Course Organiser: Yvonne Evans, Paul Harding, Anne Harding
Presenter: Various
22 May: Peter Sharp, award winning drama director with a lifetime working in television both in New Zealand and Australia on ‘Script to Screen’
The nuts and bolts of turning a screenplay into a TV drama.
29 May: Alan Blackburn, MA (Hons) in Geography, Otago University on ‘Taiwan Fragile Cargo’
In this lecture, Alan covers why Taiwan is a political anomaly, and whether the world would be able to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait.
5 Jun: Tania Gibson, an Oxygen Advantage Advanced Breathing Coach and Yoga Instructor on ‘Breathing is automatic—but is it truly optimal?’
Tania has trained professionals from the Crusaders Academy and Harcourts, helping them harness the power of breath for peak performance and well-being. In this session, she will guide you through the science and practical application of breathwork techniques that have been used for centuries - proven methods now backed by modern science to improve health and enhance your quality of life.
12 Jun: Prof. Philip Joseph, KC, Professor Public Law, University of Canterbury on ‘The Legal Profession, the branches of Government, and our Political and Constitutional Culture
Prof. Philip Joseph is regarded as one of the country’s leading scholars in public law. It is this stellar reputation in his field of expertise that led him to be awarded the prestigious University of Canterbury Research Medal for 2012.
This presentation brings together the legal profession and how it organises itself, the branches of government with particular focus on the Courts, and our political and national culture. Our constitutional doctrines do not always portray the realities of constitutional government, and Charles III’s accession to the Throne in 2022 reveals an unchanging national trait – this country’s casual indifference to statecraft and constitutional form.
19 Jun: Dr Rod Carr, formerly Chair Climate Change Commission and Vice Chancellor UC on ‘Supporting Aotearoa NZ’s transition to a climate-resilient, no emissions energy future’.
Rod retired in 2024 after 5 years as Chair of the Climate Change Commission, a Crown entity established to provide independent, evidence-based climate change advice to the New Zealand Government. Immediately prior to that he served for 10 years as Vice Chancellor of the University of Canterbury.
This talk will provide a brief update on emerging climate science, but the focus of his talk will be on the challenges and opportunities, the changing climate offers Canterbury today and in the coming decade. Rod will share his views on the energy transition now underway, decarbonising ground transport, and the impact of the changing climate on where we live and how we use our land.