The Policy Salon is an annual event to bring the UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) community of faculty, students, and staff together alongside interested members of the community, and to showcase SPPGA’s expertise on pressing public policy and global issues.
The 2021 Policy Salon, Shaping the Post-COVID World, aims to acknowledge the precarious situation that we remain in globally with respect to COVID-19, while also looking ahead to consider how key lessons can be applied to overcoming other global challenges such as climate change. What lessons need to be learned from COVID-19 and from the worsening climate crisis? What are the key policy learnings from these twin crises and how can we strengthen and accelerate global efforts to collectively address these types of challenges?
Given the risks that both pandemics and climate change pose globally, we acknowledge that this moment should be a turning point for policy and global affairs, even if we are collectively not moving in that direction.
Format: Virtual on Zoom
Emcee: Assistant Professor Veena Sriram, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the School of Population and Public Health, UBC
Traditional Land Acknowledgement: Elder Larry Grant, Musqueam
Welcome Remarks: Professor Ramana, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBC
Panel: “Lessons from Climate Change Action and COVID-19”
Panelists:
- Kelley Lee, Professor, Canada Research Chair Tier I, Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
- David Boyd, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC and United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
- Sandeep Pai, Senior Research Lead, Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Moderator: Associate Professor Heidi Tworek, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the Department of History, UBC
Schedule: Friday, September 17, 2021, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Pacific Time
3:30 pm – 3:35 pm Welcome by Emcee Prof. Veena Sriram
3:35 pm – 3:40 pm Indigenous Territory Acknowledgement by Elder Larry Grant, Musqueam (recording)
3:40 pm – 3:45 pm Opening Remarks by Prof. M. V. Ramana
3:45 pm – 4:55 pm “Shaping the Post-COVID World: Lessons from Climate Change Action and COVID-19” moderated panel discussion on what lessons can be shared between the two global crises, with audience Q&A
4:55 pm – 5:00 pm Closing remarks by Emcee Prof. Veena Sriram
Speaker Biographies:
Emcee: Veena Sriram is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Her research sits at the intersection of global health, social science and public policy, and her interests are in understanding power and politics in health policy processes in low- and middle-income countries. She draws upon theory and methodologies from the social sciences in conducting her research, and has a particular focus on qualitative approaches. Dr. Sriram has a particular focus on health workforce policy and health sector governance.
Indigenous Acknowledgement: Larry Grant, Musqueam Elder, was born and raised in Musqueam traditional territory by a traditional hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking Musqueam family. After 4 decades as a tradesman, Larry enrolled in the First Nations Languages Program, which awoke his memory of the embedded value that the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language has to self-identity, kinship, culture, territory, and history prior to European contact. He is presently assisting in revitalizing hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ in the Musqueam Language and Culture Department, and co-teaching the introductory hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ course through UBC. Larry is the Elder-in-Residence at UBC’s First Nations House of Learning. He is a Faculty Fellow at St. John’s College, and the inaugural Honorary Life Fellow for Green College.
Welcome Remarks: M.V. Ramana is Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. He is also Director of the Liu Institute for Global Issues. His research interests are in the broad areas of international security and energy supply, with a particular focus on topics related to nuclear energy and fissile materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons. He combines technical skills and interdisciplinary methods to address policy relevant questions related to security and energy issues.
Panelists:
Dr. Kelley Lee is Professor and Canada Research Chair Tier I, Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Lee is trained in International Relations and Public Administration with a focus on international political economy. Professor Lee‘s research focuses on the impacts of globalization on population health, and the ways collective action and global governance can mitigate these impacts. Her current research, leading the Pandemics and Borders Project, focuses on the use of cross-border measures (travel and trade) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the implications for global responses governed by the WHO International Health Regulations. She is also working with leading scholars worldwide to advance the conceptualization and measurement of the commercial determinants of health.
Associate Professor David Boyd is jointly appointed with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) at the University of British Columbia. He is one of Canada’s leading experts in environmental law and policy and an internationally renowned authority on the relationship between human rights and environmental degradation. David is currently UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment.
Dr. Sandeep Pai is Senior Research Lead, Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies. He obtained his PhD at the Institute of Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. Sandeep Pai was a journalist for years before he decided to return to school to earn his master’s and now PhD degrees. His professional and academic work has allowed him to study the energy sector, rural development and climate change very closely in emerging economies such as India, Kenya and South Africa.
Moderator: Dr. Heidi Tworek is Associate Professor, jointly appointed at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and History, at the University of British Columbia. She is an award-winning researcher of media, history, health communications, international organizations, and platform governance. Her research brings a historical sensibility to policy discussions, particularly around communications and international organizations. She has briefed or advised officials and policymakers from multiple European and North American governments on media, democracy, and the digital economy.
Image Credit: The Wilson Centre
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