News From CALL Summer 2022

Photo from the CALL to the Garden page

Celebrate CALL: September 2021–June 2022!

The following speakers shared their knowledge and expertise:

• Dr. Pat Armstrong: What Do we Mean When We Say That Aging is a Women’s Issue
• Ryan Green: Emily Carr: 150 Years
• Eric Cytrynbaum: A Guide to COVID-19 Modelling
• Matt Robertshaw: Why Haiti Should Be Rich (before the New York Times featured the topic!)
• Sharon Butala: Aging and Creativity
• Lisa La Touche: Living a Spectrum of the Black Experience: My Ongoing Response to a History I Did Not Know
• Trevor Tombe: Equalization 101: What Do You Know and What Do You Need to Know?
• Jack Lucas and Melanee Thomas: Calgary Votes 2021
• Sarah Meilleur: Lessons from a Pandemic: Building Resiliency through Lifelong Learning

The Indigenous Programming Committee organized and delivered four events to focus on Indigenous issues and support the work of reconciliation:

• Indigenizing Curriculum – Eileen Clearsky
• Birth of a Family – Tasha Hubbard
• Sacred Teachings of the Medicine Wheel – Cheryle Chagnon‑Greyeyes
• Walking Together with our Indigenous Relatives – Jane Ferrabee
• An Indigenous Literature Interest Group read and discussed books by Indigenous authors.
• The Indigenous Awareness Interest Group is a group of CALL members interested in expanding awareness of Indigenous history, culture and issues.

Treks & Travels speakers took us across the globe when we couldn’t leave our houses:

• Trekking in New Zealand – Tony Campos
• India: Mumbai to Kochi – Andrew Hart
• SE Asia: Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore – Rosemary Kennedy and Selim Sayegh
• Transatlantic Crossing: Go South ‘til the Butter Melts – John Cobb
• Ethiopia North – Richard King
• Copper Canyon – Roger Pilkington
• Egypt – Jeff Zambory
• Life in Children’s Homes in Nepal and Bangladesh – Colleen McShea
• Dalmatian Coast: Lands of Contrast and Contradiction – Sheila Evans and Kathleen Oberle

Science and Environment speakers gave us glimpses into developments which impact us all:

• Wild Roses are Worth It – Kevin von Tighem
• The Scenic Geology of Alberta – Dr. Dale Leckie
• Daylight Saving Time – Dr. Michael Antle
• New Trails Act – Jason Unger
• Capturing Carbon Dioxide in Molecular Sponges – Dr. George Shimizu
• Earthquake Early Warning for BC – Bob Crosby
• Return of the Bison – Karsten Heuer
• Radiation Exposure Due to Radon Gas – Dr. Dustin Pearson

A Community Conference, It All Adds Up: Individual Responsibility in Fighting Climate Change and Pollution, brought us inspiring and engaging speakers from these organizations: Clean Harbours Initiative, For Our Kids, City of Calgary Waste and Recycling Services and Green Calgary.

There were several multi-session Study Programs

• Medieval History: Weather or Not and Vikings Victorious by Dr. Alana Gowdy
• A look at Islam, Islam 201 and Religions of the World  by Dr. Joud Shafiq and Brenda Falle
• Rage Rage Against the Taking of the Light, a two-session conversation about two books concerning aging and dying with dignity, Being Mortal by Atul Gawande and Neglected No More by André Picard
• A Pan Canadian Book Study with participants from British Columbia, Ontario and Québec discussed Seen but Not Seen: Influential Canadians and the First Nations from the 1840s to Today by historian and CALL founder Don Smith. Another three sessions for CALL members also discussed this book.
• Munk Dialogues 2022 – six Munk dialogues on the topic of Rationality.
• $$Money Sense$$ – three talks for CALL members presented by James MacTavish
• Compassion: A Global History of Social Policy – seven sessions by Dr. Alvin Finkel
• CALL to the Garden – garden tours

Interest Groups were alive and well and on Zoom:

• Two groups included participants from CALL and from McGill Lifelong Learners:
  • Vive la Diffèrence-Non!
  • The Prairies and Québec through Their Literature
• Jim Conway’s monthly Not So Common Law presentations explored the historical and social background of important legal cases which have a lasting impact on our society.
• Readers Theatre presented Un-Valentine’s Day for our amusement.
• Sunday Urban Walks, Tuesday Walking Groups and Lawn Bowling got us out and about.
• There were three Ukulele Workshops with more than 100 attendees at each; the Ukulele Concert with 133 attendees and Guitar Jam kept people tapping their feet and strumming.
• Writing Groups – Our Lives, Our Stories (4 groups); CALL-ing All Poets; Writing Fiction
• Book Clubs: How Can You Think That; Canadian Authors Plus; Modern Poetry; Mystery Book Club; We Love a Good Mystery; Reading Non-Fiction; So Many Books, So Little Time; Variety Book Club; Modern Poetry
• Magazine discussion groups: Alberta Views; Walrus
• Brain Games: Bridge (3 groups); Mah Jong (2 groups)
• Current Issues: Current Events; World Events (3 groups); Hags and Crones (3 groups); Human Conflict and Its Impact
• Creative Arts: Digital Photography; Sketch Club; Creative Projects
• Cultural Appreciation:
  • CALL to the Theatre viewed and discussed the following filmed theatre productions: All My Sons, The Cherry Orchard, Hamilton, The Tempest, War Horse, A Streetcar Named Desire, King Lear, Under Milk Wood
  • CALL to the Cinema met twice a month to discuss the following films from Netflix, AppleTV and Cineplex: The Power of the Dog, Nomadland, Ninari, The Father, Belfast, Coda, Licorice Pizza, Passing, Don't Look Up, The Lost Daughter, Magnolia, The Imitation Game, Our Souls at Night, The Center Cannot Hold, The Good Liar, Worth, RRR.
• Meditation: Buddha, Body and Brain; Buddhism Foundational Texts; Finding Peace and Joy Within
• Men’s Sheds This group is an opportunity for men to get together and collaborate on small building projects as a way to give back to the community.
• CALL a Buddy – discussed Alice in Wonderland.
• And planning is underway for an Intergenerational Speakers Series, a collaborative project with Mount Royal University funded by the New Horizon’s Grant

The following volunteer committees and individuals worked behind the scenes and in front of the Zoom camera organizing events, finding speakers, communicating information, exploring possibilities:

• Program – 7 Program Area Coordinators, ~60 Interest Group facilitators; organizing, supporting all programs
• Special Programs – Speakers; CALL Café Online
• Volunteer – matching needs to volunteers
• Communication – Newsletters, emails, Social Media
• Operations – keeping you in the loop about in-person meetings and the ever-changing COVID requirements; Zoom Help; venues and scheduling
• Membership – keeping track of members
• IT – website; registrations; general technical wizards
• Governance – policies; leadership positions – keeping us legal
• Fund Development – ongoing search for funds (New Horizons Grant)
• Finance – oversight of our money
• Executive – President/VicePresident/PastPresident/Secretary/Treasurer – leadership, keeping the ship steady and on course!

And…in addition…the CALL Board has worked on the following initiatives:

• Cyber Security
• Dual Delivery
• Land Acknowledgement Statement
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Facilitators Handbook
• Recording CALL Events
• Record Management System and Archives

Looking Ahead

CALL Café: September 12

Do you like jazz? Want to know more about its history? On September 12, CALL Café will return with Jeremy Brown’s presentation on Dixieland, Swing and Bebop: The Hidden History of Jazz Patronage. We are planning an in-person café at Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church. Doors open at 1:30pm. The presentation begins at 2pm. Have a good summer and watch for further information.

Fall Study Program

CALL will be offering a new study program in the Fall, Thinking about Reasoning and Argument. The purpose of the group is to explore, discuss, and understand some important conditions of good and flawed argument. We will employ as a resource Mark Battersby’s book Is That a Fact? (Second edition, Broadview Press 2016). Participants will obtain and read Battersby’s book, seek examples relevant to our study, and engage in discussions about related topics such as selectivity in social media, and conspiracy theories. The facilitator, CALL member Trudy Govier will also describe and explain important fallacies such as appeals to ignorance, faulty analogy, false dichotomy, and begging the question. Trudy is a retired philosophy professor (University of Lethbridge), who has successfully facilitated many groups for CALL. She is the author of several articles and books, including A Practical Study of Argument of which there are seven editions with the most recent still in print.

The group will meet in-person beginning on September 8 from 1 to 3pm. Location to be determined and included with the registration details. The group may change to ZOOM however, if the conditions warrant. Subsequent meetings will take place at the same time on September 22, October 13/27 and November 10/24. If you wish to register, please email Trudy. Thanks to Trudy for suggesting and facilitating this program! A great addition to our fall line‑up.

Land Acknowledgement Statement

By Barbara Decker Pierce, Adrienne Kertzer, Leslie Dort

The Board has approved the following Land Acknowledgment Statement for use at CALL events. This statement will be added to the CALL website and provided to event organizers upon request. While use of the statement would take into consideration requirements of the individual event, the Board encourages all organizers to consider using either the CALL approved statement or one of their own. Facilitators of Interest Groups and Study Programs will also be provided with the statement for use, as appropriate, at their meetings.

Your CALL Newsletter

The CALL Newsletter is our way to communicate what is going on in our community. It's a way to highlight events of interest, ‘peek behind the curtain of CALL’ and to give some general information about CALL groups and members.

You are invited to send your ideas and suggestions for future issues to newsletter@calgarylifelonglearners.ca. We reserve the right to edit submissions and to determine when submissions will be published.

CALL Newsletter dates for posting:

• August 19
• September 9/23
• October 14/28
• November 11/25
• December 16
• January 13/27

Meanwhile, be well, stay well in every sense of the word.