversations the founders had with other women about how “online toxicity was getting in the way of gender equality in politics - women were stepping back and deciding not to run for office because of online hate.” Those conversations led to the use of artificial intelligence to develop tools to combat abuse and harassment in social media - something that has grown in toxicity and spread not only to women in politics but to athletes, women in the media, 2SLGBTQ people, and people from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds.
September 2022 - The Delwin Vriend Case at 25
The first conversation was with Chancellor Emeritus Doug Stollery sharing the behind the scenes story and the lessons to be learned from the Delwin Vriend Supreme Court Case. It is sometimes hard to believe that 25 years ago, there was no legal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. And in spite of the landmark Supreme Court decision, the journey to true equality is not over. It was an emotional and engaging conversation and Chancellor Garritty is grateful to Chancellor Emeritus Stollery and the guests at the conversation for their thoughtful insights, experiences and ideas. You can listen to the first episode below.