Tis the season for Christmas carols and mince pies – but it’s also a month we open our eyes and show more awareness and compassion to other people.
Our first stop is a talk about the international Together! 2023 Disability Film Festival, who are urging us to change the narrative we place around people with disabilities. Join this online event on the 3rd of December at 3pm.
On the 6th December learn all about the wonder women whose expeditions and exploits leave us fascinated and then, on the 18th of December, lands the International Migrant Day talk. This session will demonstrate and explore how new arrivals helped shape our cities for the better.
So, from Corinne Jones and the PSS team – happy learning and happy holidays!
3rd December at 3pm, Disability Film Festival
The international Together! 2023 Disability Film Festival received more than 1500 entries from around the world, the majority from non-disabled filmmakers. Many films portrayed disability as a tragedy or used other negative stereotyping, with happy endings apparently hard to imagine. Stories were often told through the eyes of non-disabled people, or non-disabled people were the subject of the film rather than the Disabled people they work with or care for. Taking Stock brings together audience members and filmmakers to discuss what needs to change.
6th December at 5.30pm, Art and Climate Change
For our latest talk, join Judith Hewitt, Museums Curator to learn how a historic painting is being used to consider climate change. This talk will consider how historic art can be used alongside historic objects to better understand and represent a region within a museum setting.
6th December at 3.00pm, Women’s Lives
Discover collections about pioneering women. Taking gender equality to new heights, these women left invaluable personal accounts and images of their travels, expeditions and exploits. Library staff will demonstrate how to find these collections through the Library's free-to-use Digital Gallery and Learning Zone.
7th December at 7.00pm, Wonderful thing about bees
Honey bees have lived in societies for some 30 million years. The pollination contracts that they hold with particular plants are much older. Human beings are some seven million years old. We exist as herding animals aspiring to become social.
We can learn a great deal from bees though we would probably not want to emulate all their achievements. Social animals regulate the size and structure of their population according to their resources. Worker bees are engineered to die when they are still fully functional which, consequently, avoids the social burden of ill health that we associate with old age. When bees are starving, they share any remaining food and die together.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/prof-robert-pickard-wonderful-things-about-bees-tickets-755493690967?
December 13th at 1.00pm, The Spice Trade
The Byzantine Empire played a pivotal role in facilitating the spice trade between the East and West during the Middle Ages. Strategically positioned at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the Byzantine Empire maintained extensive trade networks that spanned land and sea routes, connecting merchants from the Far East to the Mediterranean region. This special NHM Discussion explores this fascinating history.
15th December at 7.00pm, Solstice Stories
Join professional storytellers Catriona Blanke and Cara Silversmith for an evening of tales to mark the Winter Solstice.
18th December at 6.00pm, Reindeers
While we are pretty sure that reindeer could not fly in the Ice Age, there are many things that we have discovered about reindeer in the past. This talk will look at reindeer and other deer species during the Ice Age in Europe, including their distributions, diet, and how they were used by humans.
18th December at 6.00pm, Migrant History
To celebrate 'International Migrant Day', Professor Panayi will join us at North Kensington Library to examine the migrant history of London.
In his talk, Professor Panayi - author of 'Migrant City: A New History of London' - will demonstrate how new arrivals, both from Europe and Ireland and from throughout the world, have helped to keep the city running over the last two centuries as well as showing how they have helped to transform it. He will show how migrants exist on every part of the social scale and also in every sector of the economy.
20th December, from 11 -11.30pm, Solstice eve celebrations
The Wheel of the Year Turns to Solstice Eve. Join us for a free, inclusive Zoom celebration of this midwinter moment, the eve of the sun standing still.
There will be folklore, a little music and a short ritual. This event is a chance to look forward and back at our shared stories and celebrate.
And one at your leisure, this very talented young lady called Chloe Hua aged 11 from Singapore playing Vivaldi Winter on YouTube.
Best wishes to everyone and have a happy and peaceful holiday.
See you in January for more digital events!
Corinne