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Welcome!
Kelowna’s UBC Okanagan Community Development Club presents The World Traveling Community Film Festival March 21, 22 and 23, 2008. The Kelowna campus of UBC Okanagan will host the screening of these films in the Student Services Centre building’s Lecture Theatre SSC 026, and the Arts building theatre, Room ART 103. **Click for map**.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend a hearty welcome to one and all, to join us exploring this year's collection of films that unfold the shifting tides of humanity all over this world.
How sad would it be, if in the end, we just couldn’t afford to save ourselves?
This UBC Okanagan Community Development Club event is non-profit and is a fund-raiser in support of the Kelowna Food Bank.

Admission to films is by donation of cash or non-perishable food items for the Kelowna Food Bank.

We are pleased and grateful for this opportunity to present this enlightening lineup of films,
made possible by the commitment of -

The World Community Development Education Society
From Courtney/Comox B.C. Kindly Shares This
Great Selection of Films With Us in the True Nature of Building Community

We Must Become The Change... An old man, alone, bitter and homeless moves through a process of healing and reconciliation to reach a measure of peace with his country, his past and himself (The Cats of Mirikitani)
 A community’s young people confront the horrors of their victimization in the civil war in Northern Uganda to reach a collective triumph of their will to recover and flourish.  (War /Dance)

These are but three stories from our festival which portray a personal, a community, and an international approach to the complicated set of challenges facing the 21st century world. Every film will tell a story which can become a prompt to action for any one of us.

Whether the personal challenge of living with integrity in this world, the collective challenge of confronting and solving these issues in our communities, or the daunting prospect of looking at these issues from a global perspective, we are all seeking a sense of the possible … a sense that there is hope for progress on issues of importance to us.

A sense of hope cannot be found in denial. Pretending that things are OK, or that “they” will look after it, or that new technology will solve all the problems does nothing to get to the root of the problem. Our problem lies fundamentally in our willingness to live with a society based on values which cannot sustain human society much longer. A society based on greed, ever increasing consumption, and unending material growth can never be sustained for these values are a profound contradiction to the very laws of nature.

While our festival does not avoid the difficult issues challenging our very survival, our aim is to place these issues in a context that will inspire action. The very act of watching these films with a group of people and having the bazaar to turn to for further information and opportunity to act, serve to let us know that we are not alone. In fact we discover that there are hundreds in our own community and indeed, millions over the planet who, like us seek a better world.

It is not sufficient to simply study the world; the point is to change it. We must consider challenging ourselves:  • to learn more about the issues we encounter at the festival;
• to discuss these issues with our colleagues, families and friends; and
• to hold our own lives up to a critical examination in light of what we have seen at the festival and act on what we
see.

Knowledge without action can lead to despair and a sense of powerlessness which is often mistaken for apathy. Any action, no matter how small, will move us toward a sense of the possible and a willingness to face even more daunting challenges.

“We must be the change we want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi

UBC Students' Union Okanagan