University holding international celebration in Kamloops

KAMLOOPS – Kamloops will get tastes from around the world next week courtesy of Thompson Rivers University.

TRU will be holding its annual International Days celebration from Monday, March 14 to Friday March 19. The event will include food, research discussions, cultural performances and guest speakers.

Notable speakers include keynotes from Craig Kielburger, co-founder of international children’s rights organization Free the Children, and Dr. Gwynne Dyer, a journalist and international affairs columnist.

This year also features a two speakers discussing life experiences. Jess Rothenburger, a Thompson Rivers University alumni, will be speaking about living for two weeks with a community in Nicaragua based around a garbage dump. He and a friend have turned the experience into a documentary called Gringos in the Garbage.

Dana Starkell will be talking about the worlds longest canoe trip, which he and his father completed in 1982, travelling from Winnipeg to Brazil. The trip was completed under human power, by paddling, portaging or pulling their canoe the 19,603 kilometres.

International Days will wrap up on Friday, March 18, with a parade and showcase by international students attending the university, highlighting dances, fashion and cultural performances from their native lands. It’s followed by the university’s Powwow on Saturday, March 19, at the university.

All events are open to the public barring one, a research luncheon, though many have limited capacity.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brendan Kergin at bkergin@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.