“I was four years old when I was first affected by suicide,” says Ashley Cummings. We first met Ashley when our friends at Students on Ice brought her to London for our acclaimed “Save the Poles, Save the Planet” lecture at Canada House last year. Ashley joined SOI founder Geoff Green and Arctic explorer Paul Rose to share first hand experience of life for young Inuit in the Canadian Arctic Circle.. We wanted to hear how things had changed since that talk, and what she was doing as events of 2020 unfolded.

We caught up with Ashley this week, as she started a new job with Yukonstruct, a shared workspace for Yukon’s entrepreneurial community to work, collaborate and build a strong community of visionaries. Ashley remains both generous and brave in sharing her experience and her culture. “When young people are struggling with who they are, and where they fit in, with their identity, one of the conflicts we can feel is the pull between cultures. So much work has happened to help create stronger connections to our culture and our history, and that includes our crafts. I’m so proud to continue to find my voice where I can and help others,” she said. “We are living through unprecedented changes in 2020 and the best thing we can do, I think, is continue to speak openly and honestly about who we are and give others the space, and respect, to do the same. I’m remaining hopeful.”

Yukonstruct describes Ashley as an “advocate, and multidisciplinary artist… passionate about supporting others in their individual journeys.” We agree. You inspire us Ashley, congrats on the new job, and thanks for keeping in touch!

For more information about supporting speaking engagements featuring young advocates such as Ashley, you are warmly welcomed to contact us at admin@canadaukfoundation.org.

Meet our ThursdayStories scholar, James Broom. Thanks to CMF supporters, James just left London for the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Forestry degree. Now settled in Fredericton, James told us “It's very exciting to be here, in a region at the frontline of climate change and its subsequent impacts.” James explains, “The Arcadian Forest Region in eastern Canada contains a unique mix of both boreal and temperate tree species. The boreal species are growing at their southernmost range and the temperate species are growing at their northernmost range. With both forest types at their respective extremes the region is very important to the study of climate change and what it can do to our environment, including the forests... I am looking into a landscape scale tree mortality event that occurred in balsam fir (Abies balsamea) which is linked to warming winters. I am also investigating the presence of Armillaria, a destructive root rot fungus. Although I had studied a BSc in Forestry back in the UK, an exciting thing about a Master’s here is the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques such as the DNA extraction and analysis of a fungus which is completely new to me.”

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for regular “updates from the forest.” And for more information on supporting scholars like James or applying for a scholarship opportunity in 2021, do contact us at admin@canadaukfoundation.org or visit our website.

Check out some amazing Canadian talent from northern artists and historians in a new video series celebrating the West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative and Dorset Fine Arts. The videos, available here were commissioned by The Canadian High Commission in London. Culture Canada shared that the series focuses on “prominent examples of artists and artwork that explore themes of the environment and climate change, and Living Legacies: The Future of Inuit Art introducing the yet-to-be-launched international travelling exhibition, expected to be one of the most significant exhibitions of Cape Dorset art now.”

Please join us in welcoming Stefan Zebrowski-Rubin as Digital Communications Consultant for the Canada-UK Foundation. Passionate about art and scholarship, Stefan honed his communications management skills as a Managing Editor with Hauser & Wirth Publishers, orchestrating visually strong, academically engaging communications, including books of the highest quality. A native Montrealer, Stefan holds a graduate degree from The Courtauld Institute and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University in Art History and Italian Studies. Stefan has gained significant experience in digital communications, including writing, research, technology and social media. He played an integral role in establishing Hauser & Wirth Publishers as an independent world-class brand and we look forward to his dynamic impact on our Canada-UK Foundation communications. Welcome Stefan.

The Friday Files - news to enlighten and inform