On November 6, the Toronto Population Network (TPN) hosted its inaugural mini-conference at Hart House, drawing over 80 participants from the University of Toronto’s three campuses and a wide array of disciplines, including sociology, geography, public health, social work, engineering, anthropology, urban studies, information, economics, and statistics.
The conference featured sessions on the role of population centres, the evolving landscape of demographic data in Canada and globally, and ongoing population research at the University of Toronto. International speakers contributed diverse perspectives, with keynote Dr. Ridhi Kashyap, Professor of Demography & Computational Social Science at the University of Oxford, highlighting the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science’s work on COVID-19 research and digital gender inequalities.
University of Toronto faculty presented “flash talks” spanning mental health, economic sociology, healthy aging, and air-pollution exposure in the Greater Toronto Area. Panels featuring Shelley Clark, Katherine Curtis, Ridhi Kashyap, and Emilio Parrado emphasized resource sharing, student training, public engagement, and community building. Another panel with Elizabeth Dhuey, Sarah Flood, and Rachel Margolis explored the use of population data, emerging datasets, and future research opportunities.
The event successfully launched TPN’s efforts to foster a collaborative population research community at the University of Toronto. Plans for the coming semester include a seminar series and additional events and resources.
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