Symposium
For every new generation, figuring out one’s future in the world is always a challenge. This is truer than ever, as the world has gotten much more complicated. Wouldn’t it be great to have a user manual for thriving amid all the chaos? Well, this festival aims to provide a major chapter in that manual.
Through a series of conferences, you’ll gain practical tools for your future related to media education, masculinity, love in the digital age, financial literacy, resilience in the face of persistent inequalities, and so much more.
The goal is to provide not only practical skills but also new perspectives and hope for the future.
Gen Z empowered for a better future for all.
All events are held in the auditorium (A-103) unless indicated.
10:00 — Building resilience from the inside out by Laura Young
This presentation will explore resilience, emotional regulation, and stress through an inside-out lens. Laura Young will help students understand how their mind and threat system shape their experience, why everyday challenges can sometimes feel unsafe, and how self-awareness, self-compassion, connection, courage, and perspective can help them respond more effectively. Students will be encouraged to see resilience not as something they either have or lack, but as a capacity they can build by facing discomfort, asking honest questions, and getting out there to live rather than trying to control everything in order to feel safe.
Laura Young is the creator of the Lifelight Program, a personal and social development program for children, youth, parents, and educators. She holds a Master’s degree in Child Studies from Concordia University and has spent over 30 years supporting children, youth, and families in school, community, and parent education settings. Through her books, workshops, and speaking engagements, Laura teaches students how to understand their minds, reflect on the stories they tell themselves, build resilience from the inside out, and reduce needless suffering.
2:30 — Showcasing honours QL student work by previous QL students
During this event, students who were selected last winter by a jury will present their outstanding qualitative research project. Come listen to students’ great work.
4:00 — The future isn't written yet: a guide for Gen Z to thrive by Kimberlee Desormeaux
Anxious about the planet? Doomscrolling your way through headlines? Worried you won’t be able to be financially comfortable even if you work hard? You're not alone in feeling this way — and you're not powerless.
First, we will take a deep dive into what matters for your individual and collective well-being. Then, we will unpack strategies for turning powerlessness into agency. You'll walk away with the confidence to shape your own future — and the collective power to reshape everyone else's. Because Gen Z isn't just inheriting the world. You're rewriting it.
Kimberlee Desormeaux is passionate about social issues in Quebec and around the world. This passion has led her to participate in various community initiatives over the past twenty years and to work in four other countries. She has a particular interest in politics and has co-authored an essay on Quebec democracy titled Raviver la démocratie. Finally, she is a sociology professor at Vanier CEGEP and the mother of a young boy.
11:30 — Love in the digital age: how social media and texting shape young adults’ romantic relationships by Dr. Sarafina Métellus
This presentation will highlight findings from two studies examining how social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, Facebook) and text-based communication influence romantic relationships among young adults. Topics will include social media jealousy, electronic partner surveillance, and the management of romantic conflict through text messaging. The presentation will also explore how digital communication shapes relationship satisfaction and conflict resolution and will conclude with clinical and practical implications for fostering healthy digital communication among young couples.
Dr. Sarafina Métellus is a clinical psychologist who earned her doctorate in psychology from Université de Montréal. Her research focuses on the impact of social media and digital technologies on young adults’ romantic relationships. Her doctoral dissertation examined the role of romantic attachment in online jealousy, electronic partner surveillance, and the management of romantic conflict through text messaging.
2:30 — Dialogue activity on how to make Vanier better between students, staff and the VCSA in B-325
While sitting in groups, Vanier students will share their experience in Cégep and propose ways to make Vanier better. This is a great opportunity to share your concerns with staff and your student union, whose central purpose is to advocate for you. Don’t miss this opportunity to have your voice heard and make Vanier better for you and everyone else!
4:00 — Who owes whom, or how the Third World got to be third, interactive workshop by Eric Lamoureux in B-325
The presentation, entitled Who Owes Whom, or How the Third World Got to be Third, uses an interactive popular education approach to cover the rise and impact of the Third World debt crisis.
Eric Lamoureux studied at Concordia and McGill Universities in various subjects, including History. He obtained his Master's in the History of Africa in 2001. He has taught at Vanier since 2003.
11:00 — Financial & economic literacy workshop by Niloufar Entekhabi in B-325
Through a realistic life scenario, students explore concepts beyond our regular macro classes, such as compound interest, the present and future value of money, and the importance of timing in financial decisions. The goal is to make financial literacy engaging, practical, and meaningful by helping students experience the long-term impact of their short-term financial choices, all through one simple game.
Niloufar Entekhabi is an economist and educator with over 20 years of teaching and research experience. She holds a PhD in Economics from UQAM and gained international policy experience at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). At Vanier College, she previously mentored students through the Quantitative and Research Methods Lab's project and has contributed to Economics teaching resources, including materials supporting the transition to teaching in French. She also teaches French through Vanier Language School. Bringing an interdisciplinary and creative approach to education, Niloufar has in addition founded the Future Readiness Lab to help students develop practical, real-world skills.
12:30 — The Social Science-Liberal Arts quiz show
Two teams. One trivia arena. Zero mercy.
In one corner: the Social Sc. Students — GPA gladiators armed with an unsettling ability to recall facts from memory. In the other: the Liberal Arts squad — theory-slinging, genius-quoting free spirits.
Round after round, they'll clash over psychology, sociology, economics, geography, and so much more — because nothing settles an academic rivalry like a buzzer and a studio audience.
Only one team walks away as the winner (and with eternal bragging rights).
Come for the fun, stay for your brain.
3:00 — Screening of James Bay 1975: The shock of two nations
James Bay 1975 brings us to the origin of two significant revolutions: the rapid expansion of Hydro-Québec through the construction of the La Grande complex and the awakening of the Indigenous nations of Northern Quebec. A clash of civilizations where two worldviews collide. Quebec dreams of taking control of its destiny by becoming an energy giant on the continent. While in the North, a new generation of young Cree and Inuit are standing up to protect what is most precious to them: their land and their culture. Leaders and witnesses tell their stories in this political thriller, which culminates in the signing of the James Bay Agreement in 1975. (Synopsis taken from the Cinemathèque Québécoise.)
This event lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes, as the screening will be followed by a talk by an Eeyou (Cree) speaker from the area affected by the JBNQ Agreement.
11:30 — Queer and trans stories of hope in the age of technofascism by Sophie Labelle
In this presentation, Sophie Labelle will share stories from the 12 years that she spent meeting trans and queer communities around the globe, highlighting the necessity of creating sustainable communities in which trans and queer people can thrive.
Sophie Labelle is an award-winning neurodivergent trans cartoonist and novelist from the South Shore of Montreal. She is the author of the webcomic Assigned Male, a webcomic that has been running since 2014, and five novels, in French and English. Her illustrated children's books have been translated in a dozen languages. She lives in Finland with her cats and ducks.
1:00 — Media education workshop by journalist Gabrielle Anctil from the CQÉMI
Disinformation, particularly misleading content generated by artificial intelligence, can be difficult to identify. In this interactive workshop, students discover that they hold real decision-making power when dealing with information. They come to understand the role algorithms play in selecting the content they see online. Through concrete examples, they learn to quickly verify information by analyzing source reliability, examining content, and questioning the intent behind the message. Finally, students are encouraged to select and diversify their daily information sources by subscribing to reliable media outlets, journalists, and news influencers. The goal: to develop their critical thinking skills to combat disinformation and become well-informed citizens.
Gabrielle Anctil is an independent journalist covering science and technology. She writes for various publications, including Québec Science, and contributes regularly to radio shows on Radio-Canada. She also wrote the essay Loger à la même adresse, which explores community living as a solution to societal issues.
4:00 — Voices of Gen Z men: towards diverse and positive masculinities by Philippe Roy, Université de Sherbrooke & Liza Lorenzetti, University of Calgary, F-500, library’s last floor
Welcome to our participatory and evidence-informed workshop on the voices and experiences of Gen-Z men. This workshop is informed by lived experiences, and our practice and research work in the community. Masculine realities are vast and often exposed in public debates, both positively and negatively. Research in social science provides evidence to understand and support positive changes for Gen-Z men and their communities. We invite participants to share and learn about recent research on topics like young men's experiences of romantic break-ups and preventing gender-based violence, the role of influencers on beliefs about gender relations in their lives and views on help-seeking among this group of men. We present recent findings about positive and caring expressions of masculinities on which participants can reflect and discuss their own values and potential actions for the future.
Philippe Roy, Ph.D is professor at Université de Sherbrooke, École de travail social. His teaching, research and community practice focus on men's suicide prevention promotion of mental health and gender equality. From French settler heritage living in Quebec, he is engaged in anti-oppressive and decolonial work.
Liza Lorenzetti is a settler from Italian heritage from Mokhinstis (Calgary), now living in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). She is an activist-educator in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary whose teaching and research is informed by three decades of counselling and community practice.
2:30 — Second screening of James Bay 1975: The shock of two nations
James Bay 1975 brings us to the origin of two significant revolutions: the rapid expansion of Hydro-Québec through the construction of the La Grande complex and the awakening of the Indigenous nations of Northern Quebec. A clash of civilizations where two worldviews collide. Quebec dreams of taking control of its destiny by becoming an energy giant on the continent. While in the North, a new generation of young Cree and Inuit are standing up to protect what is most precious to them: their land and their culture. Leaders and witnesses tell their stories in this political thriller, which culminates in the signing of the James Bay Agreement in 1975. (Synopsis taken from the Cinemathèque Québécoise.)
No guest speaker for the second screening.
For any questions about the event, you can reach the coordinator, Kimberlee Desormeaux, by email.