Media Release | Sep. 20, 2000
Tip sheet: UBC Liu Centre opening
- Event: Official opening ceremonies of the Liu Centre
for the Study of Global Issues
- Date: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2000
- Time: 4-5:30 p.m.
- Place: 6476 Northwest Marine Drive
- Parking: Parking is available at the Fraser River Parkade
(enter at Gate 4 off Northwest Marine Drive) and the Rose Garden
Parkade (enter off Northwest Marine Drive between gates 3 and
4). The University of British Columbia's Liu Centre for the Study
of Global Issues will officially open Thursday, Sept. 21.
A complete program for the inaugural conference, which takes place
today, opening ceremonies and other activities is posted at www.liucentre.ubc.ca.
Call 604.822.1558 or 604.822.1593 for more information.
Following are a list of individuals involved with the centre as
well as background information on the building itself.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy, who will
be joining the Liu Centre, will speak briefly during the opening
ceremonies and will be available for a media scrum at 5:30 p.m.
He is also available for a limited time for interviews on Friday,
Sept. 22. Call (613) 992-6562 to arrange interviews.
The director of the centre is UBC Geography Prof. Geography
Olav Slaymaker. An expert on global environmental change,
he can explain the research and activities of the centre. Call 604.822.1588.
Barry McBride, the university's vice-president, Academic and
Provost, can explain how the centre contributes to UBC's academic
plan, Trek 2000 (the university's vision document), and the
advancement of international scholarship and research. Contact:
604.822.4948.
Frieda Granot is dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies,
which includes the Liu Centre. She can explain the interdisciplinary
scope and mandate of the centre. Call 604.822.2931.
Founding director
The centre is the realization of the dream of Ivan Head,
professor of Law and first director. He is a former foreign
policy adviser to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and former
president of the International Development Research Centre. Head
will lead the roundtable discussion, "Global Issues and the Liu
Centre Vision" which begins at 10 a.m. on Sept. 21. He can be reached
at (604) 922-0643.
Leading roundtable participants
Among the roundtable participants who will be available for interviews
at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 are members of the centre's International
Advisory Council.
They are Umberto Columbo, chair of LEAD Europe and Sylvia
Ostry, director, Centre for International Studies, University
of Toronto, and former ambassador for multilateral trade negotiations.
As well, Rebecca Slate, co-founder of the Youth Millennium Project
(YMP) will join the discussion. She will be accompanied by Madeleine
Pollard-Hyde, a 12-year-old General Wolfe Elementary student
who is putting books on tape for blind children in Guyana. There
are 5,000 young people in 62 countries now working on local projects
in YMP, which will move to the Liu Centre. Call 604.822.5028 for
more information.
Affiliated faculty
Among 20 internationally recognized UBC faculty who are affiliated
with the centre are:
Brian Job, professor of Political Science and director of
the Institute of International Relations, 604.822.5480;
Tom Pedersen, professor of Geography, an expert on climate
history and oceanographic change, 604) 822-5984;
Gordon Smith, former deputy minister of Foreign Affairs,
and ambassador to NATO and the European Union, 604.822.1593.
International Advisory Council
The centre's International Advisory Council comprises 15 prominent
global experts including Robert McNamara, president of the
Ford Motor Company and former U.S. Secretary of Defence and president
of the World Bank. The chair is Maurice Strong, chair of
the Earth Council, CEO of Ontario Hydro and former secretary-general
of the UN Conference on the Environment and Development. The council's
second annual meeting is Friday, Sept. 22 at the centre.
The building
The building itself is designed to symbolize the spirit of globalization
and is a model of energy efficiency and sustainability. Constructed
on the site of Pan-Hellenic House, the centre contains the former
building's beams and other major components. It incorporates fly
ash--normally a waste product of burning coal and a long list of
other environmentally friendly features. Contact Freda Pagani,
director of Campus Sustainability, at 604.822.1501.
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