Summer has come, and, at least in Calgary, it’s brought with it a bunch of new writers to The Voice Magazine. New writers are always exciting for me, even though they mean more work at first, but bringing in those new perspectives, and helping writers grow their abilities as they help to grow The Voice Magazine is one of the most rewarding things about this job.
So last week, we brought you Adrienne Braithwaite’s first article on the uniting power of music, and this week, she follows it up with a look at National Indigenous Peoples day, that falls on June 21, 2020, the same day as Father’s Day for those paying attention. I’ll be honest, I had absolutely no clue about National Indigenous Peoples day, or #NIPDCanada as the government of Canada is labelling it for sharing on twitter, but in our current climate of self-reflection about our prejudices, it couldn’t come at a better time. So this Saturday, take a moment or two, maybe with your dad, to check out some of the events being held for it.
Along the same lines, we also have an article by a writer who only recently came on board, where she looks at some of the debates around the new movement to bring down art that celebrates people who were often promoting things that are now strongly opposed by most in society. Should history be pulled down? Or are there more appropriate places for our history to be displayed and remembered than in the middle of every day activities? Does where it is make a real difference? These are some of the questions Natalia Iwanek briefly looks at in her article on separating the art from the artist.
However, those aren’t the only newer writers, as this week, we’ve got three brand new student writers making their debut. Two of them, Julia Day and Antonio Messam, have opened up with their very different experiences of what it means coming to AU, giving us a good read as they introduce themselves. Meanwhile the third, Alek Golijanin (who was already featured in one of our Minds We Meet columns) has jumped straight into some of the research and thinking that’s going on at AU about new learning styles and innovations.
But seeing these three brings up another thing that I’m continually amazed at by new writers for The Voice Magazine. That’s the vast range of experiences that AU brings together. From a Miss Universe contestant to a management consultant who was once himself homeless, you simply can’t predict who the students of AU, or the writers of The Voice Magazine will be, other than those who are passionate about their own education and development. And I don’t think we could be among a better bunch of people.
Of course we also have our usual selection of goodies, whether it’s making a great recipe, finding AU related events, a little known scholarship, advice to get started on your great entrepreneurship business, or just a different way of looking at a common household appliance.
Enjoy the read!
