Wednesday, Aug 29th, 12:30pm Live-Streamed 

 

Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Dalhousie University

 

Though they have made steady gains over the years, African Nova Scotian learners still face significant obstacles in overcoming high drop-out rates and low university attendance. Next week’s North End Matters brings together two people at the forefront of confronting these issues: Ken Fells of the Black Educators Association and Delvina Bernard of the Council on African Canadian Education.

 

School principal and PhD candidate Ken Fells has been an educator for a significant portion of his life. He started teaching at the age of 12 in a Yarmouth sunday school, continued teaching through his successful military career, and has been with the Halifax Regional School Board as a teacher and principal for over 15 years. Ken’s dedication to education and inclusion of African Canadian History (in education) won him the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Diamond Jubilee Medal in July. On June 16th, Ken was elected as the President of the Black Educators Association. His unshakeable dedication to education and black learners serves as an inspiration to not only the people he seeks to help but, Canadians in general.

 

Delvina Bernard is the Executive Director of the Council on African Canadian Education, a provincial government advisory council to the Minister of Education. She has taught courses on diversity education, the pedagogy of inclusion, and African Canadian Studies at Henson College, Mount Saint Vincent University, and Dalhousie University. Most notably, she has been the visionary force and operational director behind the recently established Africentric Learning Institute of Nova Scotia. As a consultant and institutional change strategist she has dedicated more than three decades to issues of inclusive education, anti racism, gender equity, anti-poverty, anti-oppression and human rights. It should also be noted that Delvina has not only contributed to education but also to Canadian arts as principal founder, songwriter/singer and music director of the nationally acclaimed all-women acapella quartet, Four the Moment. Like Ken Fells, Delvina’s dedication to art and education makes Canada a better place.

 

North End Matters is a live-streamed, online talk show that brings in policy makers and service providers to discuss upcoming changes in the North End. We stream live at haligonia.ca and anyone can join our live discussion by using the chat service built into the stream’s page. 

 

For more information: Aaron Johnson at: aj.pinkdog@gmail.com or 429-3647