While many of us have been adjusting to life during COVID-19, and as the winter blues threaten to sink in, the team at Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (CABGU) has been hard at work, looking for ways to keep people engaged through a series of virtual events.

Each event seeks to offer thought-provoking insights, share relevant research and encourage discussion about such varied topics as the following:  ethical medical decision-making during a pandemic; the impact of climate change; what is being done to prevent an environmental crisis; and research into how cannabis can help individuals with autism. Most of these events are free of charge!

For the art love:

Scheduled for February 7, ‘A Virtual Art Tour’ offers participants a guided stroll through one of the few public art collections in Israel’s Negev desert. “Ben-Gurion University is home to one of southern Israel's most dynamic and innovative fine arts collections,” says Maayan Amir, PhD, the collection’s curator and senior lecturer in the Department of Art. “Many of the pieces featured in the collection can be found scattered throughout the Be'er Sheva Campus, enlivening the landscape while complementing it as well.”

For the medical enthusiast:

Questions have been raised in the last year about the ethical decision-making within the medical world during the recent pandemic. How do medical personnel make life and death decisions? What type of protocol is followed and how should the vaccine be distributed? Three top doctors from Israel and Canada will participate in this provocative moderated discussion on February 10^th, sponsored by The Dr. Edward Feldman Memorial Fund. The event is a collaborative initiative between CABGU and the Israel Medical Association. Among the speakers, Dr. Yoram Singer, Director of the Negev Home Palliative Care Unit at Ben-Gurion University, Dr. Sandy Buchman, Medical Director of the Freeman Centre for Advancement of Palliative Care at North York General Hospital and Dr. Elliott Malamet, Lecturer on Jewish Ethics and Philosophy at Hebrew University.

For the lunchtime learner:

CABGU also offers monthly lunchtime webinars on STEM-related topics called ‘Webinar Wednesdays.’ Coming up on February 3, BGU Professor and President, Daniel Chamovitz, will be joined by Sigal Abramovich from the university’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, for an insightful discussion about the impact that climate change is having on the environment. Breakthrough research from BGU that looks at the role cannabis can play in supporting people with autism will be the focal point of a webinar on March 3.

Register for one, or all of these upcoming virtual events by heading to www.bengurion.ca.