RSS 2.0 FeedJanuary 2012 Volume 39, USA and Canada
Slain Doctor's memorial lecture held in Canada
A university in Canada last week held its first Dr Ottilia Chareka Memorial Lecture in honour of the slain Zimbabwean academic. Dr Chareka was killed by her husband, Patrick, who is now facing first degree murder charges. The University of New Brunswick’s Faculty of Education where Dr Chareka taught will hold annual lectures in her memory.
This inaugural lecture was given by Carla L. Peck from the University of Alberta who presented a talk titled “I’m Stuck! “Social Justice” and other Labels that Shape our World”.
Dr. Peck’s presentation addressed questions like, What labels do you use to organize the world, and the people in it? What labels do you carry with you when you walk into a classroom? What labels do you wear proudly, and which do you hide behind, or use to harm?
Ottilia Chareka, mother, activist, scholar, mentor, and friend was a three time graduate of the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick.
Ottilia was the first woman from her rural village in Zimbabwe to complete high school and went on from there to enjoy a stellar career as a teacher and academic.
Throughout her life Ottilia was a considerable advocate for others including the many Zimbabwean girls she supported in educational endeavours, fellow immigrants to Canada, and the First Nations students she worked with at St. Francis Xavier University.
When Ottilia died tragically in the spring of 2011, the Faculty of Education at UNB thought one fitting way to remember her would be an annual lecture in her name focusing on education as a vehicle for social justice, something that was a life long passion for Ottilia.
This inaugural Dr. Ottilia Chareka Memorial Lecture on Education and Social Justice explored the concept of labels and argued that we need to move from labelling to acting if “social justice” is going to have any meaning and relevance at all.
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