UPDATE on March 12:  After much consultation and careful consideration, UBC Equity and Inclusion Office decided to cancel today’s IGNITE book club event. The cancellation of the event is a responsible decision in order to protect all our diverse communities. This is also following the safety precautions recommended by our provincial health authorities to best protect the health of the population with concerns around COVID-19 in large group settings. 

The Equity and Inclusion Office is still planning a conservation between Annahid Dashtgard and Shirin Eshghi Furuzawa, which will be recorded. They will be sharing the recording online when it’s ready.

Thursday, March 12, 2020
Asian Centre 1871 West Mall

5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Asian Library Upper Floor

Join us for IGNITE, an ongoing series of engagements with racialized authors at UBC’s Vancouver campus. Annahid Dashtgard, author of Breaking the Ocean: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Reconciliation, will share insights into her works and finding joy amidst her experience of living as a racialized individual, author, and academic. Hosted by Shirin Eshghi, Head of UBC Asian Library.

6:15 PM to 7:30 PM
Reception with Persian Refreshments – Asian Centre Foyer
Performances – Asian Centre Auditorium

Nowruz, which literally means “a new day”, is the Persian New Year, celebrated for over 3,000 years by diverse communities in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia. Celebrated on the first day of Farvardin (The first month of Persian Calendars), Nowruz marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It usually occurs around March 21, depending on where it is observed. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year, and families gather together to celebrate the earth being reborn. The celebration usually starts Charshanbe Suri (Festive Wednesday) and ends with Sizdah Be Dar (Out With The Thirteen) which is on the thirteenth Farvardin. For Nowruz, people display a spread called Haft-Sin (Seven “S”s) which is an arrangement of seven symbolic items whose names start with the 15th letter in the Persian alphabet.

Free and open to all. Please register HERE.