Mabasa brings skills and talents to U of M

Zimbabwe novelist, poet and storyteller, Ignatius Mabasa was named the University of Manitoba’s new Writer/Storyteller-in-Residence in the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture. Mabasa will mentor writers, visit classes, and perform throughout the term while finalizing his newest Shona novel, Vana Venyoka (Brood of Vipers). While working toward his goal of launching a storytelling venue in Zimbabwe, Mabasa has become a champion of the Shona language, the deputy director of the British Council in Zimbabwe, a lay preacher at his local church, as well as a gospoet and dub poet.

Wild Style headlines Freestyle IV

The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association has organized Freestyle IV, a week-long festival running from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 that features Wild Style director Charlie Ahearn. Check out Wild Style free of charge on Sept. 29 at 12:30 p.m. at Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall. Freestyle IV has free workshops that will teach anyone interested how to make hip hop beats, bust a move like a b-girl/b-boy or scratch like a DJ. In conjunction, CKUW will be hosting an open house on Friday, Sept. 24 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the fourth floor of Centennial Hall.

World tour with Justin Duff

Having recently finished his fourth and final year with the U of W Wesmen men’s volleyball team, Justin Duff is off to the Volleyball World Championships in Italy. Duff has decided to blog about his experiences playing for the Canadian National Men’s Volleyball Team as they prepare for next month. So far on his blog the Wesmen alumnus has discussed everything from cultural differences, ungodly hours, baked goods, traveling, and of course, world championship updates. All of Duff’s updates can be found at http://justinduffsworldchampionshipblog.blogspot.com.

Discovering Red River College’s new hospitality building

Workers have stumbled across a few attention-grabbing discoveries during the initial stages of construction on the old Union Bank Tower building, including missing pieces of foundation, baroque ceiling material that was concealed in decades of dust, and a hidden room. Once construction is finished in September 2011, The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute will become the new home for Red River College’s hospitality programs, as well as the site of its first student residence.

More funding for the Global College Network

The International Development Research Center recently invested $50,000 into the new Global College Network on Poverty and Human Rights for international and Canadian researchers, advocates, policymakers and practitioners, according to a University of Winnipeg press release. The U of W’s Global College recently launched the Legal Empowerment for the Poor, an important tool that was developed, and now managed, by the U of W. It was created to allow organizations to collaborate on the improvement of new research and educational resources, and it has specific importance in access to justice and promoting economic rights predicated on gender equality. Visit www.LEPnet.org for more information.

Published in Volume 65, Number 4 of The Uniter (September 23, 2010)