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Col. Hadfield to give keynote at Columbia Basin Symposium in Kimberley

The keynote speaker for the Columbia Basin Symposium in October is astronaut Chris Hadfield.
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The last Columbia Basin Symposium took place in Creston in 2013. This year’s symposium will be held in Kimberley from Oct. 13 to 15. (Submitted)

The theme for this year’s Columbia Basin Symposium is thriving and the keynote speaker is astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Hadfield’s keynote speech will open the symposium in Kimberley on Friday, Oct. 13 and over the weekend attendees will have the chance to attend a number of breakout sessions exploring changing demographics, technology and climate change.

“What we really want to do is acknowledge that changing demographics will bring challenges, climate change obviously has challenges, so do technology changes,” says Johnny Strilaeff, president and CEO of the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT). “But what we really want to focus the symposium on is thriving, or benefitting or looking for opportunities arising from those changes.”

“We talked a little bit about who could personify that and bring the most inspiration to that type of theme. Someone who professionally has had to be in an environment where change is part of who they are and what they do, and they have to find a way to negotiate through and embrace change as an opportunity,” he added. “And through that conversation, we thought, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be terrific if Col. Hadfield was available.’”

The idea behind the symposium is to invite interested Basin residents to explore a timely theme and learn more about the CBT.

The symposium is free to attend, though those planning to take part do need to register in advance, and Strilaeff recommends registering as soon as possible.

“There are a limited number of seats available and once we made the public announcement registration started to come in quite quickly,” he says. “So even if you’re just thinking about it at this stage, I’d really encourage you to go ahead and work through the registration and get your name on the list.”

For those who aren’t able to attend in person, the CBT is working on live-streaming the sessions.

CBT is also still looking for anyone interested in having a display at the event.

“Different community organizations or groups that would like to … share their story, in the extent it aligns with the theme of the overall symposium, we will have an opportunity for those booths to be built up and a chance for them to talk to all those residents that are in attendance,” says Strilaeff.

Everyone, regardless of whether or not they register for the symposium, is invited to attend the Evening of Basin Culture and Entertainment on Saturday night, 5 to 10 p.m. at the Platzl in downtown Kimberley. There will be music, food and children’s activities—though the CBT is still confirming details for the evening.

Historically, the CBT has held a symposium every three years, but it’s now been four years since the last symposium.

“Only because we had a significant public engagement process that we started in 2014 and ended in 2015, so that was a large effort, so we decided to hold another year,” explains Strilaeff.

The CBT has been holding similar events since its creation.

“There were large public forums, and they weren’t always under the title of a symposium, but we’d been having them dating back to the mid-’90s,” says Strilaeff.

The symposium is held in different communities from year to year.

To register for the 2017 symposium, taking place in Kimberley from Oct. 13 to 15, and to see a full program of events, visit symposium.ourtrust.org.