Victoria Forum 2024
PROGRAM
AUGUST 25 (SONGHEES WELLNESS CENTRE)
2:00 p.m.
Buses depart from Parkside Hotel & Inn at Laurel Point
3:30 p.m.
Welcomes
This opening session will set the stage for the 2024 Forum, considering how to build trust for a shared future. It will put the three major themes of the Forum (Peace and Democracy; Equity and Social Justice; the Regenerative Economy) into the broader context and highlight their inter-connectedness.
Featuring:
4:00 p.m.
Featuring:
5:30
Reception
7:15 p.m.
Buses return to hotels
AUGUST 26 (UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA)
7:30 a.m.
Buses depart from Parkside Hotel & Inn at Laurel Point
8:00 a.m.
Light breakfast
8:30 a.m.
Welcome to the day
Stephen Huddart — Director of Regenerative Economy, Victoria Forum
8:45 a.m.
Announcement: Winners of international student competition
Dr. Dan LeClair — CEO, GBSN
9:00 a.m.
Plenary: Declining Trust in Institutions
Institutions in many democracies have experienced a profound decline in trust due to corruption, ineffective governance, and divisive politics. This session will discuss the apparent erosion of trust in institutions, affecting political leaders, governments, judiciaries and the media. It will examine the extent to which these trends are evident in Canada and will explore the roots and consequences of these developments.
Featuring:
Moderator:
9:45 a.m.
Break
10:15 a.m.
Plenary: Bringing the Economy We Need to Life: a Roadmap for Transformative Leadership
In a call to action addressed to all sectors of society, Dr. Victoria Hurth, Distinguished Fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership, will present a practical vision and action framework for transforming the world’s economy – from one generating catastrophic outcomes on multiple fronts to a regenerative one, designed, structured and governed to achieve human flourishing within ecological limits.
Featuring:
Moderator:
11:45 a.m.
Lunch
1:15 p.m.
Parallel Sessions – Block 1
Item #1
Item #2
Item #3
1:50 p.m.
Parallel Sessions (David Strong Building)
AUGUST 25 (UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA)
7:30 a.m.
Buses depart Empress Hotel
8:00 a.m.
Light breakfast (In breezeway outside Farquhar Auditorium)
8:30 a.m.
Welcome (Farquhar Auditorium, University of Victoria)
Senator Jim Munson
Chair of the Board, Victoria Forum
Welcome to the Territory
Elder Butch (Clarence) Dick
8:45 a.m.
Plenary 2: Taking Stock of the SDGs in 2025 (Farquhar Auditorium)
With just five years until the target date of 2030, the prospects are slim for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals. This session will ask the questions: How much progress has been made and how can Canada and other nations close the gap between humanity’s hopes and its prospects?
Featuring:
Vanessa Alboiu
Senior Performance Auditor, Office of the Auditor-General of Canada
Frances Edmonds
Head of Sustainable Impact, HP Canada
Jayne Barlow
Director of Programs & Partnerships, Global Centre for Pluralism
Moderator:
Honourable Diana Gibson
M.L.A., Minister of Citizens’ Services, Government of British Columbia
9:15 a.m.
Buses depart Empress Hotel
9:45 a.m.
Break
10:15 a.m.
Plenary 3: Climate x Health: Canada’s Role (Farquhar Auditorium)
Planetary health, which sits at the intersection of global health and climate change, is a key existential challenge of our time, and has been identified as a priority for the World Health Organization. But what does it mean and how could Canada effectively address it? This session will explore this question by providing an overview of the issue.
Kevin Linn
PhD student, Harvard School of Public Health
Karlee Silver
CEO, Grand Challenges Canada
Martin Edlund
CEO, Malaria No More and the Health Finance Coalition
Robin Speedie
Planetary Health Lead, Fraser Health Authority
Dr. Courtney Howard
Chair, Global Climate and Health Alliance; Founder, POWER – Planetary Health Organizations for Wellbeing, Equity, and Regeneration
Moderator:
Dr. Peter Singer
Former Executive Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
11:20 a.m.
Plenary 4: The 2030 Challenge: Transitioning Canada’s Industrial Economy (Farquhar Auditorium)
This session’s purpose is to identify leverage points and related strategies for Canada to make an accelerated and equitable transition to a zero carbon economy by 2030.
Bentley Allan
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University; Transition Pathway Principal, The Transition Accelerator
William Lazonick
President, Academic-Industry Research Network; Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts
Dan Woynillowicz
Principal, Polaris Strategy + Insight, currently co-leading the independent review of CleanBC
Moderator:
Senator Yuen Pau Woo
Senate of Canada
12:40 p.m.
Lunch
1:50 p.m.
Parallel Sessions (David Strong Building)
