The Friday Files - news to inform and inspire
Lights in the Land of Living Skies, Saskatchewan, Canada. Copyright Jeanine Holowatuik
Congratulations to photographer Jeanine Holowatuik from Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, whose spectacular capture of an aurora storm in northern Saskatchewan recently won her global honours as one of the top Northern Lights photographers of the year.
Speaking to prize organizers, Capture the Atlas, Holowatuik said, "I captured this image during a surprise aurora storm that came out of nowhere near the end of May in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada."
"The show was strong, and the lights were visible in every direction at its peak, which doesn’t happen often at my latitude. It was a warm spring evening and I captured the Lights dancing right until the morning light, a night I’ll never forget!" Jeanine specialises in Canadian night photography, and more of her work can be viewed here.
Visit Canadian Geographic for an interactive map of the best places in Canada to view the aurora borealis. The best time to see the lights in Canada and the Northern Hemisphere is typically late September/October to March/April, although as Holowatuik found, May light storms are not impossible! Whether it's digital and armchair travel during the current international travel restrictions, or planning a trip next year, the views are amazing, visit soon!
Call for Applications now open
The Canada-UK Foundation welcomes statements of interest from prospective applicants for the 2021/22 academic year. The application deadline is January 31st, 2021, at 11:59pm.
Details on the application criteria and process are available on our website.
The Canada Memorial Scholarship offers full scholarships, available to British and Canadian students applying for any year-long postgraduate (Masters-level) course with an accredited Canadian or UK Institution. The application deadline is January 31st, 2021, at 11:59pm. For further information, visit our website.
Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition. If a role model is someone who shows you through their actions, values, and behaviour what is possible, then hockey announcer Harnarayan Singh is clearly telling young Sikh Canadians, “you belong here, you have a place in Canada’s favoured pastime… or maybe you too could have a career in media?”
As the North Division of the National Hockey League (NHL) is set to begin January 13 (a mini league of Canadian teams set up due to Covid-19 border closure), Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi is also set to return. While the sports commentary show in the native Sikh language may be unknown beyond Canadian borders, it has been running since 2008 and rose to prominence with a viral video of an enthusiastic goal call in 2016. This past year co-host Singh released his memoir One Game at a Time: My Journey from Small-Town Alberta to Hockey's Biggest Stage and was a host last month of the virtual summit at Edmonton's MacEwan University For the Growth of the Game: Addressing Racism in Hockey.
Also being the first Sikh to take part in English-language NHL broadcasts, Singh is blazing a path for visibility for the Sikh community in Canada (which represents 2% of the population) connected to sports. Singh has stated in a 2017 interview, “You start off as almost a novelty and people are kind of curious. But then we start realizing that this is growing the game at the grassroots level, and instead of it being a want for the community, it's a need. And then you start seeing the impact in the community, where I go speak to students and they come and tell me that, ‘We never thought that there would be a role for us on TV. But seeing you on there, it's helping give us inspiration.’”
Last month the coach for organization Apna Hockney (Apna means “our” in Punjabi) won the NHL Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award for their work bringing hockey to minority communities. Consequently, equipment company Bauer donated 800 new items to be given to kids across the country. The inclusivity of Apna Hockey connected to growing the game of hockey is a beacon to promoting community through a cornerstone sport in Canadian culture. We look forward to seeing increased diversity in hockey in the years to come thanks to these initiatives.