Heard of TED Talks?
This fall, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s (KPU) documentary film festival, KDocs, launched its own take on short powerful free online talks with KDocs Talks.
“KDocs Talks aims to capture what the KDocs documentary film festival does best — engage the community in conversations that demand critical thinking and civic engagement,” said Greg Chan, the executive producer of the series and an instructor in KPU’s English department.
Adapted from KPU’s documentary film festival and led by experts in the field, KDocs Talks are free online keynote speeches designed to create dialogue around some of the most pressing social justice issues. Topics range from indigenous rights, institutionalized racism, and migrant labour to disability rights, refugee status, policing, and climate change.
The inaugural series features social justice activists, filmmakers, and influencers who delivered memorable keynotes at the 2017 KDocs festival including:
- -Human ecologist, ecological economist, and UBC professor emeritus Dr. William Rees
- -Migrant Dreams director/writer/producer Min Sook Lee
- -Inclusion BC executive director Faith Bodnar
- -MOSAIC, refugee settlement support projects/family & settlement services manager Saleem Spindari
- -KPU Faculty of Arts associate dean and criminology instructor Dr. Wade Deisman
- -Kwantlen First Nation Elder, and Elder-in-Residence at KPU Lekeyten
Watch KDocs Talks at kdocsff.com or on the KDocs Talks YouTube channel. Filmed and posted under a Creative Commons license, KDocs Talks are designed to be shared as a social justice resource.
“I’m thrilled that the engaging and passionate words of our speakers at KDocs are now being shared with a broader audience,” said film festival founder and director Janice Morris. “These videos are a vital entry point for continued discussion, debate, and social change.”
The upcoming 2018 KDocs Talks will also include panel discussions in addition to the keynotes.
Story by Tatiana Tomljanovic