Unforgettable community discussions and respectful, inclusive debates

 

The Salt Spring Forum brings diverse perspectives on important issues to a community known for its civic engagement and openness to new ideas.

The Forum has hosted some of the world's leading authors, artists, scientists, political leaders and activists. Our annual speaker series and members-only salons present thought-provoking discussions on some of the greatest issues of our times. 

Forum events take place in a truly participatory discussion format that ensures respectful dialogue, a wide-range of perspectives and ideas, and mutual learning.

We invite you to learn more about the Salt Spring Forum. The best way to become involved is to attend one of our many events. We also encourage you to become a member and support our work with a tax-deductible donation

 

OUR NEXT EVENT.


Carol Off

Fulford Hall

3.30pm. Sunday, February 16th

Tickets available HERE

At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage.

 We all know and love Carol Off as an award-winning journalist, author and host of CBC Radio’s As it Happens, for which she conducted 25,000 interviews over 16 years. She is an icon of Canadian journalism and a beacon of humour, compassion and insight.

 Carol Off’s latest book: At A Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage (Random House 2024) has been called “…an elegy and a call to arms”.

 In the book, Carol Off studies six words whose meaning and use, she feels, have been hijacked and twisted to mean something completely different. As a result, we are losing our political vocabulary—and with it, the ability to speak with and hear each other in meaningful ways.

 We are left unable to reckon with the complexities of the crises we face, and become easy prey to conspiracy theories, tech billionaires, and autocrats.

 It is true that dictionaries add and remove words each year. Are language and society simply evolving?

 Or is the “dumbing down” of language and society, along with a democracy now dictated by capitalism, leading to less nuanced, balanced and important discussions, and, by extension, to people’s inability to accurately articulate their own thoughts and needs?

 Carol Off wonders if we can reclaim the value of words like: Democracy, Freedom and Truth.

  Please join us for this special discussion with a very special guest.

Here is a link to Carol Off talking about her latest book.

 

 


 

 

 

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see who’s coming

See who we have coming up next at the Salt Spring Forum, both live and online guests.

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recent speakers

The Forum has hosted some of the world's leading intellectuals, activists, political leaders, and thinkers.

Meet Some Recent Guests →

 
“I am proud of what Forum does. And feel enlightened, broadened, glad to hear the unvarnished experiences of the speakers...”
— Victoria Olchowecki, Member & Donor