GUELPH – John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute hosted a variety of local social justice groups for its Global Awareness Symposium on March 7.
The symposium was a student-led initiative spearheaded by Cynthia V. and Raha K.
“They were determined to run an event that would help students evoke change. They also wanted to provide students with actionable solutions to some of our local and global issues,” said John F. Ross teacher Chantale Zonger.
Students heard from keynote speaker Carla Beharry – an educational speaker on racial justice – before separating into sessions for different topics of learning.
For Cynthia, Beharry’s keynote address resonated because “it embodied the concept of anyone can be an activist, which was a big message that Raha and I wanted to convey through this event.”
Raha shared the same sentiment. “Many think of protests and big changes, when in reality all of us can change the world around us in simple ways. We are all capable of doing great things, and can always start small.”
Students heard from Global Medic, the University of Guelph’s International Development Studies, the Guelph Black Heritage Society, OPIRG, Hope House, and from their own peer and war survivor, Roya S.
“Students at John F. Ross CVI have shown that they are very passionate about different social topics that they shared at the event,” officials stated.
