Workshop tackles globalization in mountain environments Olav Slaymaker, South-North Workshop Chair and Faculty Fellow On June 24-25, 2002, St. John’s College was home to the Second Annual South-North Workshop on “Globalization in the Mountain Environments: Conflicts and Opportunities,” which tied in perfectly with celebrations to mark the United Nations Year of the Mountains, 2002. The doyen of Canadian mountain geo-ecologists, Jack Ives, opened the proceedings with an overview of mountain natural hazards. Distinguished visiting speakers addressed problems in the Himalayas (Vic Galay), the Andes and Central America (Simon Cook), Bolivia (Juan Carlos Alluralde) and South-East Asia (John Graham). Other highlights included a pre- sentation by Hans Schreier and five of his current and former graduate students (Sandra Brown, Stephanie von Westarp, Jamie Ross, Yeshey and Regina Bestbier), who provided outstanding Himalayan-Andean comparisons, focusing on water- shed management opportunities and conflicts. Olav Slaymaker outlined a methodology for dealing with the contested relationship between environ- mental vulnerability and social resilience in Ecuador, Taiwan, British Columbia and Austria. The most energetic contribution came from Janice Billy, a member ‘of the Secwepemc People, the First Nations people occupying the south-central part of British Columbia. She spoke movingly on behalf of Chief George Manuel about the alienation of traditional lands by modern resource development interests and illus- trated the central conflict issue of indigenous land claims. Finally, College Principal Grant Ingram chaired a panel discussion, which brought some of the major 2002 South-North Workshop speaker Jack Ives. issues back for reconsideration and future action before the close of the workshop. The Third Annual South-North Workshop will be held in April 2003, in collaboration with a Peter Wall Exploratory Workshop, and will have a water security emphasis to tie in with the United Nations declaration of a Year of Water in 2003. St. John’s College is a community of graduate students and scholars committed to furthering international, intercultural and interdisciplinary relationships. With this goal in mind, the College has continued to grow in the diversity of its academic and social programming. Since our last newsletter, we have hosted a num- ber of distinguished lecturers, an International Telehealth Workshop, a European Union-Canada bilateral meeting on the northern dimensions of science and technology, the second annual South-North Workshop, and the first Learning to Lead weekend conference. Academic programming this past year also included a series of lectures on China, a series on international refugee issues, and the Resident Speaker series. We also had visits and talks by a number of Johanneans during this period. These are important as they help maintain our links with St. John’s University Shanghai and its graduates, who were instrumental in the creation of our College. Performing arts is another way in which residents share their talents with the community and contribute to understanding different cultures. The College has an International Choir, which sings at most of our special banquets. Music reflects the international composition of the community and the group is not afraid to sing in many languages unfamiliar to them. Grant Ingram, Principal The College has, during the past year, spent some time considering future directions both in terms of membership and academic programs. The advice of both Faculty and Junior Fellows is that the College must maintain an international focus, both in its membership and in its academic programs. It is our intention to focus on a few academic areas, international in nature, which will interest a broad cross- section of Junior Fellows and span a number of different disciplines.