My apologies for skipping last week's update. The board attended a two-day developmental workshop last Friday and Saturday, meaning I only had Sunday to get my week's prep work done. Updating slipped my mind, but fortunately LPIRG didn't have any events planned for last week anyhow. ;)
The workshop was led by two volunteer instructors on behalf of Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture and was a very valuable experience. We learned about the legal obligations of board members, how to develop policy, how to revise a constitution and have the provincial government recognize it, what different roles a board can play and - most interestingly to you - the purpose and use of committees to accomplish the ends of a board.
At the moment, LPIRG doesn't have any committees. After attending this workshop however, we've decided to establish a few in order to make LPIRG more effective and efficient. Through them, there are opportunities available for non-board members to get involved in LPIRG's operations. For example, I'll be helping with the Events & Community Outreach committee. It's role will be to plan and carry out events which keep with LPIRG's goal of promoting public education on social issues, and to enhance LPIRG's visibility both on-campus and in the wider community.
This description probably sounds pretty broad and ambiguous, but that's deliberate. These committees are being built from the ground up, which means they don't even have official outlines of their responsibility and authority yet. That's something that the members will have accomplish, which means that you have the opportunity to assist in a fundamental change in the way LPIRG operates. If this interests you, please let us know by emailing us at pirg(at)uleth.ca. We'll let you know which committees need volunteers and put you in contact with the board members responsible for them. If you're interested in helping create the Events & Community Outreach committee, you can write to me directly at cody.sharpe(at)uleth.ca.
Enough housekeeping! Here's what's going on this coming week!
TUESDAY the 29th
Women Scholars Speaker Series: Severn Cullis-Suzuki
To be clear, this isn't an LPIRG event, I just want to help promote it. Speaking on the topic "Who’s the Revolutionary? Realizing Our Roles in Extraordinary Ecological Change" is Severn Cullis-Suzuki, daughter of famed Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki and an accomplished activist and academic on her own right. According to her bio she started a NGO called the Environmental Children's Organization when she was nine. What were you doing when you were nine? ;)
The talk is taking place in Ballroom B of the Students' Union Building and starts at noon. There will be a discussion period afterwards and refreshments. Everyone is welcome to attend.
WEDNESDAY the 30th
Cinema Politica Film: Shadow Company
We've shown some really interesting films so far in our CP series, and this one is on my short list of favourites. It's about the historical role played in warfare by private military contractors - or mercenaries, whichever you prefer -, the evolution and reality of their business and the significance of their presence in Iraq. Currently, there are over 70,000 employees of PMCs in Iraq alone, and their sector generates over $100B in annual revenues. To put this into perspective, there are between 120 and 150,000 US troops currently in Iraq. In the words of the filmmakers, "without the right legal framework and more open business practices, this trend toward military privatization could have dire implications for all of us."
As always, the film will be shown in Galileo's Gallery at 7PM and will be followed by an open group discussion. Everyone is welcome to attend.
