What a Night, we thank you!

Well the CBT Vietnam team's event of the first screening of Kyle Sandilands' "When the Villagers Left" was a success, with over 120 in attendance! It was not without a lot of last minute calling, facebooking, tweeting, and texting though as earlier in the week we were concerned that we would not meet the goal we of 100 tickets.

I personally phoned, texted, emailed and mailed every person I could think of and invited them to the event. I felt like mission control, counting out loud every time we sold another ticket. 40 soon jumped to 50, then soared to 70. I checked the Eventbrite page more than I checked my email, Facebook and Instagram combined.

Everyone worked tirelessly on this event. Hedieh collected five amazing films to support Kyle's, Emily organized the venue rentals while Sabrina dealt with our suppliers and coordinated the liquor licence, and Maggie took on posting signs everywhere and anywhere building  awareness for the event. Working as a team was incredible which bodes well in terms of the successes we will be able to reach when we travel to Vietnam.

This entire event never would have happened without our fearless leaders. Stephanie Wells and Chris Carnovale took charge of this event and guided us through every step. The success of this event directly reflects their leadership and efforts.

When the event day finally came around everything had come together We cheered when we sold over 100 tickets, (which was our goal) and Chris promptly said "lets make it 120". Alumni of the project came through and supported us with over 15 previous team members in attendance.

We were especially honoured to have Dr. Geoffrey Bird in attendance as he was one of the original founders of this project. Dr. Chris Bottrill, Dean of the Faculty of Global and Community Studies, as well as the project's Director was our MC for the night. In addition, 12 Dao community members who not call Surrey their home, came to the event in their traditional clothes.

All in all the event was a remarkable experience. It is one that I will never forget and I will be forever grateful to our friends, family, colleagues and supporters for showing up in hoards and backing the CBT Vietnam Project.

23 Days until departure. Not that we are counting or anything. 

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Capilano U at the Ashoka U Exchange

Our Capilano Global & Community Studies Faculty Dean, Chris Bottrill is showcasing the PATA Foundation-funded tourism training project (CBT Vietnam) today at the AshokaU Exchange conference in San Diego today. Ashoka U is the University division of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public. AshokaU seeks out the and supports the worlds most innovative colleges and universities that are developing teaching, research, and collaborations to benefit society through social entrepreneurship. 

Kyle Sandilands has created yet another spectacular video and Chris will be using this in his 'Innovation Presentation'. The theme will be social entrepreneurship through partnership and demonstrates how Taphin is creating and managing its own tourism activities and building partnerships to sustain the community over the long term. 

The presentation is a concurrent session but the conference is attended by 650 delegates from over 150 universities and colleges around the world ranging from Ivy League to community college. All representatives have a common interest in facilitating social entrepreneurship and positive, proactive change making. 

CapilanoU has sent a team of six including students, faculty, our dean, and our President, Kris Bulcroft. Its great to be here!

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