The Beatrice and Arthur Minden Symposia are made possible by a generous endowment from the Beatrice and Arthur Minden Foundation. The aim of the Beatrice and Arthur Minden Symposia on the Environment is to enable scholarly public debate, discussion, and exchange on environment-related themes of global significance. Over the years, the talks, workshops, panels, and other events included in the Symposia have considered themes of science, policy, social justice, and system change. These events have cultivated spaces for discussion and debate among speakers and attendees. As such, the Symposia have a long-lasting impact through supporting research projects, sparking new conversations and collaborations within and beyond the University, and bringing together a diverse range of participants.
May 5 & 6, 2023, Urban Ecologies: Imagining the Environmentally Just City Critical
Convened with the theme “Urban Ecologies: Imagining the Environmentally Just City,” the conference blended keynote talks, panel discussions, and interactive workshops. The event explored Toronto’s urban ecologies and its entwined environmental, cultural, and colonial histories.
November 8 -11, 2021, Cutting Carbon in Canada
The symposium offered a multidisciplinary series of events on science, policy, social justice, and system change and featured keynote talks, panel discussions, and interactive workshops addressing the challenge of getting to zero carbon emissions.
October 2 & 3, 2019, The Politics of Climate Change: A Green New Deal for Canada?
This event brought together academics, civil society groups, and policymakers for a workshop on the politics and implementation of a Green New Deal for Canada (GND). The goal of the event was to leverage U.S. discussions about the GND to discuss what aggressive and just climate policy would entail in Canada.
May 2019, Future Talks Follow Up Event
October 12 & 13, 2016, Future Talks Design Workshop: Best Practices in Citizen Engagement for a Sustainable Future
The Future Talks Design Workshop: Best Practices in Citizen Engagement for a Sustainable Future, brought together academic researchers and professionals in government, business, and environmental organizations, to explore the potential for creating a large-scale community engagement program—FutureTalks—on urban sustainability and climate change issues.
September 29 & 30, 2015, Taking Action: Achieving Ontario and Canadian Climate Change Goals
The inaugural Beatrice and Arthur Minden Symposium on the Environment, Taking Action: Achieving Ontario and Canadian Climate Change Goals, focused on the pressing issue of climate change and how it can be addressed by provincial and federal policy through the development of carbon pricing mechanisms.