Threads 2025 Agenda

Morning | 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

9:30 a.m.
Cross-Cultural Heartbeat
Elder Nora Cummings, Ali Abukar

A Message from Mayor Cynthia Block

9:55 a.m.
Music is the Medicine to My Soul
Carrie Catherine

Analyze how music can be used as a medium for personal growth and relationship-building by examining song-writing themes of understanding, healing, and connection.

10:00 a.m.
The Story Between Us: Writing, Living, and Creating Together
Yann Martel, Alice Kuipers

Sharing a creative space across cultures fosters mutual understanding, respect, and imaginative exchange. Collaborative processes evolve through cultural dialogue, requiring openness, empathy, and adaptability. Such encounters deepen cross-cultural learning and enrich creative outcomes.

Threads Studio: Humanity
Shantal Kisimba

10:25 a.m.
Images that Hurt, Images that Heal
WJT Mitchell, Mehdi Ebrahimpour

Explore how imagination and visual storytelling can support emotional resilience and mental health in refugee experiences. Understand the role of images and memory in processing trauma and reimagining identity after displacement.

Threads Studio: Echo
Isma Fahim

10:50 a.m.
Brushstrokes of Memory
Cynthia van Frank

Recognize how visual art can serve as a tool for emotional processing and healing in the context of dementia and caregiving. Explore the role of objects, imagery, and symbolism in expressing experiences that are difficult to articulate through language. 

11:05 a.m.
Echoes of the Ancestors: An Indigenous Call for Climate Action
Danii Kehler

Meet the Aunty of Antarctica.  A young woman’s journey to the southernmost tip of the world, bringing wisdom and a perspective rooted in ancestral teachings about land and sustainability. 

Threads Studio: From Above
Meunier Jean Robert

11:20 a.m.
Little Philosophers
Susan Gardner and children

Discover how fostering reflective, reason-based thinking in children supports identity formation and personal growth. It highlights the role of philosophical inquiry in nurturing flexible minds capable of navigating diverse perspectives and cultural contexts.

11:40 a.m.
Note form the Silk Road
Colin Jacobsen

Explore how collaborative music-making can foster cross-cultural understanding and inclusive dialogue. Drawing on the Silk Road Ensemble model, Colin reflects on how artistic exchange can reveal, challenge, and reimagine culture identities.

Threads Studio: Gaye Holud
Susmita Adhikari

Afternoon | 1:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

1:15 p.m.
The Passage and the Harbour
Shawn DeSouza-Coelho

This poetic reflection explores identity as shaped by solitude, embodiment, and dialogue with the world. It highlights self-awareness and resilience as key to navigating cultural complexity and engaging meaningfully across differences.

Threads Studio: Mosaic
Merry Masheka

1:25 p.m.
The Power of One
Dr. Jean Augustine, Tobi Oyedele

Explore themes of identity, diversity, and community. Consider how migration shapes one’s worldview, the importance of preserving cultural heritage, and the power of storytelling in driving inclusion.

1:50 p.m.
My Name is Kojo
David Ohene-Amoako

Discover how traditional music can preserve cultural identity and foster joyful connection across generations.

1:55 p.m.
Belonging Without Borders
Dash Reimer, Ahmad Majid

Reflect on vulnerability, longing, and cultural transition through the lens of new love and learning a new language. It conveys the emotional weight of forming connections in a foreign context, showing how language, memory, and place influence identity and intimacy across cultures.

2:15 p.m.
Threads of Reunion
Jennilee Austria-Bonafacio

Understand the emotional and social complexities of family reunification in immigrant communities, particularly among youth. Reflect on the role of cultural identity, memory, and intergenerational dynamics in shaping newcomer journeys.

Threads Studio: Reimagine
Tyneisha Thomas
 
2:30 p.m.
Neither Here Nor Entirely There
Yulissa Campos, Katayoon Navabi

Reflect on the personal journeys of migration and cultural adaptation, where difference becomes both a challenge and a source of growth. Through encounters with diverse individuals, the speakers describe how their identities have evolved, shaped by learning, resilience, and an openness to new cultural perspectives.

2:40 p.m.
Brushstrokes of Belonging
Olga Shanina

Migration can reveal a start contrast between professional status in one’s home country and the challenges of starting over in a new cultural environment. The experience of visiting or studying abroad often differs greatly from the realities of daily life and integration. This journey requires individuals to rebuild their identities with humility, adaptability, and resilience.

2:50 p.m.
Threads Studio: Catch of the Day
Joy Saha

Earth, Interrupted
Pierre-François Noppen, Luis Buatois, Jim Clifford

The concept of Anthropocene marks a new epoch defined by humanity’s significant impact on Earth’s climate and ecosystems. It emphasizes how deeply our lives are connected to the planet and urges us to reflect on our relationship with the land that sustains us. This perspective calls for renewed environmental responsibility and awareness of our role in shaping the future of the Earth.

Threads Studio: Utopias in Extraterrestrial Landscapes
Anton Amit

3:15 p.m.
A Mural of Memories
Jane Tseng and seniors

Recognize the value of seniors as cultural storytellers and memory-keepers across diverse communities. Understand how creative expression can foster emotional well-being, identity affirmation, and social inclusion among immigrant and refugee seniors. Explore how art can serve as a universal language to bridge cultural differences and build meaningful cross-cultural relationships. 

Threads Studio: I'm Done
Sjafril

3:20 p.m.
Crossroads of Cultures: A Journey to Reconciliation
Naseer Alokozai, Florence Highway, Nora Cummings, Vilma Friesen, Ayitegan Folly-Gbegnon, Sunjida Afroje

Participants will develop a deeper understanding of the histories, worldviews, and lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and reflect on how newcomer communities can build meaningful, respectful relationships grounded in shared values, reconciliation, and collective belonging. 

Morning | 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

9:30 a.m.
The Words We Were Meant to Speak
Khodi Dill, Ahmad Majid

Reflect on how language and accent shape identity, especially for racialized communities navigating dominant norms. It explores the pressure to conform, the loss tied to that, and the empowerment found in reclaiming one’s voice and cultural expression.

9:50a.m.
Why My Jazz Has a Middle Eastern Accent
Rembrandt Frerichs

Dutch pianist Rembrandt Frerichs reflects on his unexpected sense of belonging during his first visit to Egypt. His experience challenges cultural stereotypes and identity assumptions, revealing how cross-cultural encounters can open new personal and artistic pathways beyond surface-level differences.

Threads Studio: Echoes of Duality
Sarah Hussein

10:05 a.m.
Reclaiming the Classroom
George Dei, Kristi-Lee Stewart

Identify how education systems reinforce dominant cultural narratives and the need for incorporating diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous, Afrocentric, experiential, and community-based ways of knowing.  

Explore decolonizing education by developing actionable approaches to advocate for inclusive and transformative learning spaces. 

10:25 p.m.
Rethinking Identity, Rebuilding Canada
Lyndon Linklater, Candace Wasacase

Participants will explore the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, with a focus on cultural identity, language revitalization, and the role of tradition in contemporary society. By the end of the session, participants will be able to articulate the importance of Indigenous cultural resurgence in the context of reconciliation and envision how reimagining identity can contribute to a more inclusive and equitable Canada. 

Threads Studio: A Bath of Scars
Henry Kiyingi

10:45 p.m.
The Refugee Journey Through Judo
Diane Huffman, Mabvuto Ng'uni, Carol Chipupu

Understand how sport fosters mutual respect, empathy, and collaboration across cultural and national boundaries. Reflect on how physical discipline and cultural ritual can foster belonging and identity. 

Threads Studio: Future in the Past
Natalia Bumaka
 
11:00 a.m.
Asking the Hard Questions
Corey Gil-Shuster, Mehdi Ebrahimpour

Learn how people’s lived experiences shape their attitudes and the challenges of changing entrenched views. Analyze the role of leadership in peacebuilding, evaluate public perceptions of conflict through firsthand interviews, and reflect on the emotional and ethical challenges faced by those documenting divided societies. 

Threads Studio: Healing the Shattered
Arshia Atiq

11:20 a.m.
What is Peace?

Hear diverse voices reflecting on peace as more than the absence of conflict. It is about love, unity, mutual respect, and collective hope. It highlights peace as a shared journey built through understanding, gratitude, and support across cultures, communities, and generations.