The spring and summer months are a great time to exercise the body. But why not exercise the mind, too, with some stimulating lectures?
The Summer Lectures Club in Guelph is set to kick off its 2025 lecture season with 14 lectures between March 10 and Sept. 22.
In celebration of its 10th anniversary this year, the non-profit organization will contribute to the Guelph chapter of GoGo Grannies.
The international association of Canadian grandmothers, affiliated with the Steven Lewis Foundation, supports African grandmothers raising grandchildren orphaned through AIDS and HIV.
“It's very interesting to see how the GoGo Grannies operate. They work with people in the field. It’s not just Canadians giving to Africans. They do provide funding, but their big thing is to actually do the work to help families in Africa,” said Graham Ford, who has been a Summer Lectures Club member since it first began.
“Many of the people GoGo Grannies supports started off as children and now they are all grown up.”
Membership for the 2025 series costs $55, which includes a $10 contribution to Guelph’s GoGo Grannies.
The Summer Lectures Club is operated by a group of volunteers who arrange an eclectic mix of lectures primarily for seniors interested in life-long learning.
The club is a member of Third Age Network (TAN), the moniker of over 50 Third Age chapters in Canada and is part of a world-wide movement of seniors interested in life-long learning in a social setting where they meet like-minded seniors.
Through TAN, Summer Lectures Club is linked to an international movement named University of the Third Age (U3A), that aims to further learning and the enjoyment of life for mainly retired members of the community.
"It’s been 10 years. I am surprised it’s lasted this long. Third Age Guelph, which we dwarf from, when they had their 30 year anniversary, they made it a charity event. And so we thought we would do the same by supporting Guelph Grannies,” Ford said.
“It also means that they support us and we support them.”
All lectures will be held at Trinity United Church, Monday mornings starting at 9:15 a.m to meet socially and enjoy a cup of coffee before lectures at 10 a.m.
Ford says joining the Summer Lectures Club is a great way for retirees to find and develop new interests and make connections in a relaxed, friendly environment.
“We don't follow a theme. It is all quite general and all are welcome,” he said.
The organization has the goal to inspire and inform with lectures on a wide variety of topics such as scientific advancements, general knowledge, and social issues presented by expert speakers from all walks of life.
Among this year’s highlights, on May 10, the club will take attendees on a virtual visit to the Fauna Foundation, Canada’s only chimpanzee sanctuary that houses two chimpanzees' famed use of American sign language (ASL). One in particular, named Washoe, learned ASL from his adoptive mother and uses it to communicate with Fauna staff.
This will be followed by a three part presentation on March 28, April 7 and April 14 by Maria Chester who will describe La Belle Epoque (The Beautiful Era) that ended when the world collapsed into the chaos of WW1.
On June 2, Win Wahrer, co-founder of The Justice for Guy Paul Morin Committee, will describe how Morin's wrongful conviction in the murder of nine year old Christine Jessop gave birth to the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (now Innocence Canada) and how the association’s work has led to Bill C-40, the David and Joyce Milgaard Act, creating an official body to review possible miscarriages of justice.
The series ends on Sept. 22, with a lecture by a representative of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
Lectures will be live-streamed for those not able to attend in person. To see the full description of lectures and how to register, visit here.
"About half of the lectures are held in person and the other half by Zoom. In fact, we have a couple people from South Africa and Kingston join in, a couple in New Brunswick, and a lady in Cape Breton,” Ford said.
“That is a real benefit. People can still take part by zoom.”
Currently there are about 300 members on the Summer Lectures Club’s mailing list.
“It’s our 10th year. We’ve been blessed by having some really good speakers and they really are why people come out. The speakers make the program of course,” Ford said.
“Anyone is welcome and they will be doing something for a good cause.”
