Exploring the concept of anti-fragility for post-pandemic recovery to ‘build back better’

CONTACT:

Diane T. Finegood, professor, Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology and Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue  

604.306.2880, finegood@sfu.ca

Expertise: complex systems, systems thinking, public-private partnerships.

Shradhha Sharma; University Communications and Marketing, 604.202.2504, shradhha_sharma@sfu.ca

Six months into the Coronavirus pandemic and with still no certain end in sight, it is pertinent to explore potential outcomes of what a post-pandemic recovery could look like. Should we go back to business as usual or make concerted efforts to “build back better”?

The COVID-19 Community Resilience Network—an initiative of SFU’s Office of Community Engagement—hopes to address some of these questions through discussions held on a weekly basis on Zoom and Slack platforms.

The next online edition of this weekly dialogue will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 16 (1:00-2:30 pm PST) and will feature an exploration of the concept of ‘anti-fragility’ or how we can adapt to the new normal to build more resilient and vibrant communities by design. The topic will be explored during a plenary session followed by a breakout into groups to explore where this idea may be useful right now. The event will conclude with a discussion on anti-racism at 2 pm.

Open to the public, the Zoom session can be accessed at:

https://sfu.zoom.us/j/91000229809?pwd=LzRSS1VXeU9sWFRuM1VLbHp4NDAxZz09

Meeting ID: 910 0022 9809

Password: 056546

It will be moderated by Diane T. Finegood, professor, Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and SFU’s Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology. Finegood is available for interviews on the session, as well as the larger role of the COVID-19 Community Resilience Network.

Following the Zoom session, the Slack workspace, also open to the public, will allow attendees to continue the conversation, deepen discussion, find potential collaborators and forge new relationships across sectors, allowing a wider dissemination of helpful resources shared by the SFUCOVNET community. It can be accessed here.

About Simon Fraser University: 

As Canada’s engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today’s problems. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities – Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey – SFU has eight faculties that deliver 193 undergraduate degree programs and 127 graduate degree programs to more than 35,000 students. The university now boasts more than 160,000 alumni residing in 143 countries.